That’s part of what’s going on in Anacostia: arts for its own sake…Which might be cause for excitement within the neighborhood, and surely much anxiety. All strata may participate in the arts, but in the lexicon of modern urban life, they often signify—fairly or unfairly—more disruptive changes to come, like skyrocketing rents and amenities more likely to appeal to newcomers than longtime residents.

The paper has four features on this subject, each one worth reading:

- If You Build It, Who Will Come?
– Stage of Development
– What to Expect at LUMEN8 2013
– Anacostia’s Arts Scene Is Growing

EDUCATION
- By a gigundo margin, students in D.C. carry the highest student debt load in the country with an average of $41,230. Maryland comes in second with $26,310. That said, WAMU reports that our region has the highest proportion of graduate degrees in the country, and possibly the galaxy, though the Census doesn’t track that wide. (WAMU, 5/23) The article helps to validate this meme.

- As our  leaders on the Hill prepare to take off an entire week to celebrate Memorial Day, local school jurisdictions are getting ready to face sequestration-related budget cuts. (WAMU, 5/23)

- Chicago is a few hundred miles outside of our usual jurisdiction, but their school system experiences similar challenges to some in our region. To that end, it will be interesting to see what happens after the city executes the largest wave of school closings in the entire country. (Chicagoist, 5/23)

- Though Enrolling More Poor Students, 2-Year Colleges Get Less of Federal Pie (NYT, 5/23)

Related event for WRAG members: Positioning Community Colleges to Effectively Train our Region’s Workers for High-Demand Jobs [More info.]

VETERANS | As our military engagements in Afghanistan and Iraq wind down, Rebekah writes about how local funders are preparing for returning veterans. (Daily, 5/23)

PHILANTHROPY
- Tamara and Gretchen have both written about mission-driven investing in the last week, which includes using program-related investments (PRIs) to maximize impact. A new study finds that while PRIs have increased considerably over the past two decades, they were neglected during the recession. Also, funders might not be putting their money where their mouths are, and it’s not because money doesn’t taste good (Chronicle, 5/23):

There’s a disconnect between the amount of discussion about program-related investments in the foundation world and how many are actually made.

- Operating Support Jumped 83% in 2011 (Chronicle, 5/23)

TEEN PREGNANCY | The Atlantic looks at the shifting geography of teen mothers in the United States. (Atlantic, 5/22)

The article notes that D.C. has the top rate among 15-17 year old girls, but be sure to check out our report Beyond Dollars to see how much progress has been made in the city in recent years.

BUDGETS | The DC Fiscal Policy Institute summarized the DC Council’s 2014 budget, which includes housing and children/family funding. (DCFPI, 5/22)

DAILY | In observance of Memorial Day, expected reduced readership, and lingering technology projects that require undivided attention, The Daily WRAG will return next Wednesday, May 29th.

The Cat Empire is an incredibly versatile and talented band from Down Under – easily one of the best live acts I’ve ever seen. I highly recommend checking out their new album Steal The Light on Spotify (and buying the album if you dig it). The whole thing is excellent, but my early favorite track is Wild Animals.

Since we’re going to be gone for a few days, here are TWO bonus items! First, breathtaking photographs from the first successful ascent of Mount Everest 60 years ago. Second, 15 hilarious GIFs of uncoordinated children. Give the animations a few seconds to load. Number 10 gets what he deserves.

Have a great long weekend, folks! – Christian

With the war in Iraq over and Afghanistan winding down, we know that there is an oncoming wave of service members returning home, many of whom will be moving to our region. Supporting the unique needs of veterans is a fast growing area of interest in philanthropy, including among our region’s grantmaking community. Many returning veterans and their families will face myriad challenges, from issues relating to physical wounds and mental health issues, to finding civilian employment and affordable housing. A recent discussion with WRAG members revealed that there are a number of issues that local grantmakers are grappling with as they develop their strategies for supporting veterans.

Most importantly, there is a real gap in data about veterans in our region. Who are they? When are they returning? Where are they going to live? Many of these basic questions that would help our region’s philanthropic community better position itself to serve veterans are still unanswered. There is a need for more data on returning service members from the military, as well as for better data collection and sharing between local jurisdictions, nonprofits, and funders. One funder noted that they – and likely most others – don’t routinely ask their grantees who don’t explicitly serve veterans, such as food banks, housing providers, or workforce training programs, how many veterans are among their clientele. Simple steps like this could help paint a better picture of our region’s veteran population.

