JOBS
Knowing what “good” looks like when it comes to job quality has been a challenge. A guiding set of data to help companies navigate what to disclose, how to benchmark and where to prioritize workforce investment has been lacking – until now. JUST Capital released The JUST Jobs Scorecard, a data-driven interactive tool to help companies prioritize investments in their most important value creators: their workers. The tool assesses job quality performance on 31 data points across six key topic areas, helping companies understand where their performance stands against minimum, common and leading practice standards among America’s largest publicly traded companies.
HAITI
For the first time in U.S. history, the NCAA women’s basketball championship drew more viewers than the men’s championship game. But the U.S. isn’t the only place women’s sports are taking center stage. Despite formidable challenges in their home country, the Haitian women’s soccer team has garnered global attention. This was particularly true after their debut in the 2023 Women’s World Cup, where they were one of the youngest teams ever. Haitian journalist Magdala Louis has a piece about it on the site Africa is a Country. The article is part of a Kellogg Foundation grant, through which the International Women’s Media Foundation and Haitian magazine Woy are supporting local journalists in telling stories readers won’t find elsewhere.
EDUCATION
WKKF grantees Policy Equity Group and Southern Imaginations, along with other partners across the state, supported the Michigan Department of Lifelong Education, Advancement and Potential (MiLEAP) in releasing A Roadmap for Implementing Pre-K for All. The ambitious plan to make Michigan the national leader in pre-K enrollment was established after the grantees gathered data and sought input from parents, families, care providers, teachers and other stakeholders at community meetings across the state over a six-month period. The result is a plan to enroll 75% of 4-year-olds in Michigan in high-quality pre-K programs by 2027.
MICHIGAN
Detroit-based grantee Outlier Media, a groundbreaking nonprofit newsroom designed to center and respond to Detroiter’s needs, received the inaugural International Award for Local Media from the Asociación para la Investigación de Medios de Comunicación (the Association for Media Research), an organization based in Spain. Outlier received the juried prize for showing how local journalism can inform, engage and meet the needs of its citizenry, for being a newsroom led by diverse women, excellence in web design and the use of new communication methods to reach its community.
POLICY
To close the cracks in our child care system that were exposed by the pandemic, more public dollars are needed. Just as important is the need for a comprehensive approach to professionalizing the child care workforce, according to WKKF grantee the Bipartisan Policy Center (BPC). They shared this view in an op-ed in Governing focusing on findings in BPC’s new report, which outlines 10 steps state child care administrators can take to support a child care workforce. The op-ed says these state administrators are key to advancing the child care workforce. That’s because they have the authority to set requirements for the field and build infrastructure to sustain the sector.
IMPACT INVESTING
A new report from Tideline & Impact Capital Managers showcases the distinct approaches impact investors can bring to value creation that drives financial performance while increasing economic opportunities in communities. The insightful report includes a case study and webinar highlighting Acelero, a WKKF investee and early childhood education platform. The materials demonstrate how Acelero, which offers tech-enabled services in low-income communities, secured values-aligned growth capital from BlackRock & The Builders Fund to expand its business.
