Lumina Foundation has made a conscious decision to be publicly accountable for the goal it has set out. By being very public about its efforts, Lumina aims to create a sense of national sense of urgency around this work, while also recognizing the need to effectively communicate its message and bring in the right partners to help achieve the Foundation’s desired change.

Lumina’s leadership believes that its decision to be so public about the 2025 goal compels transparency. Lumina has developed internal evaluation systems and defined clear metrics to benchmark its progress, and every year, Lumina holds itself accountable in a public annual report, A Stronger Nation. As Merisotis explains, “Clearly, in committing to a quantifiable goal, we must hold ourselves accountable—to ourselves, to our board and to the public—for progress toward that goal. And being accountable, quite literally, means counting. It’s an exercise we take very seriously. Lumina has devised a series of metrics — quantifiable points of progress, each tied to the strategies we have chosen to pursue and each contributing to some aspect of the goal.”

Lumina believes it has a responsibility to take on a leadership role. Beyond being a funder and grant maker, Lumina sees itself as a thought leader in the education field and beyond. For example, in publicly declaring the 2025 goal, Lumina asked others to join in its commitment. Similarly, Lumina seeks to find connections that cut across interests, groups, and even fields and sectors. The Foundation seeks to serve as a bridge between key stakeholders, and often between the public and private sectors. To this end, Lumina acts as a convener, encouraging and facilitating dialogue among all of the stakeholders who must be moved to embrace the goal. Lumina has recognized the importance of engaging the public policy sphere – primarily at the federal and state levels – and has on many occasions convened policymakers from different states in Indianapolis and elsewhere to meet in a manner that couldn’t happen in their home states. In another example of its leadership, Lumina has convened groups working on college access with groups that work on higher education effectiveness to create a bridge from access to postsecondary education to success through postsecondary education.

Dewayne Matthews said, “Many areas of our work end up being about networks. It’s about how you create and sustain the communities and the networks of actors who are brought together by this common cause.” The goal has indeed brought together groups that were not previously connected toward a shared agenda.

Read the full article about Lumina Foundation at Rockefeller Philanthropy Advisors.