Another commonly cited experience among grantmakers is a need for a new kind of cultural competence. Members of the military have dedicated their lives to serving their country. They are used to being in the role of helper. So, for some, there is a stigma about now asking for help, meaning grantmakers and others have to be mindful in how they frame their work. Plus, with the well-publicized difficulties of securing VA benefits, many newly returning veterans aren’t seeking them or have given up trying to. Finally, civilians and the military don’t always seem to speak the same language. For grantmakers and others without a military background, there can be a steep learning curve when trying to connect with the military.

WRAG members: WRAG plans to reconvene funders interested in veterans issues again this fall. If there is a particular area of interest for you, contact Rebekah Seder.

Over the last few years, WRAG has worked with Project Streamline to explore ways that funders can improve their application and processes to reduce the burden on grantees. Project Streamline, which is led by the Grants Managers Network, is now five years old. Their new report, Practices That Matter, looks at how far the sector has come – and how much further it needs to go – in the streamlining process.

Related in the Daily:
- WRAG members continue to streamline (April, 2013)
- Project Streamline: The Moriah Fund (June, 2011)
- Paperwork vs. progress: the case for streamlining (Sept, 2010)
- Scaling up vs. scaling back (Feb, 2010)

CHANGE | Most of you know Margaret O’Bryon, former CEO of the Consumer Health Foundation, for her commitment to social equity and her expansive thinking. In today’s Daily, she writes about one of the theories of social change that has greatly influenced her thinking. It is called Presencing (or Theory U). Look to hear more from Margaret as she takes on her latest role as the Nielsen Chair of Philanthropy at the Center for Public and Nonprofit Leadership and the Public Policy Institute at Georgetown University. (Daily, 5/22)

COMMUNITY | As part of its documentary festival this year, the AFI will screen Herblock: The Black & the White. It showcases the life and work of former Washington Post cartoonist Herb Block, whose successful career lead to the creation of The Herb Block Foundation. (CP, 5/22)

DEVELOPMENT | The Coalition for Smarter Growth’s Cheryl Cort writes about a report from the Prince George’s County Planning Board that says the county is at a crossroads. It can either “push for more transit-oriented development and walkable communities, or ‘be resigned to business as usual.’” (GGW, 5/22)

Related: Here’s a step in the right direction! The county’s Gateway Arts District received a big grant from ArtPlace America, which funds projects that generate economic development through the arts. (WBJ, 5/22)

EDUCATION | Here’s a look at per pupil school spending in our region. At a state level, the District is second to only New York. On a local level, the data show that Alexandria was the only school district in our region to increase spending from the previous year. (Examiner, 5/22)

PHILANTHROPY | Local philanthropist David Rubenstein talks about using more than just his money to achieve the social impact that he seeks. (GiveSmart, 5/22)

LOCAL | A sinkhole opened up just two blocks east of the White House yesterday. Fortunately, the only victim that it claimed was our sense of pedestrian safety. (WaPo, 5/22)

We’ll be much safer when we can get around like this. In the meantime, we have to live with the fact that, at any moment, we might just be swallowed into the swampy depths of D.C.

Finally, the list you’ve all been waiting for! The Eight Largest Zoos in the world (excluding Times Square)! Now I finally have an excuse to visit Nebraska.

Also, for some reason, today feels like a day for The Clash. How about Train in Vain or Police and Thieves?

By Margaret O’Bryon

In the preface to his book, Power and Love – A Theory and Practice of Social Change, Adam Kahane poses three questions: How can we address our toughest challenges? How can we break through our most entangled, stuck problems? How can we create social change?

For anyone involved in social change work, these questions are not unfamiliar. Chances are, at one time or another, each of us has wrestled with them using various creative forms and leadership practices. Some have resonated; others have not. One of those social change technologies that has captured my attention over the past several years is Presencing using the U process.  Its basic premise is that the quality of the results that a system creates is a function of the awareness from which the people in that system operate.

