“I have decided to stick with love. Hate is too great a burden to bear.”
– Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

Over the past few months, I have tried to embody this lesson into my own personal and professional life with much difficulty. The current political climate has given me much to contemplate. Because we are bombarded by daily attacks that I believe will decimate the most vulnerable among us, I have had plenty of time to sit and meditate with this quote. I think about this as a woman of color, as a family member, as a citizen and as an Executive Director in an industry that can influence and advocate, but I believe, has not found its voice in response to the attacks to the communities that we are in service of. It keeps me up at night some days. I have been trying to step outside of my head and step into this work with my heart and I welcome my funder colleagues to join me. Can we keep love at the center and rise up against the threats to our principles of social justice, compassion and forethought?

I recently moderated a panel at a philanthropy conference and I was taken aback by how business as usual many of the conversations were. I can appreciate the fatigue and the wish to see things as just another day or year but, if we pay close attention, it does seem that potentially the democratic fabric that ties us all together as Americans is at risk. We’ve been told to distrust the media, be weary of science and shut out people with great need. I continue to wake up wondering if I have made some of the most egregious parts of this up. But no. My own personal values are under attack but also the values of the Andrus Family Fund. We believe in Just Opportunity. What does this mean about the way we will go about our work and how we will continue building our relationships with partners?

It is not enough to be responsive to our grantees’ needs now, we must help them fortify their organizations so that they can be here for the long term and for what I believe will be the continuous onslaught of harsh policies for years to come. How do we help them galvanize the power of the moment—the marchers, the slogans, the fire and the anger—to build a lasting, effective movement that will turn out voters for local, regional and national elections to come? I believe that thinking about longevity and sustainability are the bigger goals that relate back to why we do this work.

While we at AFF don’t have all the answers and strive to listen to our partners and to dream of ways to make a greater impact, we must not lose sight of what’s at stake. I do not know that I believe that we are either good or not, but I do believe that under the right causes and conditions, anything is possible. Our future as a loving and compassionate people is being threatened. Let’s make sure to choose love.

In our last blog post, we identified the skills gap that contributes to America’s double digit youth unemployment rate. We also saw how grantee partner LeadersUp is closing the skills gap and connecting opportunity youth with career pathways. However, addressing skills alone cannot solve the workforce inequities we see today. While the Nation’s unemployment rate has improved, recent data shows that the unemployment rate for African American youth under the age of 20 is significantly higher than their white counterparts. Therefore, we believe a focus on racial equity must be part of the solution as well.

“By addressing racial justice, we’re creating a more fair, just and inclusive economy.”
Monique Miles
Director — Opportunity Youth Incentive Fund
Deputy Director — Aspen Forum for Community Solutions

In less than 30 years, the demographics of our country are expected to shift. For the first time in our nation’s history, people of color will make up more than 50 percent of the U.S. population. This unprecedented change will coincide with the retirement of millions of baby boomers, most of which are white. This “graying of America”[1] will result in more employment opportunities available to an increasingly diverse next generation of workers. However, to make progress on reducing workforce inequity, we must ensure these opportunities are equally accessible to people of color.

For too long, these opportunities have not been equally accessible. Some groups, particularly young men of color, face additional barriers to entering the workforce. They are disproportionately affected by unjust systems that, we believe, harm more than help. These young men are at a higher risk of dropping out of high school, being involved with the criminal justice system and, ultimately, unemployment.

“If we don’t address systemic inequities and ensure all youth are ready to work, we’ll never be economically or culturally competitive with the rest of the world.”
Thaddeus Ferber
Vice President of Policy Advocacy — Forum for Youth Investment

We are committed to creating a more equitable society. A focus on equity not only aligns with our values, but we believe also creates a more competitive economy. Data from the National Equity Atlas shows us that a racially inclusive economy can lead to substantial GDP growth—more than $2 trillion per year. So it is important for us to support organizations like the Forum for Youth Investment and Jobs for the Future, which are working both individually and with others to create inclusive, fair and sustainable workforce solutions. Both are key contributors to the Aspen Forum for Community Solutions, a cross-sector collaboration of nonprofits, businesses, philanthropy and government agencies that have come together to address the Nation’s biggest challenges—such as creating racial equity in the workforce and expanding career pathways for young men of color.

“We must work aggressively to change trajectories for people of color who have not had access to the opportunities they need to build wealth and advance in our economy.”
Mamadou Ndiaye
Associate Director — Jobs for the Future

The following examples highlight how they partner with the Aspen Forum to address some of these barriers in the workforce.

Opportunity Works
Led by Jobs for the Future (JFF), in collaboration with the Aspen Forum for Community Solutions, the Opportunity Works initiative aims to connect opportunity youth of color with career and education pathways through partnerships with local organizations across the country. Using JFF’s Back on Track framework, these organizations convene a cross-sector collaborative in their communities to improve outcomes for young people—with special attention paid to those who are homeless, and in or transitioning from the foster care and/or juvenile justice system. Opportunity Works is funded through a federal Social Innovation Fund award with generous match funding from the Andrus Family Fund and other foundations.

