Commitment to Community

Ideally, partners should have meaningful connections with both grassroots organizations and institutional partners that prioritize opportunities for all Arkansans. These networks should demonstrate commitment to one or more of the following:

• Reconfigure our economy through equitable policies that enable all Arkansans to earn a living wage or above and to build wealth to sustain themselves, their families, and their communities
• Transform our education systems, from birth to career, to equitably educate and train all Arkansans and eliminate those parts of the system that produce disparate outcomes
• Empower a movement that informs, educates, and activates a critical mass of people who are dedicated to the cause of social, ethnic, and racial equity for all Arkansans.

Clear Analysis and Strategies

Partners have clear, promising strategies for moving people and places out of poverty especially through institutional or policy change at the local and state levels. These strategies should flow from an understanding of short-term and long-term challenges and opportunities in their places.

Networks, Alliances, and Resources

We look for goal-oriented, flexible relationships among the nonprofit, public and private sectors to leverage resources and achieve impact. Networks may be formal or informal, short-term or long-term, and structured in a variety of ways.

Long-term Thinking

We are interested in people and organizations that take a long-term view of what is required for people and places to move toward equity, and systems and policy changes that open doors to democratic participation and economic opportunities.

Strategic and Innovative Ideas

We are interested in building critical infrastructure in local communities and statewide. We support catalytic opportunities to make significant change or leverage significant resources that will have lasting impact on the lives of as many people and communities as possible.

Above all, we are open to new thinking about how to address the question of equity in Arkansas. We try new approaches to achieve maximum economic and educational opportunity, systems and policy change, and positive civic engagement outcomes. These ideas and actions must clearly advance economic, educational, social, ethnic, and racial equity in Arkansas.