NFG Jobs Toolbox: A Funder's Guide to Jobs

Introduction

Perhaps nothing has received more attention from media and policymakers in recent years than the state of the American economy. But even as headlines trumpet record-breaking economic growth, they also warn that the benefits of growth do not reach all Americans; that employment patterns and wage structures are changing; that the gap between individuals who can succeed in the new economy and those left behind is widening. At the same time, sweeping change in national welfare policy has brought a new reliance on the private sector for alleviation of poverty. Jobs - finding them, keeping them and advancing in them - have become the centerpiece of welfare reform and, as a result, of community economic development.

Nonprofits working at the community level with low-income people are, of necessity, concentrating their work on employment and economic development. Even those organizations and agencies not previously viewing jobs as part of their core mission are beginning to do so. Consequently, the foundations who support these groups find that they must also develop the ability to assess, support and evaluate jobs-related projects and organizations. Because Neighborhood Funders Group (NFG) is the membership organization of these foundations, its Board of Directors has made jobs a top priority.

Why a Jobs Toolbox?

A 1997 NFG survey found more than half of its members engaged in jobs-related activities. Members told NFG they needed a "Toolbox" - a resource, both hard copy and electronic - to help them find their way through the dizzying number of potential strategies and programs to the most effective ones. 

This publication is the direct result of that interest. It is intended to help grantmakers in three ways: 

  • It offers a framework for foundations to develop, expand or fine tune program areas or initiatives related to jobs. 
  • It is an educational resource, full of links to additional organizational and other resources, for foundation board members and staff. 
  • It offers a context and framework for judging the merits of specific proposals related to jobs and the economy.

Three Strategies for Change

The Neighborhood Funders Group assembled this Toolbox with three goals in mind: 
  • To encourage grantmakers to enter the world of jobs and employment-related funding;
  • To share lessons and promising techniques used by grantmakers already engaged in it, and 
  • To highlight why and how grantmakers have made specific funding choices via specific initiatives. 
To accomplish these goals, the Toolbox explores three funding strategies and offers case studies of three foundations who have put these strategies into practice. The three jobs strategies identified by NFG members as most important to them are: 
  • Employment and training (also known as workforce development);
  • Welfare to work; and 
  • Sectoral economic development. 
Obviously, foundations and nonprofits are using dozens of other strategies and approaches. But given time and financial limitations, NFG decided to launch this Toolbox with the top three strategies identified by NFG members. New sections will be added in the future, along with updates to the original contents. 

Case Studies

More than a policy overview, this Toolbox provides practical advice to foundations wishing to undertake similar initiatives. Towards this end, the discussion of strategies is followed by profiles of three grantmakers - the Charles Stewart Mott Foundation, the Pittsburgh Foundation, and the Discount Foundation - offering a real-world context for each job strategy. The strategies and foundation case studies, taken together, are a portrait of philanthropic engagement in place-based employment issues. 

Grantmakers are investing in some of the most path breaking work in this field. The creation of a new federal framework for employment and training programs, through the recently enacted Workforce Investment Act of 1998, offers an important opportunity for funders to advance innovative models and practices. Without such leadership, the bureaucracy that has encumbered existing federal employment training funds may well entangle the new program over time. 

In welfare reform efforts, grantmakers play an equally significant role. Initiatives in workfare organizing and statewide advocacy, monitoring and research, and rebuilding a social safety net for families attempting to leave welfare, reflect the accomplishments of foundation/nonprofit organization partnership. Virtually no federal welfare funds or other federal resources have played a role; in fact, in many cases, federal programs may well be the root of the problem. If welfare reform is to succeed and families are to become self-sufficient, an even greater philanthropic commitment to jobs will be needed in the future. 

Finally, through sectoral development, grantmakers can expand local community economic opportunities in ways that are responsive to employers and generate jobs for residents. The technical aspect of sectoral and other economic development initiatives warrants philanthropic involvement. It is unlikely that nonprofit organizations could ever leverage enough expertise and capital to bring these projects to scale without special funding. Fortunately, some grantmakers have invested in a base of knowledge and experience which can now benefit other funders of this work. 

The profiles of the Charles Stewart Mott Foundation, Pittsburgh Foundation, and Discount Foundation provide a human context for what might otherwise have been a very theoretical discussion. These grantmaker case studies tell a story. Some of the rationales for the decisions behind each strategy adopted by the three foundations may well resonate with other funders. A common thread running through these profiles - and the grantmaking strategy sections that precede them - is an overriding concern about jobs and economic opportunities for low-income neighborhoods. 

Ultimately, foundations can only act when there are strong nonprofit organizations in which to invest. Nothing is possible without the local organizations, nonprofit agencies and community organizing groups that create the basic infrastructure for neighborhood jobs initiatives. However, the ability of community organizations to implement these strategies well is uneven. Some groups, especially smaller or newer organizations, lack the support systems needed to succeed. Strong community organizations can be both a partner with, and a product of, effective philanthropy. To invest well in jobs strategies funding, organizational capacity-building is essential and inseparable from a project's overall success. 

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