Children In Poverty: Philanthropy’s Opportunity to Contribute to the Safety of the Next Generation
posted on: Tuesday, January 10, 2012
By Niki Jagpal
Marian Wright Edelman, president of the Children’s Defense Fund, has a disturbing piece on the Huffington Post titled Poverty 2.0. In it, she relates the story of the economic turmoil confronted by one family, the Barretts, in New Orleans. As she notes, that this story is unfortunately a narrative that applies to so many hard working Americans who were on their way to moving into the middle class and have fallen behind over the last few years.
What is perhaps most distressing are the statistics which she cites: The Census Bureau released in November its first report using a new and more accurate measure of poverty, The Supplemental Poverty Measure. It gauges poverty by analyzing common household expenses including food, shelter and utilities and adjusts the figures regionally. It also accounts for some government assistance in calculating income such as housing tax subsidies and the earned income tax credit. Using this measure, a whopping 56.7 percent of our children fall under the category of poor or low income compared to 43.9 percent using the official measure. Edelman Wright writes: “While there is a substantial rise in the number of children considered low-income, the child poverty rate itself was actually lower using the new measure. This is important because it shows the effectiveness of key programs in lifting children out of poverty especially child and family nutrition programs, housing subsidies, and the earned-income tax credit. These programs had the largest positive impact on children’s lives.”
Government spending and capacity clearly dwarf those of philanthropy and the nonprofit sector but there is a good rationale for grantmakers to find ways in which to address this appalling situation. That the majority of our youth are not financially secure is a serious cause for concern; if our young are never provided the opportunities to advance their lot, how can our country ever expect to compete in the globalizing economy? In addition to the moral frame under which this situation is unacceptable, there are clear economic and other implications of the status quo. Any foundation that cares about our future as a society and country should consider seriously investing in programs that have the same kinds of positive impacts that the public sector programs Edelman Wright references do. Be it service provision or advocacy on behalf of poor and lower-income children, it is not only the right thing to do but imperative if we are to ever emerge from the economic crisis we confront today.
More than 100 grantmakers of all types have voluntarily pledged to provide at least 50 percent of their grant dollars for the benefit of marginalized communities and at least 25 percent of their grant dollars for advocacy and community organizing that serves a social justice purpose. Surely the story of the Barretts is one that should motivate your institution to consider doing the same.
Niki Jagpal is research and policy director at the National Committee for Responsive Philanthropy (NCRP).
Labels: advocacy, children, Children’s Defense Fund, Marian Wright Edelman, Philanthropy’s Promise, Philantrhopys Promise, social justice, underserved communities
Marian Wright Edelman, president of the Children’s Defense Fund, has a disturbing piece on the Huffington Post titled Poverty 2.0. In it, she relates the story of the economic turmoil confronted by one family, the Barretts, in New Orleans. As she notes, that this story is unfortunately a narrative that applies to so many hard working Americans who were on their way to moving into the middle class and have fallen behind over the last few years.
What is perhaps most distressing are the statistics which she cites: The Census Bureau released in November its first report using a new and more accurate measure of poverty, The Supplemental Poverty Measure. It gauges poverty by analyzing common household expenses including food, shelter and utilities and adjusts the figures regionally. It also accounts for some government assistance in calculating income such as housing tax subsidies and the earned income tax credit. Using this measure, a whopping 56.7 percent of our children fall under the category of poor or low income compared to 43.9 percent using the official measure. Edelman Wright writes: “While there is a substantial rise in the number of children considered low-income, the child poverty rate itself was actually lower using the new measure. This is important because it shows the effectiveness of key programs in lifting children out of poverty especially child and family nutrition programs, housing subsidies, and the earned-income tax credit. These programs had the largest positive impact on children’s lives.”
Government spending and capacity clearly dwarf those of philanthropy and the nonprofit sector but there is a good rationale for grantmakers to find ways in which to address this appalling situation. That the majority of our youth are not financially secure is a serious cause for concern; if our young are never provided the opportunities to advance their lot, how can our country ever expect to compete in the globalizing economy? In addition to the moral frame under which this situation is unacceptable, there are clear economic and other implications of the status quo. Any foundation that cares about our future as a society and country should consider seriously investing in programs that have the same kinds of positive impacts that the public sector programs Edelman Wright references do. Be it service provision or advocacy on behalf of poor and lower-income children, it is not only the right thing to do but imperative if we are to ever emerge from the economic crisis we confront today.
More than 100 grantmakers of all types have voluntarily pledged to provide at least 50 percent of their grant dollars for the benefit of marginalized communities and at least 25 percent of their grant dollars for advocacy and community organizing that serves a social justice purpose. Surely the story of the Barretts is one that should motivate your institution to consider doing the same.
Niki Jagpal is research and policy director at the National Committee for Responsive Philanthropy (NCRP).
Labels: advocacy, children, Children’s Defense Fund, Marian Wright Edelman, Philanthropy’s Promise, Philantrhopys Promise, social justice, underserved communities
posted by National Committee for Responsive Philanthropy at
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