Supporting Spaces of Joy, Belonging, and Leadership for LGBTQ+ Youth: Learnings from How the Washington Youth Initiative Invested in the LGBTQ+ Youth-Serving Ecosystem in Washington State

This report provides a comprehensive analysis of the findings and lessons learned from a groundbreaking two-year pilot program funded by the Paul G. Allen Family Foundation. This initiative, designed to expand resources and capacity for LGBTQ+ youth-serving organizations in Washington, has demonstrated the transformative impact of targeted investment in these communities, especially those led by Queer, Trans, Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (QTBIPOC) and those serving rural areas.Over the two-year program, the initiative awarded over $1.6 million in flexible funding to 20 organizations, reaching more than 1,940 LGBTQ+ youth with leadership development opportunities and strengthening the capacity of youth-serving organizations across Washington State.Key findings from the report include:Persistent disparities: LGBTQ+ youth, particularly BIPOC and trans youth, face structural and systemic barriers that limit access to essential resources like housing, mental health care, and leadership opportunities.The power of community-driven solutions: Youth emphasized the need for spaces that foster radical joy, connectedness, and belonging, underscoring the importance of by-and-for LGBTQ+ programming.Urgency for systemic change: The ongoing anti-LGBTQ+ backlash requires funders to invest in organizations that address systemic inequities while reducing burnout among staff and promoting sustainable practices.The report also outlines recommendations for the philanthropic sector, urging funders to increase the impact of grant awards by providing multi-year, general operating support, simplifying application processes, and incorporating feedback from grantees and LGBTQ+ youth

Impacts of Learning Communities for Institutional Change & Excellence (LCICE): Summary of Evaluation Results

This summary provides key findings from a study looking at the impacts of the Learning Communities for Institutional Change & Excellence programs

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Finance and farming: Understanding development finance and industrial animal agriculture in Vietnam

This report examines the role of public development banks in financing industrial animal agriculture in Vietnam, highlighting the complex interplay between economic development goals, food security, and environmental sustainability. Vietnam's livestock sector, dominated by pig and poultry production, is undergoing a significant transition from traditional smallholder farming to industrial animal agriculture, driven by government policies, rising local and global meat demand, and corporate investment. Despite climate commitments, public development banks like the World Bank Group and Asian Development Bank continue to provide significant funding for industrial livestock operations, feed production, and processing infrastructure in Vietnam. This financing often contradicts sustainability goals and contributes to environmental degradation, while transparency and accountability remain significant challenges. The report explores the institutional drivers behind this funding, including deeply embedded beliefs in development banks about animal protein's importance for nutrition and development. In addition to identifying structural barriers to change, the report also points out emerging opportunities, such as growing recognition of sustainability issues and rising consumer awareness. For frontline organizations and policymakers, the report provides practical recommendations to redirect development finance toward sustainable alternatives, from leveraging accountability frameworks to promoting transition finance models that support smallholders and regenerative agriculture practices, ultimately calling for a just agricultural transition in Vietnam

Roads to Democracy: Miscegenation, US Liberalism, and Race Relations in Brazil

This report reflects studies I carried out at the Rockefeller Archive Center in my interest to analyze Ford Foundation records related to the formation of the Black movement in Brazil from the time of the country's transition to liberal democracy in the 1980s. My broader research framework comprises the theory of democracy in the context of the different meanings with which it has been framed in Brazilian history. On the global stage, Brazil was once regarded as a successful example of a democratic race relations country. In the 1950s, it was seen as a country where people of any color or origin could make a living without mounting hatred, discrimination, segregation, or other race-based conflict. Even an authentic, national concept of democracy was taken up in the country's international relations promoting a positive image abroad. However, over the last decades, US foundation-supported social scientists, social movements, and state actors have criticized this democratic concept, defending liberal democracy instead. In the 1990s, growing and increasingly stronger over the last years, a modernization-centered, international antiracism agenda superseded the national model, setting stage for affirmative action aimed at integrating minorities into Brazilian society. In this regard, the questions I wish to look at are: What have these actors stood for? Why has liberal democracy been deemed better than social and ethnic democracy? And how have they branded Brazil's potential for polyarchy before international stakeholders

Granting Movement: The Impact of Cultural Philanthropy on African American Concert Dance in the 1960s and 1970s

