No Images? Click here Managing Director's Letter Dear Colleagues, As the year winds down, the search for receipts needed for the end-of-year invoices accelerates. And the invoices and reports bring the numbers into focus. 100+ stays in 40 different hotels. Well over 50,000 miles by air and rail. 42 communities in 23 states. 10,000 people in the various audiences. Plus, the opportunity personally to acknowledge again the exemplary work in 4 All-America Cities (Avondale, Arizona; Springdale, Arkansas; New Britain, Connecticut; and Springfield, Massachusetts), 6 Pacesetter Communities (Phoenix, Arizona; Marvell and Springdale, Arkansas; Hartford and New Britain, Connecticut; and Springfield, Massachusetts) and 2 Pacesetter States (Arizona and Arkansas). All that and, relatively speaking, 2017 has been slow year. As with the ubiquitous GLR map, the stories behind the numbers are far more interesting. And there are many. But having just completed my last community visit of 2017, the stories that seem most compelling are those about the 400-plus family foundations, community foundations, United Ways, regional foundations, corporate-giving programs and individual donors who are supporting the 340+ local campaigns in 43 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands and, most recently, Calgary, Canada. Almost every community visit has included some formal or informal time for conversations with local philanthropic leaders. These conversations confirm the sense of ownership, accountability and stewardship these funders bring to the local initiatives. While the GLR Campaign’s “more than money philanthropy” mantra serves as a helpful nudge for some, the funders most deeply embedded in communities observe that we are simply recognizing and naming their approach to the work. Similarly, our encouragement around philanthropy’s power to convene, to tap grantee networks and to bring influence as well as dollars may be affirming, but it is certainly not new. This past June, as we were packing up to leave Denver, the leaders of two local foundations stopped by to “promise” that they would “be back” in 2021 with the full expectation that their communities would be named All-America Cities. While they certainly were not the only ones making that promise, theirs struck a different chord. That’s because I recalled that when we met six years earlier, both were proud devotees of the “over the transom” year-by-year approach to their grant making. And yet, in 2017, here they were in Denver fully integrated into their community’s team, proud cheerleaders for what their respective communities had accomplished over the past several years and vowing to move from finalist to honoree over the next four. This is yet another nugget of evidence that putting a stake in the ground around a commonly understood and important outcome like grade-level reading is nudging some changes in philanthropic practice. Local funder coalitions, with and without pooled funding, are no longer so rare, episodic and fragile. In Philadelphia, my hometown, funders are working on a glossary of common terms to assist their shared grantees in navigating the philanthropic terrain. From Suncoast to Tacoma, and most places in between, community foundations and United Ways are at the same table talking strategy, sharing data and focusing on lessons learned. In Michigan, Mississippi and New Mexico national foundations (W.K. Kellogg) are going local. Much the same goes for Atlanta and Baltimore (Annie E. Casey), Detroit (Kresge), Flint (Mott), Fresno (Packard) and Seattle (Gates). And while it's still too early to celebrate, the stake in the ground around third-grade reading seems to be fostering a “whatever it takes” attitude. And that attitude is allowing pursuit of the outcome even when that means blurring the lines between Pre-K and K–12, venturing beyond age-defined silos to embrace a birth to third/0–8 frame and even daring to trespass across the seemingly sacrosanct disciplinary boundaries. As wild and crazy as it may seem, there are verified sightings of some well-established local education funders voluntarily learning about Medicaid. And there are confirmed reports that some previously rock-solid health-only funders are exploring partnerships with public libraries and public housing. To top it off, there is a renegade population who seem willing to invest as much time in learning the science as in that next round of tweaking the previously tweaked strategic plan. They insist that science matters and appear hopelessly intrigued by the emerging science around the developing brain. Who knew? The energy and enthusiasm of local funders has become a GLR Campaign-wide phenomenon. Over 150 attended the Funder Huddle during GLR Week in Denver. Dozens stayed on for the All-America City Awards part of the week to cheer on the finalist communities. The workshops provided 40 of these funders an opportunity to serve as moderators and presenters. And more than 90 have participated (so far) in at least one of the online webinars and roundtables organized to build on the conversations started and the issues lifted up during the 2017 Funder Huddle. Knowing just a bit about what’s being planned for GLR Week in Philadelphia, I am predicting a continuation of the energy and enthusiasm and much higher numbers all around. And like the local funders in Denver, I look forward to hearing our Philadelphia hosts tell the story of their work and the philanthropic practices that support it. In many ways, it seems fitting that the last visit of 2017 was to Springfield, Massachusetts, a 2016 Pacesetter Community and one of only four 2012 and 2017 All-America City Awardees. Over 100 people representing literally dozens of public agencies, businesses, and civic and social-sector organizations attended the Community Breakfast to hear and applaud the reports from the various task forces. And the lunch with the Funder Collaborative for Reading Success* around the table of the Irene E. & George A. Davis Foundation confirmed the collective commitment to shared ownership, joint accountability and stewardship. For Ron Fairchild, Carolyn Lyons and me, the experience of being together in the same community for the very first time all year was made all the more special by the opportunity to induct John Davis, Senior Trustee of the Davis Foundation into the Campaign for Grade-Level Reading’s Council of Champions. His “where’s the outrage” response to the data in 2010 drove the work in his community and inspired us all. Warm regards, Ralph Smith *A special shout out to: Babson Capital Management LLC; Bank of America-Trustee, Charles H. Hall Foundation; Baystate Health Systems; Berkshire Bank Foundation; Beveridge Family Foundation; Community Foundation of Western Massachusetts; First Niagara Bank; Irene E. & George A. Davis Foundation; Massachusetts Mutual Life Insurance Company (MassMutual); Nellie Mae Education Foundation; PeoplesBank; Peoples United Community Foundation; SIS Fund at the Community Foundation; TD Charitable Foundation; United Bank Foundation; and United Way of Pioneer Valley. |