Since the Nellie Mae Education Foundation began our journey through an equity assessment process over a year ago, we’ve been taking a hard look in the mirror to examine the way we operate, structure our grantmaking, and organize our strategy. This process has not always been an easy one, but it has been an important self-reflective journey for us as an organization. I want to share what we’re learning about ourselves through this journey.

  1. NMEF’s Big Goal — 80% College and Career Readiness for New England Students by 2030 — holds promise, but our current approaches to grantmaking block the full integration of an equity analysis, thus limiting its ability to influence all of our efforts.
  2. Student-centered learning holds potential resonance with equity, but thus far has not fulfilled that potential and possibly poses some barriers.
  3. NMEF can bring a more consistent equity lens to its grantmaking practices.
  4. NMEF’s organizational structure and culture can cause challenges to equity being integrated into strategy and practice across the foundation.
  5. We have the potential to lead with both boldness and humility to advance equity in the region.
  6. Board and staff have growing capacity for equity and require steadfast attention and investment in this learning.

Read the full article about equity assessment by Nick Donohue on Medium.