By Lande Ajose

I’ve used this space in the past to take a critical look at philanthropic practice and what foundations can do better. Well, hold on to your hats…today I’m writing about something they’ve done well.

A couple months ago, shortly after the shellacking President Obama took in the polls, I was watching television and came across a familiar face: Oprah’s B.F.F. Dr. Mehmet Oz. Although he was a well known guest on the “Queen of Talk’s” show and now hosts a popular show of his own, in this advertisement he takes on a new role speaking about the imperative for all Californians to learn about the new health care reform law. It was brilliant to see Dr. Oz leave a patriotic, balloon-filled room and float through a hospital corridor, all the while delivering a message about Californians’ responsibility to learn about upcoming health care changes. But what really blew my mind was this—the ad ends with, “paid for by The California Endowment” and a proudly emblazoned logo.

Foundations are usually reticent to become involved in policy issues for fear that it will jeopardize their privileged tax status. What struck me as extraordinary was the Endowment’s willingness to take a stand on a live and contentious topic, especially since the aforementioned shellacking suggested that not everyone is enamored with the new law. The Endowment’s support for this advertisement and the Get Covered California campaign carries out a philanthropic mandate to inform and educate the public about issues that are timely and that matter. That they used a well-recognized, pop culture figure to do so—well, that was the icing on the cake. What the Endowment really did was exhibit true leadership. Kudos to them.

My greatest hope that is that other foundations will think about following their example.

By Ellen Irie

“Deliver on the promise of a quality education.” Thus proclaimed LeShawn Routé Chatmon, Executive Director of The National Equity Project (formerly BayCES), echoing the organization’s mandate at its inspirational re-naming event held on Friday, October 29 in downtown Oakland.

BTW is proud to have been a supporter of this event; BTW Managing Director, Lande Ajose, currently serves on The National Equity Project’s Board of Trustees. I attended the event with several of my BTW colleagues and was moved not only by the organization’s vision, but by the stories of the people who are working tirelessly to ensure that all children can access their right to a quality education.

The most powerful and consistent message throughout the evening was summed up by keynote speaker Angela Glover Blackwell, President and CEO of PolicyLink. Blackwell stressed that equity isn’t about one group or another taking a stance or making a claim. Equity is about everyone; equity is for everyone. And as such, everyone has a role to play in ensuring equity.

The evening’s event was designed to illustrate this very point by hosting a panel discussion in conversation with Blackwell. The panel featured five individuals who play different, yet equally important, roles in local education: a district superintendent, a school board commissioner, a principal, a teacher and a community organizer. Their inspiring, and at times tearful, stories demonstrated their personal passions for striving for equity, and why they get up in the morning each day to fight this battle.

These narratives reminded me that a unifying theme in all of BTW’s work is that in one way or another, we are helping our nonprofit and philanthropic clients to strive for equity: equity in access to health care, education, employment, opportunity and more. Quite frankly, this is not the frame that I think about my work every day, but I find it both inspiring and provocative to consider how our work is furthering the aspiration of equity. And let me, in turn, ask you: What are you doing today for the sake of equity?

By Lande Ajose

On October 17, the film Waiting for Superman opened in 27 cities. It has been hailed as the most significant documentary since Davis Guggenheim directed the Academy Award winning documentary An Inconvenient Truth. The film is being credited with reinvigorating the national debate about the state of public education. As many efforts get underway and commitments to change are made, one voice is noticeably absent: organized philanthropy.

The absence of philanthropy is especially jarring considering how much money foundations pour into public education. According to a New York Times Magazine article, approximately $4 billion was spent on K-12 education philanthropy in 2008. These funds have supported everything form the proliferation of the small schools model to improvements in teacher performance and everything in between.

Some think philanthropy is cumbersome and slow to react as movements organically unfold and evolve. The release of Waiting for Superman is a key opportunity for philanthropy to take part in a movement in the making.  Yet where is organized philanthropy? What are foundations doing, individually or collectively, to harness the energy of this film?

Here are three simple ideas:

1.    Sponsor a community film screening.  Foundations are fortunate to have the ear of stakeholders on both sides of the political aisle. To leverage these connections, foundations could hold screenings in their local community to discuss the film and determine collective actions to address key issues at a local, regional or national level. Such a convening could also offer foundations opportunities to promote the important work of their grantees.

2.    Support others to see the film. Donorschoose.org has teamed up with Paramount Pictures, Walden Media and Participant Media to give movie goers $15 gift cards, which they can donate to a classroom project of their choice. There’s a double bottom line here: 1) create an incentive for others to see the film and 2) support classroom work.

3.    Support community organizations who want to engage in movement building around the film. Several nonprofits have sponsored private screenings of the film and want to sustain the energy generated by this movie. Perhaps foundations could provide some “glue” money to better help them do this?

When foundations are working at their best they are able to seed new approaches to old problems and advance the good work of those in the field.  With the energy created by Waiting for Superman there’s an unrealized opportunity for philanthropy to do both.