Presencing has taken root in both the business and social sectors in the US and globally. Its origins come from leaders, innovators, and practitioners in multiple fields, most notably Peter Senge, author of The Fifth Discipline, and Otto Scharmer, founding chair of the Presencing Institute. Much of the current work is being done in association with the business school at MIT. Theory U is being successfully applied to tackle tough social and economic challenges like food sustainability, equitable development and wealth creation, health care system reform, teaching young people to become social entrepreneurs, to name a few.

It’s impossible to sum up Presencing/Theory U in just a few words ; however, I want to share its most basic components. The “U” is one process with five movements. Using a visual prompt, these movements flow from the left to right in the shape of the letter “U”.

They move from building a common intent that involves deep listening to others and to what life calls you to do; to observe, observe, observe where judgment and downloading are suspended and members of the group open up to a full immersion into the context of the challenge; to presencing or sensing the emerging future in the present. This occurs at the bottom of the “U”. Here one accesses their own source of inspiration and a letting go of one’s current reality which is filled up with pre-existing biases, assumptions, habits and norms. This is the place of new awareness and creativity. It is where both individual members and the group as a whole operate with a heightened sense of connection, energy, and possibility.

Based on what has been learned, the final two movements are rapidly creating new models and prototypes for solving real problems in real time and then deciding which one(s) will have the highest impact on the system or challenge the group is addressing. Innovative tools and practices have been created to help guide this process.

The social issues of our day are extremely complex; they are deep-rooted; and addressing them demands new ways of thinking and creating. It also requires addressing systemic root causes. This is a HUGE leadership challenge. Theory U is one way to lead profound change.

Many in our community know Margaret O’Bryon, former CEO of the Consumer Health Foundation, for her commitment to social equity and her expansive thinking. Look to hear more from Margaret as she takes on her latest role as the Nielsen Chair of Philanthropy at the Center for Public and Nonprofit Leadership and the Public Policy Institute at Georgetown University.

PHILANTHROPY | Last week, Tamara wrote about how the Kellogg Foundation has used mission investing to maximize its impact. Today, Gretchen follows up with a closer look at the mechanics of mission investing – specifically, she writes about MRIs (not that kind) and PRIs. She also explores how the Consumer Health Foundation is using mission investing to improve our region. (Daily, 5/21)

Related:
- The Kellogg Foundation and Mission-Driven Investing (Daily, 5/16)

- How Philanthropists Can Help Companies Achieve Profit with a Purpose (Arabella, 5/14)

- Leveraging the Power of Foundations-An Analysis of Program-Related Investing (LFSP, 5/21)

OKLAHOMA | Our thoughts go out to Moore, Oklahoma, after yesterday’s monster tornado flattened huge parts of the city. Moore has been hit by similarly-destructive tornadoes three times in the last fifteen years. While the damage from the latest is devastating and the loss of life is significant, there is some relatively good news. Medical examiners have cut their death toll estimate in half, as of this morning. (Atlantic & WTOP, 5/12)

Our colleagues in Baltimore have pulled together a list of ways that you can help the victims. The Tulsa Community Foundation has also set up relief funds. And here are some options for local Oklahoma nonprofits.

Finally, here’s a heartwarming story amid the many sad ones. (Sky, 5/21)

POVERTY | Following up on yesterday’s news about the rise in suburban poverty, The Atlantic looks at some of the implications of suburban versus urban poverty (Atlantic, 5/21):

Poor people who live in high-rise apartments and dense urban blocks have neighbors who can pool childcare, or point each other to social services, or share rides to work. They have access to public transit, because transit follows density, too.
…
“That isolated poverty is a kind of hopeless poverty,” [Ford Foundation President Luis] Ubiñas said. It is also considerably less visible to the rest of us. “We won’t run into it on the subway or in the park,” he says. “We’ll drive past it on the highway.”

