Taking On The Changing Geography Of Poverty

Malnutrition and hunger, limited access to education and other basic services, exclusion, disabilities, restricted access to participation in the democratic process. These are only some of the many manifestations of poverty. Over 40 million Americans live in poverty, but we can eliminate poverty. Nelson Mandela once said, “Like slavery and apartheid, poverty is not natural. It is man-made and it can be overcome and eradicated by the action of human beings.”

Even though poverty is a complex social issue, you can make a significant difference through giving. The Giving Center is just one of many charities that is dedicated to change and transformation. It is important to create a catalyst in socio-economic change through education and by charitable example, serving needs where they may be in our communities. The basic needs of food, shelter and clothing go hand in hand with providing new opportunities to learn. Meaningful and impactful change will help lift our fellow neighbors, family members, and friends out of poverty so they can live independent, sustainable lives and contribute to the community.

Perpetually rising poverty and persistent unemployment have become as prominent in suburbs as in cities over the past decade. The Great Recession hit suburbs just as hard as it hit the cities, currently there are more poor people living in the suburbs of our largest metropolitan areas than there in the central cities of those metros.

Successful alleviation of poverty in urban and suburban areas is dependent on both government programs and private philanthropy. We usually pay little attention, however, to the important role that private philanthropy, charitable foundations, and charitable organizations play in reducing poverty or need. Charitable foundations frequently support the most innovative social programs and nonprofit entrepreneurs. Foundations convene community stakeholders to discuss crucial needs, which can shape policy agendas and promote more effective deployment of public program resources.

Philanthropic foundations, unfortunately, are not terribly well-equipped to tackle the changing geography of poverty. Despite the fact that the geography of poverty has shifted in recent years, the geography of private foundation grantmaking has not. Even when grants do make it to suburban communities, the dollar amounts can be too small to have any meaningful impact.

There are several reasons why the work of charitable foundations straggle behind changes in the geography of poverty. Perceptions remain that poverty remains a central city phenomenon. Foundations are often constrained by the preferences of donors to target resources at a particular issue or community. Few suburban communities have nonprofit human service organizations capable of encouraging partnerships with private foundations. Suburban municipal governments often lack the administrative capacity and expertise to lead responses to recent rise in poverty. Perhaps most frustrating for advocates and social entrepreneurs, numerous suburban communities are unwilling to support new programs or organizations that could address issues of poverty.

Restricted foundation and philanthropic activity in suburbs magnify the challenges those communities face in addressing growing rates of poverty and joblessness. Not only are there fewer programs for assistance in suburban areas where need has grown rapidly, but suburbs lack the capacity needed to strengthen suburban nonprofit human service organizations or respond to the ever shifting community needs.

Attempts to strengthen existing regional collaborations, organizations, and partnerships are needed to overcome these structural impediments. However, the challenges of overcoming today’s poverty with yesterday’s philanthropy are not just structural. Private commitments to supporting nonprofit charities and foundations also lag the times. At a time when federal and state government spending is falling amidst dramatic increases in poverty, private giving by foundations and individual donations to nonprofit charities has remained more or less constant in recent years at around $30 billion annually–only about 10% of all charitable giving. If we are to strengthen the role of private foundations in the suburban communities, we have to provide greater financial support to both private foundations and nonprofit charities, like Giving Center–particularly given continuous cuts in public program expenditures at the federal, state, and local levels.

Furthermore, we need to keep in mind that suburbs and cities have a shared fate in these matters. In today’s economy, strong metropolitan economies are important to pave the way for regional recovery. Strong public and private commitments to regional safety nets are necessary if we are to ease poverty in our metro areas today, support low-wage workers and job-seekers who commute between cities and suburbs each and every day, and continue moving toward economic recovery.