In San Francisco, the Road Map to Peace collaborative uses Back on Track to work with gang-involved/violence-exposed youth and help them not only achieve their secondary credential, but also transition into community-based training programs that lead to additional credentials with value in the local labor market. In New Orleans, JFF’s framework helps the EMPLOY collaborative ensure that youth of color participating in “learn and earn” programs are trained to successfully meet local industry demands and sustain themselves and their families through high-growth careers.

Opportunity Youth Network
The Opportunity Youth Network (OYN) brings together national non-profits, businesses, philanthropy, and government—along with young leaders—to align efforts to achieve the collective goal of reengaging one million young people who are out of work and out of school. As co-host of OYN, the Forum for Youth Investment works to align efforts inside and outside of government to improve polices and increase funding for opportunity youth.

Additionally, the Forum fosters collaboration between initiatives focused on opportunity youth as wells as boys and young men of color through the Opportunity Youth/Boys and Men of Color Alignment Strategy Group. Since the work that impacts both populations is often one in the same, the group’s main goal is to align national and local efforts to improve outcomes for youth. They do this by mapping opportunity youth and boys and men of color initiatives across the country and identifying opportunities for cross-collaboration between organizations. They have also established “rules of engagement” for national initiatives, which are informed by local leaders who serve vulnerable populations.

We know that there is still very much to do to create opportunities that are available and accessible to all young people. We are excited by the work of these partners and we look forward to seeing their collective impact translate into opportunity for millions of youth.

Thank you for reading our Creating Opportunity blog series. Please feel free to share on social media. Check back soon for new content by the Andrus Family Fund.

[1] The “graying of America” refers to the growth of the Nation’s older population (ages 65 and older). According to a 2014 U.S. Census report, by 2050 this group will make up more than one fifth of the entire U.S. population. This projected figure is more than double what it is currently.

As we paused this week to celebrate Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and his incredible legacy, we also paused to consider all of the work that still needs to be done. Fifty years ago, President Johnson signed the Civil Rights Act into Law. Half a century later, we know the importance of this act and how it helped define so many of the gains for communities across the United States. The Civil Rights Act helped define our collective national identity. And yet, as we said goodbye to 2014, we were forced to look at the structural inequity that continues to define the lives of whole communities. We were made to see over and over again how this work of civil and human rights continues to need our diligence and commitment. We see that we are from the Beloved Community that Dr. King so beautifully spoke of time and again.

As AFF digs deeper into our new program areas, we see this work as part of our mission and vision for a more just society. Earlier this month, Phil Henderson, President of the Surdna Foundation and I co-authored the following letter to inform our communities of our personal and institutional commitments to equity and social justice in our grantmaking and continued engagement with our grantees.

The holiday season—from Christmas through the first few days of a new year—is a time when many of us pause, visit loved ones, recharge and reflect. As we turn with hope and optimism toward the year ahead we must not forget the deaths of Michael Brown in Ferguson, Missouri and Eric Garner in Staten Island, New York. Nor must we forget that there are whole communities in the United States that are not always protected by our laws. Our justice system has profoundly and systematically failed them, depriving them of a fair shot at success.

The Surdna Foundation and the Andrus Family Fund are saddened by these deaths and others like them that are avoidable. We care about and advocate for just and sustainable communities. We care about the well-being of communities touched by our work as well as people in communities we may never know. And we care about the men and women in uniform, like New York City Police Officers Wenjian Liu and Rafael Ramos, who are called to protect our communities and all too often killed in the line of duty. Because, we know that all of our futures are inextricably linked.

However, we know that caring is not always enough. We stand in solidarity with organizations advocating for reforms to the juvenile and adult justice system, and underscore their efforts to remind Americans that some of the most revered institutions in our democracy are unfairly impacting the life experiences and opportunities of people of color.

Through the work of the Andrus Family Fund (AFF), an independent grantmaker launched in 1999 by the Surdna Foundation, for example, we are challenging the “school-to-prison pipeline,” wherein a disproportionate percentage of young people of color are isolated, punished and pushed out of public schools and into the juvenile and adult criminal justice systems.

We believe everybody deserves more than one chance at a successful life, so AFF’s work helps to ensure that young people, including those in or aging-out of the foster care system, or impacted by juvenile justice systems, have another opportunity for a positive future.

Working with partners like the Executives’ Alliance to Expand Opportunities for Boys and Men of Color, a collaboration of foundations focused on changing conditions for young people of color, AFF is helping to create a pathway to a more stable and sustainable life. Partnerships like this and many others are connecting young people to the caring communities, proven services and vital skills that they so sorely missed earlier in life.

We believe that reform of the juvenile justice system is imperative, but that the enormity and complexity of the challenges highlighted by the deaths of Michael Brown and Eric Garner demand that we work on multiple fronts. To address a series of interrelated and systemic challenges, Surdna and the Andrus Family Fund are working each day in partnerships with many outstanding organizations and inspiring leaders toward fostering just and sustainable communities in which people participate in creating their own futures. And, where they have essentials upon which to build those futures, including access to quality jobs, a working infrastructure including reliable transportation, a healthy environment, opportunities for creative expression and cultural nourishment.

We strive toward a more equitable society, and to get there, understand that we must pursue social justice in all that we do.

Phillip Henderson
President, Surdna Foundation

Leticia Peguero
Executive Director, Andrus Family Fund