LOCAL | Here’s part two of WAMU’s investigation of local developers and their relationships with elected officials – Million-Dollar Properties, $1 Deals. (WAMU, 5/21)

TRANSIT | If you’ve been wondering how the Silver Spring transit center ended up as a $120 million-plus, useless mess, you’re in luck. The Post looks at the history of the project. (WaPo, 5/12)

JUVENILE JUSTICE | A new report from the National Youth Employment Center reviews the work of the organization’s Postsecondary Success Initiative, which works with disconnected and court-involved youth to help them achieve postsecondary credentials. The initiative is supported in part by the Open Society Foundations. (NYEC, 5/21)

EDUCATION | Process for Charters to Inherit Vacant DCPS Buildings Gets a Wee Bit Easier (CP, 5/21)

Ray Manzarek, a founding member of The Doors, passed away from cancer yesterday. It was a real tragedy that Doors lead singer Jim Morrison wasted his life on drugs, but the band’s impact on modern music was incredibly deep considering its short tenure. Here’s my favorite Doors song, which I think represents some of Manzarek’s best work - Riders on the Storm. It feels especially appropriate for today.

By Gretchen Greiner-Lott
Vice President
Washington Regional Association of Grantmakers

Do you want to maximize your foundation’s impact? Are you willing to go beyond grantmaking to make a real difference in the community you serve? Consider mission investing.

Mission investing is the use of assets to make strategic investments that support the social mission of your foundation. Mission investing is a tool that has been available to foundations for over 40 years but has not yet become a standard practice. However, it has the potential to drive new capital into areas of need while providing financial returns to your foundation. What mission investing allows organizations to achieve is a double bottom line – both financial and social returns.

One type of mission investment is a mission-related investment (MRI). Basically, MRIs are investments in for-profit businesses that relate directly to a foundation’s mission. As Tamara wrote about last week, the W.K. Kellogg Foundation invested in “Acelero Learning, a for-profit company focused on efficiency and greater impact for Head Start, to support higher salaries for teachers.” Businesses like this, and the investments made in them, will have a positive social impact. However, MRIs are still a financial investment that must be made from the foundation’s corpus.

Program-related investments (PRIs), on the other hand, are investments that are consistent with a foundation’s charitable purpose but do not seek a market rate return. PRIs are treated much like grants for tax purposes and are typically counted toward a foundation’s minimum payout requirement. One of the great things about PRIs is that the money earned on the investment goes back to the foundation and can be reused, unlike a grant. Locally, the Consumer Health Foundation has been engaging in mission investing for over a decade. The foundation has used PRIs through an intermediary to support the growth and development of high quality nonprofit health care clinics in connection with the DC Primary Care Association’s Medical Homes DC Initiative, a clinic-based quality and capital improvement project.

Yanique Redwood, CEO of the Consumer Health Foundation, says, “As a small foundation, we’re constantly looking for ways to extend our reach. [PRIs were] one way for us to do that. The funds are being used to advance our mission, and we receive a below market rate return on the investment. We are now trying to figure out how to bring together mission investing and market rate returns. We’re learning from our peers here and around the country that this is entirely possible.”

Not everyone can or should invest $100 million or 100 percent of their assets in mission investing. However, it is important to note that you don’t have to work at these levels to get started and make a real difference with your investments. Even doing something as simple as banking with a community development financial institution (CDFI) can be a step in the right direction.

WRAG members gathered together recently for a Member to Member Learning Exchange on mission investing. What they learned, ultimately, is that mission investing has the potential to not only maximize their missions but to drive new sources of capital into areas of need. That’s the real bottom line.

Between 2000 and 2011, the population living in American cities below the poverty line increased by 29 percent. During that same time, across the country in the suburbs of metropolitan areas as diverse as Atlanta and Detroit and Salt Lake City, the ranks of the poor grew by 64 percent. Today, more poor people live in the suburbs (16.4 million of them) than in U.S. cities (13.4 million), despite the perception that poverty remains a uniquely urban problem.

The research includes profiles of metropolitan areas across the country. The Greater Washington region’s profile finds the poverty rate still lower in suburbs, but the number of suburban poor has increased 55 percent. Read more about what is driving our local changes – and what the implications are for our region.

Related: Here’s a look at how nonprofits in Montgomery County are struggling to address the increase in suburban poverty. (WAMU, 5/20)

EDUCATION
- Studies have shown that the achievement gap between high and low-income children can begin forming as early as nine months old. Home visits from family support workers might be one way of preventing the gap from forming. (WaPo, 5/20)

- Montgomery County has an increasing trend of students failing math tests. What is causing the trend? Theories abound. (WaPo, 5/20)

Maybe students are stuck in a vortex of chaos and confusion due to the fact that the school system imposes a failing grade of “E” rather than the traditional “F.” E is for “Excellent!” F is for “Fail!”

