Ideas Pour In for How to Bet a Billion Dollars on Social Mobility

By James H. Shelton, Debby Bielak, and Devin Murphy

Back in June, in his role as a Fellow with The Bridgespan Group, our co-author Jim Shelton shared a question that all of us at Bridgespan grappled with: How could a philanthropist make the biggest improvement in social mobility with an investment of $1 billion?

We asked for suggestions from the public for ways to respond, and many did — including Jim in his continuing role as a Fellow. And we want to share an update on some of what we’ve learned so far, even as we continue to crystalize our thoughts. First, a bit of background:

How could a philanthropist make the biggest improvement in social mobility with an investment of $1 billion?

Over the past 10 months, we have been seeking ways to improve social mobility with big-bet philanthropic giving. We know from other research that Bridgespan has conducted, summarized in “Making Big Bets for Social Change,” that there is a large gap in the aspirations of philanthropists wanting to give to social change efforts and their actual giving. To help close that gap, Bridgespan colleagues have sought the best ideas for how philanthropists might give based on areas where researchers, practitioners, and funders are seeing some progress. One such area is early childhood education. Bridgespan recently published a report, Achieving Kindergarten Readiness for All Our Children: A Funder’s Guide to Early Childhood Development from Birth to Five, that outlined 13 ways philanthropists might invest in early childhood education.

For the question we posted in June, we wanted to go beyond early childhood and look across a range of factors affecting people living in poverty. So, we assembled an advisory board comprising 18 leaders of nonprofits, think tanks, and foundations; reviewed research from over 200 reports, policy briefs, and books on the topic of social mobility; and conducted dozens of interviews with practitioners to test theories against on-the-ground realities. Last, but certainly not least, we appealed to the public for concept papers to surface great ideas that we might have missed through our normal research approach.

We are grateful to have received nearly 50 responses that offered a number of powerful and feasible ideas to enhance social mobility. We recognize that we set the bar high for submissions and appreciate that so many people contributed ideas. In a future set of postings and publications, we will be sharing a summary of our research, but for now we want to preview what we learned from the submissions.

They came from local community-based organizations, national associations, think tanks, independent researchers, and field practitioners. This trove of great ideas hailed from all areas of the country: from longstanding Bridgespan collaborators, as well as from people wholly new to us.

Authors proposed solutions that ranged from providing direct cash transfers to scaling specific direct-service organizations, to supporting community collaboration efforts, to investing in research and use of data to inform government decision making. Some ideas pushed at the edges of innovation within the social sector (using “big data” and new technology to target needs or building on new neuroscience research connecting toxic stress to impaired development). Some submissions pushed on familiar themes with renewed interest and tactics (reforming educational systems, providing jobs, expanding entrepreneurship, and building affordable housing).

The breadth of the submissions also made it clear that the issues confronting people trapped in poverty are deeply interrelated. While many ideas were aimed at achieving discrete outcomes, collectively they emphasized that supporting real progress for individuals and families requires connected and continuous support.

The response surpassed our hopes and evidenced the deep wisdom of many across the social sector.

The breadth of the submissions also made it clear that the issues confronting people trapped in poverty are deeply interrelated. While many ideas were aimed at achieving discrete outcomes, collectively they emphasized that supporting real progress for individuals and families requires connected and continuous support.

We are nearing the end of our initial research. Our next steps are to identify ways to share publicly the concepts we received within a practical frame to help tell the story of how philanthropists can make a difference. Please stay tuned over the coming months as we test this frame and calibrate the specific ideas that were developed.

Meanwhile, thank you to every individual and organization who submitted concept papers. We look forward to continuing the conversation.

Debby Bielak is a partner and Devin Murphy is a manager in Bridgespan’s San Francisco office.