Lessons in Homelessness Philanthropy

I want to continue to share what I'm learning about Philanthropy and Impact and how it is practiced and iterated at Life Science Cares. Sarah MacDonald , our CEO, recently shared insightful articles on lessons in homelessness intervention work with all Life Science Cares Executive Directors—a challenge we all are deeply committed to addressing in each of our sites. As I gear up to launch our new grant program, the emphasis on innovation, efficient upstream prevention, and thoughtful role design - specifically funder vs provider vs government - all resonated strongly with how I and the grant committee and our board are wanting to operate. Here are some of my takeaways as well as important excepts from these articles:

1. Embracing Innovation and Scalability through Private and Public Collaboration: A recent analysis of a housing pilot in the Bay Area, covered by the Chronicles of Philanthropy, highlights a significant takeaway: "Government funding has a lot of restrictions that private funding doesn’t necessarily have," says Cobbs. This underscores the pivotal role that private funding can play—not just in piloting initiatives but in showcasing their success to advocate for broader government support. Private capital, free from bureaucratic constraints, can act as a catalyst for scalable solutions.
2. The Critical Role of Direct Financial Assistance: The Los Angeles Times discusses the effectiveness of direct financial interventions for folks without stable housing. Daniel Flaming's observation offers a broader perspective: “The larger perspective is that homelessness is a result of economic inequality and income at least as much as it is a lack of affordable housing.” This supports the notion that we cannot simply build our way out of homelessness; financial tools like basic income must be utilized more broadly.
3. Funding Prevention to Tackle Homelessness at Its Roots: An initiative highlighted by The SF Standard stresses the importance of preventive measures. Allocating a significant portion of budgets to prevention can keep individuals and families from falling into homelessness. It is distressing when only 8% of a city's budget is targeting prevention on such a crucial issue.

These insights serve as a blueprint for what we can achieve through collaborative innovation and a multi-faceted approach to economic support. We will continue to push for solutions that not only address the symptoms of homelessness but also tackle its underlying causes. I hope you will join us!

To that end, our Board Chair Vin Milano made an incredible challenge at Impact Reception: he will be matching all donations (up to $100k) made in support of LSC, and is extending the match to last until Wednesday May 8th. Pledging support to LSC now counts double. Thousands of dollars have already come in as a result of this match challenge, so thank you. Let's keep it going. https://lifesciencecares.org/philly/donate/