NONPROFITS | NPR ran an interesting news segment on the work of Dan Pallotta, who argues in favor of a paradigm shift that would financially incentivize working in the nonprofit sector. Click the “Listen to the Story” box to hear it. (NPR, 5/17) Thanks very much to Nick Geisinger – founder of the Daily! – for passing this along.

HOUSING
- Opinion: To Curb Domestic Violence, Start With Housing by Terri Ludwig, President and CEO of Enterprise Community Partners (HuffPo, 5/9)

- Major Campaign Donors Score Hefty City Subsidies (WAMU, 5/20) For the second time in a week…Steve Urkel!

TRANSIT | Maryland has announced plans to run MARC train service between D.C. and Baltimore on the weekends! At the moment, the only easy option for getting between the two is Amtrak, which is unreasonably expensive. (WAMU, 5/17)

Related: Columbia, Maryland, was originally designed to be a connection point that would bridge the geographic gap between Baltimore and D.C. It didn’t quite work, but its story is fascinating.

I hope everyone had a nice weekend, even though none of us won Powerball…unless the winner from Florida is a Daily reader?! Anyhow, my weekend was glorious, mostly because my girlfriend and I ran into Arnold Schwarzenegger at Georgetown’s graduation ceremony. We didn’t talk to him, but I assume that when he saw us, he thought, “Who is dis lovely couple dat I get to share da sidewalk with?” Life changing moment.

On a completely unrelated note, I’ve had Dusty Springfield’s Son of a Preacher Man stuck in my head. Great tune!

HOUSING
- Last week the Alexandria City Council moved to end a funding guarantee for affordable housing in the city, causing concern among Northern Virginia housing advocates. The guarantee put a certain percentage of property tax revenue toward affordable housing by creating a set-aside that could be used for development: (WaPo, 5/17):

“It’s important as a developer to know there’s a commitment of funds in any form the city can make,” said John Welsh, vice president of multifamily housing for the nonprofit affordable-housing developer AHC. “The expectation the money is going to be there is important to us [because] the local investment of dollars leverage so much capital” from other sources.

- More D.C. Workers Choosing To Live Within City Limits (WAMU, 5/16)

- Related: What Funders Need to Know: Does Housing + Transportation Costs = Affordable Living? 

- Event: Don’t miss the Communications Action Network’s 2013 Parade of Homes tomorrow! This is a great opportunity to see the variety and quality of affordable housing options around the region, and to learn first hand how a robust affordable housing supply benefits the region. [More information]

EDUCATION
- Microsoft is donating $1 million to a CityBridge Foundation led-program called the Education Innovation Fellowship, which helps D.C. teachers incorporate blended learning techniques – that is, a mix of online and face-to-face teaching –  into their classrooms. (WaPo, 5/17)

- Language immersion high school nears approval (Examiner, 5/17)

ECONOMIC SECURITY | A new Pew report paints a pretty grim economic picture for future retirees, thanks to the recession, loss of home values, high levels of debt, and the greater prevalence of 401(k)-type retirement plans, rather than traditional, employer-paid pensions. (WaPo, 5/17)

COMMUNITY | Check out a series of profiles of this year’s winners of the Community Foundation for Prince George’s County Civic Leadership Awards. (CFNCR, 5/15)

BUDGETS | Gov. Martin O’Malley announces $1.2 billion in transportation projects (Examiner, 5/17)

NONPROFITS | Opinion: IRS Should Allow Social-Welfare Groups Unlimited Advocacy (Chronicle, 5/16)

Today would be a great day to be repairing the top of the Washington Monument (fair warning: don’t watch this if you’re scared of heights!). It’s also a great day to listen to some Vampire Weekend. Enjoy!

- Rebekah

This fall, the District will begin limiting how long families can stay on welfare to five years. Liberals and conservatives agree that affordable child care is essential in moving people off welfare and into jobs and in helping them keep those jobs.