This research report addresses the influence of cultural philanthropy on African American concert dance during the 1960s and 1970s. This period, known as the postwar "dance boom," saw significant philanthropic support for the performing arts from institutions such as the Ford Foundation and the Rockefeller Brothers Fund. Although Black dancemakers received less funding than white-led ballet companies, they nonetheless used their grants to innovate aesthetically and broaden the sociopolitical role of dance in American life through publications, community-based performances, and educational workshops. Using examples from the grant application files of Carole Johnson (founder of the Modern Organization for Dance Evolvement) and Alvin Ailey (director of the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater), this report reveals how Black dancemakers leveraged modest grants to propel their artistic and civic missions, blending dance forms and fostering community engagement with their art. In so doing, the report also underscores the archival significance of grant application files, which contain key insight into artists' creative ideas and intentions. Ultimately, the report concludes that it is essential to assess "offstage" dynamics of funding and production in order to appreciate dance's cultural significance and real-world impact

2025 Democracy Briefer for Funders : What's Happening to European Democracy and What Funders Can Do About It

The concept of democratic backsliding has sparked heated debates across the global stage. Is it a serious threat, or is it more of a perceived danger? If it is a real phenomenon, what evidence supports its existence and what does this say about its severity? Are some regions more vulnerable, or is no nation truly immune to it? What can philanthropy do to address this issue?This in-depth explainer explores the subtle nature of democratic backsliding and its causes, to provide a comprehensive understanding of this complex issue, enabling philanthropic organisations to develop appropriate strategies that address the multidimensional challenges democratic backsliding presents. The political developments, both in Europe and globally, highlight not only the challenges but also the opportunities to strengthen and revitalise democratic governance. As Europe faces shifts in its political landscape, there is a growing recognition of the importance of safeguarding democratic values and institutions.This explainer takes a look at the key indicators of democratic backsliding and root causes driving it, drawing on a wide body of evidence from published research to offer insights into the current state of democracy and opportunities to seize

State High School Graduation Requirements, Their Impact, & Examples of Change

In November 2024, Massachusetts voters chose to stop requiring high school students to pass the 10th grade MCAS in order to graduate. This decision left Massachusetts as one of just two states without any statewide graduation requirement, opening up increased variation from district to district on the meaning of a high school diploma.Barr commissioned Bellwether Education Partners to examine available research on the implementation and impact of high school graduation policies in other U.S. states.Â

Youth Participation Index : Monitoring Report of Political, Social and Economic Participation of Youth 2023

Creating space for youth participation is immensely important and recognised in many public policies, research studies, and official statements. And yet, states and municipalities often fail to establish such spaces. This is evident when many young people are out of education and quality jobs, and they remain absent in places of formal political decision-making. Still, they are present in statistics on poverty and social support. Sometimes, the lack of youth participation may be perceived as a result of their disengagement, lack of motivation, or interest. Thus, when young people do participate, sometimes through methods of participation such as protests and demonstrations, this may seem surprising. Their engagement implies that their scarce involvement cannot be attributed to their lack of motivation but to the shortcomings of adequate institutional support.Eight years ago, the Youth Hub for Western Balkans and Türkiye Network (YHWBT Network) developed the Youth Participation Index (YPI) to summarise data on barriers to youth participation and provide a concrete data-driven tool for policymakers and youth organisations to improve it. This Index aims to provide a comprehensive overview of opportunities for youth through the lens of 25 political, economic, and social participation indicators. The data in this Index does not refer to the outcome – how frequently and in which ways young people participate, but to inputs – political, economic, and social contexts that shape youth opportunities to do so. The eighth edition of this Index includes, for the first time, data from Bosnia and Herzegovina and Kosovo, thus providing comprehensive information on youth participation in the region

The Dawn of Rural Public Health in Japan: Support by the Rockefeller Foundation before and during World War II

The Rockefeller Foundation was involved in the earliest days of modern preventive healthcare in Japan. Its strategy of promoting primary health care by means of clinics and health centers staffed by public health nurses, trained through fellowship opportunities in the US, expanded to Japan in the late 1920s. The first organized rural public health initiative in Japan was in 1933 in Kanagawa Prefecture, staffed by seven public health nurses from St. Luke's Hospital and afforded valuable training in the context of rural public health. The idea of a rural health center had been discussed for some years and the successes seen in Kanagawa made clear their potential. Nevertheless, the rural health center was not a top priority. Finding the public finances to establish it was a lengthy process which only came after the founding of an urban health center in Tokyo, opened in 1935. The first rural health center was established in 1938 with leadership roles taken by staff who had received Rockefeller Foundation fellowships. Around the same time, the Davison Fund was supporting a rural public health initiative - Miyoshi Aikoen Nursery - led by a member of the Methodist Episcopal Church, South. The health program in this center was greatly influenced by St. Luke's leaders and the public health nurse who worked there was a former Rockefeller Foundation fellowship recipient