Opportunity Insights, the Harvard University-based research group led by Dr. Raj Chetty, earlier this year published Changing Opportunity: Sociological Mechanisms Underlying Growing Class Gaps and Shrinking Race Gaps in Economic Mobility, which shows Charlotte moved from No. 50 to 38 in economic mobility (the ability of children from low-income families to climb the income ladder and thrive).

Charlotte is ranked No. 3 out of 50 on economic mobility progress, moving upward faster than peer cities. In addition, Mecklenburg is the only county in the country where low-income white children experienced no decline in economic mobility.

“Charlotte is a city that in many ways has and continues to be ahead in our approach to community progress,” says Sherri Chisholm, Executive Director of Leading on Opportunity, an organization formed in 2017 in response to the initial study, which advocates for and tracks the progress in Charlotte that is often not readily available to the public. “We refused to accept our low ranking, and made a commitment to improve lives in Charlotte.”

The study examines children born in 1992 across the United States — specifically focusing on the bottom 20 percent of income distribution (about $26,000 annual household income) — and compares the data to children born in 1978. Outcomes for children born in 1978 were the subject of the 2014 Chetty study, which ranked Charlotte last among the 50 largest US cities. 

The Changing Opportunity study shows racial gaps are closing, but class gaps are widening nationally, says Chetty, Director of Opportunity Insights. Low-income white children are doing worse or remaining the same, while low-income Black children are improving. “These results show that growing up in thriving communities — places where adults are employed and healthy and otherwise doing well —  have a tremendous effect on the next generation. The new data shows that opportunity can change and points to lessons on how to change intergenerational opportunity in a fairly rapid timeframe,” he says. 

Charlotte’s success in improving economic mobility may be in part due to the prevalence of economic connectedness, or the interaction between high (above-median) income people in low (below-median) income people’s communities and the likelihood low-income people will form friendships with the high (above-median) income people with whom they interact. Outcomes for low-income White, Hispanic, Asian and Native American children have not deteriorated in Charlotte as they have in other cities.

To support Dr. Chetty’s visit to Charlotte and further examine the new study and its implications for Charlotte, Leading on Opportunity worked with the Equitable Foundation to host two community roundtables in September, addressing specific groups: nonprofit/grassroots leaders and policy leaders/elected officials. 

The collaboration with Equitable (the brand name of Equitable Holdings, Inc.), a leading financial services company, was a natural fit, says Chisholm, as the Equitable Foundation makes an impact by connecting and inspiring people. 

“At Equitable, we believe in being a Force for Good within the communities where we live and work,” says Jarian Kerekes, Head of Social Impact and Equitable Foundation. “It’s about building up our surrounding communities and recognizing we’re stronger together – as a team, as a company and as a community.” 

More than 100 community members attended the economic mobility roundtables, engaging with a distinguished panel of experts on topics pertaining to their sector of the wider collaborative work. 

The carefully curated events, held at Community Matters Cafe in Charlotte, offered attendees access to Dr. Chetty and his team in an unprecedented way, allowing for an exchange of ideas in a safe, comfortable space. 

“Charlotte understands the level of commitment necessary to continue to improve,” Chisholm says. “Through Leading on Opportunity and supporters such as the Equitable Foundation, the city has provided a roadmap on what it means to truly define and impact economic mobility.”
Additional sponsors of events surrounding Dr. Chetty’s visit include Bank of America, Deloitte, The Gambrell Foundation and Novant Health.

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Link: Home (workforcealmanac.com)

How it can be used

• Policymakers, including state and local workforce boards, can integrate the Almanac data with other more granular information to improve their decision-making on resource allocation and to work more strategically with training providers serving their areas.
• Philanthropies can find communities with a high need for investment and better inform their grant-making strategies.
• Training providers can explore what other providers may have coverage in the areas they are looking to serve for benchmarking or collaboration purposes.
• Intermediaries and employers can better understand the local and regional training provision landscape to match learners and workers to existing training opportunities, or from training to employment opportunities.
• Researchers in the field can explore other geospatial dimensions of this data – including local labor markets, metropolitan areas, and rural areas–to produce new insights into the workforce development sector.
• We are just beginning to learn where practitioners and researchers will take this open access data to improve workforce training pathways.

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New Education Coalition Catalyzing Change in College and Career Readiness

In an unprecedented show of cooperation, nine Charlotte-Mecklenburg nonprofits have formed the Crescent Coalition, a collaboration to support under-resourced students along their educational journey. For too long, nonprofits such as these have tried to change students’ futures alone, but the task is daunting.

The graduation rate for students in Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools (CMS) has declined from 88% in 2015 to 83.6% in 2022. Even after graduation, only 30% of students enrolled in Charlotte’s area colleges graduate on time (Opportunity Compass, 2023). Yet, the Opportunity Task Force report, released in 2017, identified that improving students’ college and career readiness would be essential for changing the future of local upward mobility. Despite its importance, persistent barriers continue to exist for students pursuing college and career pathways.