But that goal is greatly complicated by the realities of the city’s child-care subsidy program — with its counterproductive system for receiving and renewing benefits, its inadequate funding for the subsidies themselves and the lack of child-care centers willing to accept the vouchers.

It’s utterly absurd that, in the digital age, a person would have to get in a physical line at 3:45 am just to have a shot at meeting with a case worker.

YOUTH | The Academic Pediatric Association and the American Academy of Pediatrics say that the effects of poverty on the health and well being of children are the most important issues facing American children. This is alarming, considering that the United States has one of the very worst child poverty rates in the developed world. A new task force is striving to develop comprehensive solutions to the problem. (WaPo, 5/15)

Related: Poverty as a Childhood Disease (NYT, 5/15)

EDUCATION
- Greater Greater Education poses a very interesting question: is a focus on college preparation for all students actually a bad thing? This is a great read. (GGE, 5/16)

- DCPS has set a goal of reducing the number of special education students who are sent to out-of-system schools. Their reduction strategy seems to be focused on stricter policies around identifying which students have legitimate special needs. (Examiner, 5/16)

PHILANTHROPY | Do you know about mission driven investing? In the Daily, Tamara writes about the Kellogg Foundation and how it is using investments in for-profit companies to achieve its mission. (Daily, 5/16)

GIVING | Everywhere you go, buildings, schools, hospitals, and so much more have names attached to them – frequently those of big donors. But how can public recognition reconcile with religious traditions that encourage humility? The New York Times explores the question. (NYT, 5/11)

If I ever win the lottery, which I plan to do with Powerball this week, I want to donate enough money to name institutions after fictional characters – like the Steven Quincy Urkel School of Science or the Willy Gilligan Institute for Marine Biology.

LOCAL | The Post created a nifty map that identifies date ideas near Metro stations. I’m not sure about the wisdom of relying on Metro to successfully deliver you to a date – especially on the weekends when the system basically stops functioning – but it’s still a cool map! (WaPo, 5/16)

British singer Laura Mvula is going to be huge. Check out her single That’s Alright – both the song and the video are fantastic.

Rebekah has the Daily tomorrow, so I wish you all a nice weekend. I will be attending six hundred different graduations – a consequence of having a big family, apparently!

- Christian

A few years ago, W.K. Kellogg Foundation program officer Tom Reis came to CEO Sterling Speirn with a double bottom line idea.

Rather than just pursuing the foundation’s mission through traditional grantmaking, Reis proposed using foundation assets to invest in for-profit businesses that related directly to Kellogg’s mission. He wanted to make what Kellogg came to call mission-driven investments. His plea was impassioned and it was research-based. The Board agreed and committed $100 million.

The outcomes have been impressive. They’ve generated an unexpected triple bottom line. The Kellogg Foundation has received a financial return on its investment, a social return through positive change on the problems it cares about, as well as what Speirn calls a learning return.

In eight months, Kellogg received a 26% return on their investment in Wireless Generation, a technology company that creates tools for personalized learning and teaching. Through the foundation’s investment in Revolution Foods, 200,000 healthy meals are being delivered to school children in nine states and the foundation has learned that school kitchens are often designed to re-heat frozen food, not to cook fresh food. And, through their investment in Acelero Learning, a for-profit company focused on efficiency and greater impact for Head Start, Kellogg is supporting higher salaries for teachers – an intervention that works to ensure retention of teachers while also obtaining better educational outcomes for children and economic security for families.

Last month, Speirn explored this model with WRAG CEOs. He acknowledged that every foundation doesn’t have what Kellogg did when it agreed to this work – an asset base in the billions, a broad mission statement that allows for an expansive determination of which businesses might help them further that mission, and a board and staff leadership team that was open to out-of-the-box thinking.

But he continued on to advise that the approach is flexible and can work at many levels, based on the given circumstances for each foundation. As he urged the WRAG CEOS to explore mission-driven investing, he poignantly noted, “We don’t always know the cost of success. We only know the cost of failure.”

For more information on mission related investing, visit:

- W.K. Kellogg Foundation – Mission Driven Investing
- Mission Investing Glossary
- Tools to get you started
- Confluence Philanthropy
- Mission Investors Exchange