13.7 million and counting: StriveTogether’s very first annual report details the Cradle to Career Network impact on 13.7 million children across 29 states and Washington, D.C., last year. And while the report highlights outcomes improving for children across our Network, we know this is just a start in our work to ensure every child can…
Last summer I got an email from David Brooks of The New York Times. He had heard about StriveTogether’s approach to building community-based partnerships and wanted to visit our partners in Spartanburg to see the approach in action. After spending an afternoon with Spartanburg Academic Movement, he reached back out to me to talk about…
Economic mobility is a term that’s starting to sweep the social sector. I hear it when I attend meetings across the country; I see it in newsletters, RFPs and research briefs. So many smart people are collecting and analyzing data and writing deeply about indicators and strategies for achieving greater upward mobility. I have learned…
By Michael McAfee, president and CEO of PolicyLink, and Jennifer Blatz, president and CEO of StriveTogether At PolicyLink and StriveTogether, we believe every child should have the opportunity to succeed in school and in life, regardless of race, zip code or circumstance. This is the most pressing issue of our generation. Yet increasingly the data…
In the Spring 2019 Stanford Social Innovation Review, you’ll find two articles written by three thought leaders who see promise in StriveTogether and our Cradle to Career Network. Jim Shelton, the former head of Chan Zuckerberg Initiative’s education division and former deputy secretary of the U.S. Department of Education, encourages investors to place “big bets”…
Last week was one of the most pivotal in my time at StriveTogether. We launched a Racial Equity Planning Team in partnership with individuals representing 15 members of the Cradle to Career Network. This group of amazing people has committed to develop an action plan for the Network to improve outcomes for black and brown…
I’m thrilled to announce our two newest board members, both of whom bring extensive experience and expertise in championing social justice and advancing inclusive economic development. James Bell, founding president of the W. Haywood Burns Institute, and Tony Pipa, a senior fellow in the Global Economy and Development program at the Brookings Institution, joined our…
“Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that.” — Martin Luther King Jr. On the day in which we celebrate the life, achievements and influence of the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr., I find myself searching his writings for some hope and inspiration…
Happy New Year! I hope that the first few days of 2019 are treating you well. Perhaps you set a New Year’s resolution, and if you did, I wish you the best in keeping it! I am not the type to set New Year’s resolutions, but as a former English major, I often finding myself…
Below is a summary of our article on collective impact and community authority appearing in the winter 2019 issue of the Stanford Social Innovation Review. The story of StriveTogether began on a bridge. In August 2006, leaders from three communities met in the middle of the Newport South Bank Bridge, known locally as the Purple…
Like many of you, I performed my civic duty and voted in Tuesday’s midterm election. For the rest of the day, I proudly sported my “I voted” sticker and then rushed home, ordered a pizza, hurried my kids to bed and camped out in front of my TV for the next several hours. I’ll admit…
“We are community artists. We get to weave big visions with data and information … Sometimes we pull, sometimes we push, and the weaving is as much art as it is science.” — Becky Hoffman The 2018 Cradle to Career Network Convening in Seattle last week was our biggest and best ever! I know we…