Opportunity 2040 plan raises $120 million to help lift Dallas County children out of poverty and more » Dallas Innovates

Dallas-based nonprofits The Commit Partnership and Child Poverty Action Lab's Opportunity 2040 Plan has raised $120 million in partnership with New York-based Blue Meridian Partners. The goal of this initiative is to cut the number of children living in poverty in Dallas County by half and double the number of youth earning a living wage by 2040.

“To get here, we worked with trusted partners to create a long-term roadmap that strengthens interventions that benefit the entire Dallas County community,” Opportunity 2040 Fund Chairman John McPherson said in a statement. Stated. “We know this work will take more than a decade to fully realize, but this significant investment will help us maintain our focus on strong schools and strong communities and build on our data and experience. It helps us make adjustments on an ongoing basis.”

From Dallas County to San Antonio to Spartanburg, South Carolina

The Dallas fundraiser is one of three fundraising partnerships between Blue Meridian and local and regional donors that have raised a total of $335 million. Other cities affected were San Antonio and Spartanburg, South Carolina.

The Commit Partnership, a data-centric, results-oriented civil infrastructure organization, and Child Poverty Action Lab are collaborating to establish the Opportunity 2040 Community Investment Plan and support the Phase 1 Fund, according to Blue Meridian. Stated. This collaboration is rooted in sustained and strengthening investments in both stronger schools and stronger communities, and aims to meaningfully advance economic mobility in Dallas County for a generation.

At the heart of the Opportunity 2040 plan is the use of robust data insights, human-centered design principles, community engagement, systems-level thinking, and targeted and sustained philanthropy, especially for the most disadvantaged communities. It is about improving the effectiveness of public programs and funding for people who don't have enough. Neighbors and students.

Improving economic mobility by focusing on “cradle to career”

According to Blue Meridian, where you are born and raised often determines your future social and economic success in this country. The report said historical inequalities across communities continue to limit upward mobility for too many young people and families.

Blue Meridian's collective fundraising efforts and new initiatives are a community-led, results-driven model focused on breaking cycles of poverty, harnessing the power and potential of the growing field of place-based partnerships. He said that it functions as an indicator to show the

“Pacesetter” in the national movement

Blue Meridian recognizes that local leaders in Dallas, Spartanburg, and San Antonio are at the vanguard of a national movement and are applying rigorous methodologies to lead place-based partnerships as agents of change in their communities. He said he was taking action.

Working at the local and neighborhood level, each community developed a multi-year plan for how to begin to improve critical economic and social mobility outcomes from “cradle to career,” according to Blue Meridian. .

The group said local leaders used dozens of partners to develop the plan and reached out to local funders to support the vision. Blue Meridian says these place-based partnerships are expected to unlock billions of dollars in additional public and private funding over the next 10 years.

In Spartanburg County, South Carolina, Movement 2030, led by the Spartanburg Academic Movement, has raised $100 million, according to Blue Meridian. This initiative will ensure that by 2030, 65% of children in the county enter school ready to succeed, up from 48%. He will increase the percentage of high school students enrolling in post-secondary education from 59% to 70%.

In San Antonio, the Future Ready Bexar County Plan, led by the UP Partnership, raised $114 million to support implementation of the plan. The plan calls for increasing the percentage of Bexar County high school graduates enrolled in post-secondary degree or certificate programs from 50% to 70% by 2030, and creating three key initiatives for success for and with young people. The book aims to amplify the pillars of healing, access, and voice. .

Blue Meridian Partners, a national collaboration of results-driven philanthropists, has committed to equally distribute $150 million across three communities as part of its Place Matters portfolio, and Ballmer Group Major funder.

Unleash the potential of place-based partnerships

Blue Meridian said the funding from Place Matters resulted in additional local funding tied to each community's own multi-year plan, for a total of approximately $335 million.

The organization said this portfolio was developed to address issues at the community level, including limited access by local organizations to adequate and coordinated funding, planning, data analysis and utilization, policy development, and support tools and resources. He said he hoped to address existing barriers to sustainable systemic change. Both talent and technology.

Jim Shelton, president and chief investment and impact officer at Blue Meridian Partners, said in a statement: “This investment in Place Matters is a testament to the way place-based partnerships significantly improve outcomes for youth and families. “It reflects Blue Meridian's belief that it has the potential to “We are excited about the common vision held by leaders in each community and how they have leveraged our capital to activate the resources they need to thrive. .”

In addition to initial planning support from Blue Meridian, all three place-based partnerships are members of the StriveTogether Cradle to Career Network, providing a rigorous approach to developing the capabilities and resources essential to improving outcomes.

“We continue to be inspired by the potential that place-based partnerships bring to communities across the country,” Terry Ludwig, Ballmer Group's president of philanthropy, said in a statement. “As more and more communities adopt place-based partnership methods, they are transforming challenges through collaboration centered on community leaders. We deeply support this methodology and believe this is truly the key to change.” I believe it can be a useful tool.”

In addition to funding approximately 20 place-based partnerships focused on improving life outcomes, Blue Meridian supports successful place-based partnerships such as the William Julius Wilson Institute and StriveTogether He said the company is also investing in the capabilities of key domestic organizations to

“The geography of your birthplace should not determine your destiny,” says Jeffrey Canada, founder of the William Julius Wilson Institute and president of the Harlem Children's Zone. “Investments like these in these three communities will begin to improve social and economic mobility outcomes, but we know this is just the beginning. Only if we can align resources will we see real and lasting change for young people and families in communities across the country.”