Playing the Long Game: Best Practices for Fighting Poverty

Like many Americans, my eyes have been glued to the television this March (Go Duke!) watching the NCAA Men’s and Women’s Tournaments. With each game, we witness buzzer-beater moments, remarkable coaching and teams giving their all. The magic of March Madness isn’t just in the final score?—?it’s in the teamwork, preparation and resilience behind every play.

The same is true in the social sector. While it’s tempting to focus on the “win”?—?eliminating poverty or achieving measurable outcomes?—?it’s easy to overlook the time, energy and strategy required to get there. Countless times, I have heard people ask, “Why can’t we just solve poverty?” Or, my favorite, “Let’s find a quick win.” But there are no quick wins in poverty. Like training for a championship, reducing poverty requires a long-term investment of time, energy and planning.

Poverty by the?Numbers

Recently, we have read heartening news?—?poverty rates are getting a little better, with 11.1 percent of the population living in poverty (n=37.9 million Americans). But look closer, and the picture is more troubling.

• Nationally, more than two out of every five households (44%) live in liquid asset poverty, which means many households do not have sufficient assets available to last 90 days should they lose their main source of income.
• Almost half of Americans with a high school diploma are living at or below the federal poverty level.

Within the social sector, we often say many Americans are “one crisis away.” Many Americans have too few resources?—?savings, investments, credit, insurance?—?to fall back on in the event of a job loss or economic downturn.

These staggering statistics are enough for many of us to want to quit the game. Instead of throwing in the towel, we need to join championship efforts and scale programs that work. We’ve made significant progress over the past 30 years in understanding and addressing the root causes of poverty, not just the symptoms.

From Safety Nets to Building?Assets

In 1991, Michael Wayne Sherraden’s groundbreaking book, Assets and the Poor: A New American Welfare Policy, changed how we think about poverty. He argued that financial insecurity doesn’t just harm families?—?it threatens the economy as a whole. His work helped shift the field from a safety-net model (giving a man a fish) to an asset-building model (teaching a man to fish).

As a result of Sherraden’s findings and other research, nonprofits evolved from offering knowledge-based education (like financial education classes) to providing behavior-based financial coaching to help develop action plans alongside our clients. We also learned to meet our clients where they are by helping them reduce debt, improve credit scores and create regular savings?—?not necessarily work toward home ownership or small business creation yet.

What’s Working: The Working Families Success?Model

The Annie E. Casey Foundation has taken these lessons a step further. The Foundation has developed an effective new model called Working Families Success, which delivers a “bundled” set of three core services (employment services, income support and financial coaching) with the goal of helping clients on a journey toward self-sufficiency. In measuring the model’s success, research has shown that clients who receive two or more services together are three to four times more likely to achieve a major outcome. This model promises to be a solution that can help us reduce asset poverty for many Americans.

How We Win?Together

Yet, for us to win together we need to take this innovative and impactful effort to scale. This means that all agencies serving individuals living in poverty need to either:

1. Provide comprehensive financial capacity services;
2. Or partner with an existing provider in the community who can assist with cross-referrals and on-site financial capacity services.

One of the best resources available on this topic is What It’s Worth, a fabulous free e-book compiled by the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco. It includes all the best thinking over the past two decades for you to implement?—?whether you are a nonprofit, funder, business, academic or policymaker.

The Final?Buzzer

There are no quick wins in poverty alleviation. But together, with research-backed models and coordinated community action, we can win the long game. Just like in basketball, the most meaningful victories come from teamwork, strategy and heart.

We would love to hear how your organization is implementing the Working Families Success model or other research-based models to help lift individuals and families out of poverty permanently.