Two Executive Directors – Dr. Michael Friedland (Friedland Foundation) and Aaron Randolph (Carolina Youth Coalition) – wondered how much more of an impact they could make on students’ lives if college and career readiness organizations could form a collaborative network.

“We noticed that an unintentional collaboration by multiple organizations helped one of our students overcome challenging circumstances, and we reasoned that a structured network of support could be incredibly powerful for many more students”, says Aaron Randolph, Executive Director of Carolina Youth Coalition.

Randolph teamed up with Dr. Friedland to create the Crescent Coalition, named  after a pattern of neighborhood segregation –“the crescent and wedge”– that has defined Charlotte and, far too-often, students’ outcomes for decades. 

      Comprised of nine nonprofit partners, the Crescent Coalition – Carolina Youth Coalition, Friedland Foundation, Gardhouse, GenOne, Greater Steps Scholars, Road to Hire, The Academy of Goal Achievers, UrbanPromise, and Wayfinders – convened for the first time in February 2022. As Ian Joyce, Executive Director of GenOne shared, “The general camaraderie and community for leaders of emerging college and career readiness organizations has made this work far less lonely, as we lean into each other’s expertise when we are experiencing challenges.” 

            Equitable, a leading financial services company, and Leading on Opportunity provided start-up resources so that Crescent Coalition partners could focus on maximizing the impact of nine unique organizations tackling common challenges together. Equitable offered support through Equitable Foundation, the company’s charitable giving arm. “The first meeting of the Crescent Coalition was powerful,” recalled Dr. Virginia Covill, Deputy Director of Leading on Opportunity. “The group was immediately committed to breaking down silos so that they could have a greater collective impact on students’ college and career readiness outcomes.”

            “College access and career readiness are key areas of priority in Equitable’s work to build stronger communities,” said Jarian Kerekes, Head of Social Impact and Community Engagement at Equitable. “Additionally, Charlotte, N.C. is home to one of our largest offices—making it an area of interest in for us, so connecting our resources and big systems to this unique coalition was a no-brainer.”

Along with collaboration, the Coalition organizations are committed to sharing best practices and information. Randolph reflects, “It sends a powerful message to our community, and even the youth we serve, that we can set aside any egos and work together toward the larger goal of increasing opportunities for post-secondary pathways throughout our city.”

The Crescent Coalition benefits all students because we can collaborate on programs and services that will help them thrive, said GenOne’s Joyce.”

In its first year, the Coalition created shared goals, participated in professional development together at the National College Attainment Network (NCAN), and coordinated shared college tours for more than 100 students. Equitable’s support of Crescent Coalition was key to ensuring that the members could attend and collaborate at NCAN, a membership and advocacy association focused on closing equity gaps in postsecondary attainment for all students. In addition to underwriting registration for all Crescent Coalition Members, Equitable has made NCAN membership available at no cost to members each year.

The coalition is eager to sustain and build upon its early success. Last month, the Crescent Coalition hosted speakers from the College Foundation of North Carolina (CFNC) to help approximately 200 families learn about navigating financial aid and paying for postsecondary pathways, including where to find resources for scholarships, such as Equitable Excellence®.

“Our team at Equitable is pleased to have played a role in the CFNC night and we are looking forward to hosting other college access collaborations with the coalition that help provide pathways to postsecondary access for students in our community,” Kerekes said.

Hosting the event as a coalition allowed the participating organizations to share staff and other event costs, and most importantly allows them to reach more families.  “My hope is that the Crescent Coalition can grow, sustain and become a model for collaboration that other nonprofit sectors in Charlotte can look to as a way to tackle the complex challenges facing youth and families today,” Randolph says.

Partnering organizations of the Crescent Coalition include Carolina Youth Coalition, Friedland Foundation, GardHouse, GenOne Charlotte, Greater Steps Scholars, Road to Hire, The Academy of Goal Achievers, Inc , Urban Promise, and Wayfinders.

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This project aims to change the narrative and provide solutions for individuals and their families looking to prosper. This site provides resources on evidence-based practices, programs, and policies designed to improve outcomes that mitigate the impact of the benefits cliff and drive upward economic mobility. Read More: https://benefitscliffcommunitylab.org/

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Access Here: https://blackwealthdata.org/wealth-indicator?firstCounty=Mecklenburg%20County,%20North%20Carolina&secondCounty=national

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Read More about Leading on Opportunity’s very own Tonya Jameson: https://www.charlottemagazine.com/life-lessons-tonya-jameson/

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The launch of this new visualization is a major step forward in the effort to improve the lives of local families after a 2014 national study ranked Charlotte last in economic mobility. While Charlotte’s focus on improving economic mobility has been heralded nationwide, measuring the combined impact has been elusive until now.

Read More: https://philanthropyfocus.org/opportunitycompass/

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Read More: https://www.wfae.org/race-equity/2022-12-09/new-tool-helps-charlotte-measure-progress-on-economic-mobility

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