麻豆精品

Top Takeaways is a series of recaps from important conversations, town halls, webinars and virtual events about early learning.

The latest of The Hunt Institute鈥檚 series of Zoom conversations with foundation leaders took place on Oct. 27, when Dan Wuori, Hunt鈥檚 director of early learning, facilitated a wide-ranging dialogue with:

• Rebecca Gomez of the , which aims to close the opportunity gap by 2044, the year that the U.S. becomes majority-minority.
• Dr. Jacqueline Jones of the , which connects research, policy and practice.
• Dr. Michael Weinberg of the , which focuses on New Mexico鈥檚 early child workforce and system for educating the youngest New Mexicans.

Here are our takeaways from the conversation:

1. Context is everything. All of the panelists agreed that this is no time for business as usual in philanthropic giving. The interweaving of the pandemic, the continuing relevance of the Black Lives Matter movement and a divisive political landscape deny foundations the luxury of making grants according to pre-established guidelines. Program officers have to acknowledge the systems buffeting their area of focus. Weinberg cited the fluctuation of oil prices that determine the state鈥檚 early education budget as a reason for establishing the . Grassroots activism and public financing also come into the picture. The eligibility of Medicaid funding for home visitation and the psychosocial implications of a stepped-up deportation policy were among the many complexities informing the work of foundation professionals.

2. Foundations are adapting alongside their grantees. Like many foundations, COVID has pushed Heising-Simons to switch many of their program-specific grants to general support, and they are waiving such requirements as final reports. It鈥檚 part of a general shift to what Gomez called 鈥渢rust-based philanthropy,鈥� acknowledging that the sector 鈥渉as a lot of work to do on itself.鈥� Picking up on these remarks, Weinberg wondered aloud whether 鈥渟ome of the changes might stick,鈥� forever altering the dynamic between foundations and grantees. He referred to the new paradigm as 鈥渁daptive grant making.鈥� The Thornburg Foundation made more than 60 emergency grants in the first months of the crisis and discovered, 鈥淲e aren鈥檛 great at getting money directly to child care providers.鈥� Intermediary organizations have proved invaluable. Jones indicated that the pandemic has caused her organization to look 鈥渂oth inward and outward.鈥� Noting the 40-year age range on her staff, she said a virtual book club has sparked fresh dialogue. (The reading list has included Cornel West鈥檚 Race Matters, Robin DiAngelo鈥檚 White Fragility and Ta-Nehisi Coates鈥檚 Between the World and Me.) Regular communication with the board of directors has also been essential for steadying the organizational ship in turbulent times.

3. Research is a lever. In the first weeks of the COVID-19 pandemic, Heising-Simons in supporting a Yale University Child Care Center study to better understand and evaluate infection rates in child care centers. Jones stressed that her organization had no interest in 鈥渞esearch for research鈥檚 sake,鈥� but rather in knowledge that could be applied in the real world. 鈥淲e ask policy people, 鈥榃hat do you need to know in order to make decisions?鈥欌�� she noted. Incorporating the voices of educators and families helps to bridge the gap between research and policy and can contribute to continuous quality improvement. The Foundation for Child Development also sponsors a for early career researchers.

4. The sector is focusing more on the child care workforce. In the 1990s and early 2000s, philanthropists and foundations relentlessly deployed metrics to establish whether they were getting sufficient return on their financial investments. Student testing increased (even among very young children), and teachers and schools struggled to get good 鈥済rades鈥� from their benefactors. The lives of the workforce鈥攎ostly female, mostly people of color鈥攇enerally did not enter into the equation. Gomez recalled her time as an early childhood teacher, living with her parents to make it on $8 an hour. She sees the philanthropic sector playing a larger part in advocating for a living wage or even parity with K-12 teachers. Impact still matters of course, but the recognition is growing that it cannot be attained without the workforce that makes it happen.

This story originally published on Early Learning Nation and is now archived on 麻豆精品. Learn more here.