Anchor institutions, such as colleges and universities, hospitals and health-care facilities, utilities, faith-based organizations and museums have a role to play in driving economic growth. This brief is an introduction to developing and implementing an anchor strategy that can advance equity and economic inclusion in order to promote regional prosperity. It provides actionable recommendations for federal Economic Resilience and Sustainable Communities grantees and their broad range of regional partners.

Full report.

In 2015, PolicyLink released a framework and policy agenda for inclusive cities. Since this time, the All-In Cities initiative has worked to build community power, forge innovative partnerships, and support government leaders and community coalitions in advancing racial economic inclusion and equitable growth in cities. This progress report describes our approach, the impact of our work thus far, and lays out a vision for the future.

Systemic failures in the financial sector led to the financial crisis of 2007-2008 and the Great Recession that followed. These crises disproportionately impacted low- and moderate-income (LMI) communities of color through job loss, foreclosures and an unprecedented loss of wealth. During the recession, Latinos’ household wealth declined by 66%, and African Americans’ by 53%, while White households lost 16%. Ten years after the financial crisis, communities of color have yet to fully recover, and the financial system has failed to solve the problems that devastated communities of color. To help the most impacted communities recover and rebuild, the banking and financial services industry must increase their focus on serving LMI households, businesses, and communities of color. This report explores key opportunities within the banking industry, policy, and regulation that can lead to financial inclusion for all.

This is the first in a series of briefs that describe the changes, insights, and lessons when arts and cultural strategies are deployed in service of comprehensive community development and planning. During ArtPlace America's Community Development Investments initiative, six participating organizations developed creative placemaking projects that could help them more effectively achieve their missions. PolicyLink conducted a research and documentation project to measure the progress, immediate outcomes, and impacts of those projects. This brief examines how these organizations learned to work with artists and develop collaborative practices.

Explore more about our research and documentation project at communitydevelopment.art.

In California last year, the state intercepted over $300 million in child support payments that should have gone to low-income children and their families. Every year, hundreds of thousands of poor children across the state receive just a fraction of the child support payments made by their parents. That’s because, despite having the fifth largest economy in the world, California takes all but the first $50 of every child support payment made to children who receive public benefits and uses it to reimburse the government for the cost of providing those benefits. This report was a collaborative effort with organizations such as the Insight Center for Community Economic Development and Western Center on Law & Poverty to raise awareness of the unfair system that deprives poor children of critical resources, particularly children of color, and lift up recommendations for reform.

Mirroring national trends, Pinellas County in Florida is becoming more diverse. In the next few decades, the majority of the county’s residents will be people of color from a rich variety of racial and ethnic backgrounds. As a result, the success and prosperity of the county rely on dismantling unjust barriers and ensuring that everyone can participate in and enjoy the benefits of a thriving economy. This profile illustrates how disparities in income, housing, educational attainment, and many other areas are costing Pinellas County billions of dollars in potential economic growth each year. In addition, the accompanying summary offers several promising strategies that have been used across the country to eliminate barriers and advance equity. Both the profile and summary were developed by PolicyLink and the Program for Environmental and Regional Equity (PERE) at USC, in partnership with UNITE Pinellas. Read the profile and summary.

Media: Report: With Population Shifts on the Way, Pinellas Needs to Change (Tampa Bay Times), Study: Addressing Racial Inequities Would Boost Pinellas County GDP by $3.6 Billion (St. Pete Catalyst), First-ever Countywide Equity Assessment Spotlights Need for Change (Tampa Bay Newspapers), Insight Action, Not Data Collection, Required to Create Nutrition Equity in St. Petersburg (St. Pete Catalyst)

Summarizes the report that delves in detail into issues of race and place and what they mean in the context of building healthy communities--dynamic groups and initiatives are featured to illuminate action at the intersection of health, place, and race.

People of color in the United States experience poorer health and more premature, preventable mortality than their White counterparts. Although health care companies prioritize achieving health equity, their efforts often focus on disparities caused by poverty, education, and disability without explicitly addressing how structural racism significantly raises the risk of poor health for people of color. Corporate diversity and inclusion efforts, while helpful, are not sufficient to counter biases in clinical practice or access to health care. By better serving communities of color, health care companies can deliver better outcomes and strengthen their own economic performance.

A follow-up to The Competitive Advantage of Racial Equity, developed in partnership with FSG, this report focuses on actions taken by companies in the health care sector to create business value by addressing the unique challenges faced by communities of color. The companies featured in this report—ProMedica, Kaiser Permanente, Cigna, and UnitedHealth Group—have adopted several business strategies that improve health outcomes for people of color and create a competitive advantage through reduced costs, avoided readmissions, and greater member satisfaction.

Top Takeaways

1. For health care organizations to achieve health equity, it is essential to have an explicit focus on racial equity.
2. Leading health care providers and commercial insurance companies are redesigning the ways in which they provide core services to better meet the needs of people of color and they are making investments to improve community conditions that affect health.
3. These companies also have strong internal catalysts that enable them to implement strategies—including a diverse employee base that feels included, strong leadership that understands why race matters, and an organizational structure that connects equity to business goals.

Find all related material for The Corporate Racial Equity Advantage