I think the problem is that we’re thinking about poverty in the wrong way. The current focus is on what people lack: income, housing, etc. Yet I believe the better approach is to emphasize what they have: unique gifts and talents. Instead of temporarily filling in the gaps, I suggest we focus on empowering people to use their own abilities to rise permanently.

Well-intended programs can help, so long as we think about them the right way. If we really want to help the most vulnerable, it's important to identify the specific barriers holding people back. Then we can help them break through those barriers, person by person. Instead of the top-down approach, I believe we need to envision and establish a new bottom-up social economy.

I use the word “economy” for a reason. In the same way that businesses meet the specific needs of individual consumers, I think the social sector should work to address the unique situations of people struggling with poverty.

Also like the economy, we can find and reward the social entrepreneurs and community innovators who create new and better ways of empowering people. In the War on Poverty, I've observed that the typical programs often fail to adapt to a changing world. Essentially the only innovations we ever see are bigger programs and more money, when more transformative shifts are needed.

After 50-plus years of the top-down approach, it’s tempting to think there’s no other way. Can a wide variety of efforts really address the countless barriers related to poverty? Can a host of smaller, more tailored initiatives really make a dent in such a big problem?

In my view, the fact that so many doubts exist shows just how corrupted social sector thinking has become. The solutions are out there. They’re just often ignored. Many people have come to demand a single policy plan, imposed from on high, instead of a diversity of people-driven projects developed locally. We don’t need one-size-fits-all solutions. We need right-sized solutions—as many as it takes.

Read the full article about how nonprofits address poverty by Evan Feinberg at Forbes.