MDC

Education: we believe education is a fundamental building block for economic mobility and security. MDC supports communities to improve educational systems and increase equitable outcomes. We work with organizations, leaders, and communities to identify and overcome barriers to educational success.great expectations: MDC serves as the activating agency for the kate b. reynolds charitable trust's great expectations early childhood initiative, a $40 million, 10-year investment focused on ensuring children in forsyth county enter kindergarten ready to learn and leave set for success in school and life - regardless of their race, location, or economic status.learning for equity: a network for solutions (lens-nc): MDC has partnered with oak foundation, under their learning differences programme, to learn more about the intersection of race, educational equity, and learning differences and to advance stronger policy and practice by building a learning and action network across north carolina called lens-nc.my future nc: MDC advised and supported the work of my future nc, a commission of north carolina's leaders to improve post-secondary completion rates in the state and find ways to help adults with some college, but no degree, cross the post-secondary finish line. Transferring success: a report by MDC to the ecmc foundation that examined transfer practices and experiences at four southern community colleges, observed how institutional practices, federal and state policies, and student mindset and behavior affected transfer students.

Equity centered philanthropy and leadership: MDC helps leaders and institutions invest resources to create equitable systemic change. We support and guide foundations and grant-making organizations as they develop the focus, strategy, capacity, and culture the south requires to reduce poverty and advance equity in education, community development, health, and family economic security.equity centered leadership and the equity centered leadership institute: in 2004, MDC began to work deeply with boards of directors and senior staff of foundations to examine how they could refocus their activities and deploy their assets to address the issues of fairness and opportunity in their communities. We called the resulting process passing gear philanthropy. Inspired by paul ylvisaker's notion of philanthropy as society's "passing gear and informed by the concept of "reflective practice" as developed by donald a. schn, passing gear philanthropy is grounded in the belief that to move wisely into the future requires deep understanding of our past and present.mdc expanded its passing gear philanthropy practice in 2020 with creation of the passing gear philanthropy institute, a cohort of four grantmaking organizations building upon their understanding of passing gear practices to help them move more of their investments upstream to create systemic change. Much has changed since our work began nearly 20 years ago. For this reason, passing gear philanthropy has evolved into equity centered philanthropy, which seeks to support a relational, ethical, and collaborative process of people and institutions fostering positive change that addresses the systemic impact of racial equity at the intersections of economic, gender, and other types of equity.autry fellowship: each year, MDC recruits a talented and passionate recent college graduate for a one-year fellowship that provides opportunities to work alongside MDC staff on a range of projects addressing pressing issues of equity in the south. The autry fellowship program celebrates the life of and perpetuates the work of the late george b. autry, founding president of MDC.

Economic security and mobility: MDC helps develop programs that change systems to advance family economic security and education-to-career success. These programs enable families and communities to weather hard times and sustain economic progress. For individuals, that means gaining access to work supports that empower them to rise out of poverty with resources to feed their families, grow their savings, and stay in school. For communities, it means building the capacity and supporting front-line, community-based organizations with tools and strategies to reach people who otherwise may not take advantage of financial and educational supports available to them.southern partnership to reduce debt (sprd): MDC is a national partner of the srpd initiative, sponsored by the annie e. casey foundation. Sprd is a network of more than 20 state and local organizations working throughout Alabama, Arkansas, Georgia, north carolina, south carolina, Tennessee, and Texas to tackle consumer debt issues that perpetuate wealth and income inequality.build up initiative: the build up initiative brings the innovative integrated services delivery network approach to local communities and builds up community capacity for using integrated services delivery (isd). This is a proven approach for bundling work, health, and income supports; education, training, and career advancement; and financial education and coaching. The first community to build an isd network is guilford county, nc, with united way of greater greensboro serving as the coordinating organization and working with direct service providers.network for southern economic mobility (nsem): MDC provides coaching, technical assistance and facilitated peer-learning services for leaders from seven southern communities who are committed to increasing upward economic mobility for youth and young adults in the lowest income brackets.rural forward: created in 2014 to support the nonprofit, clinical, and human service sectors within the kate b. reynolds charitable trust's healthy places nc (hpnc) initiative, rural forward continues to support hpnc counties, and expanded our services across north carolina, the us south, and at the national level. No matter scope, we are focused on supporting individual leaders, organizations, and coalitions with the capacity building, strategic planning, coaching, facilitation, and resource development tools they need to: strengthen their skills as individual leaders to vision and manage effectively; build the capacity and sustainability of their organizations to fulfill their missions and improve their communities; and network efforts within and beyond the county that promote the long-term health of rural nc.north carolina inclusive disaster recovery network (ncidr): ncidr is a collaborative of public, private, non-profit, and faith organizations seeking avenues for community voice and equitable access to resources in a disaster recovery system. Working with the network is a way for statewide organizations to be good allies for community-based organizations engaged in on-the-ground disaster recovery. Rural forward serves as the convener and facilitator for ncidr.rural lead: funded by the robert wood johnson foundation, rural lead is designed to help funders and the field of stakeholders interested in helping rural places understand how to better support rural leadership. MDC is the regional, southeastern partner for rural lead, building on our long history of advancing rural leadership development and helping foundations learn what leaders are struggling with; what they see as needs and gaps; and what the role of national players and funders could be.

State of the south: for more than 25 years, MDC's landmark state of the south report has been a major resource and reference for policymakers and practitioners, offering rigorous, insightful views of the south through the twin lenses of equity and competitiveness. It has been, and always will be, a key to achieving MDC's mission of equipping southern institutions and communities to advance equity and improve economic mobility; it is a tool MDC uses to move from thought to action. Recently, we re-envisioned the state of the south and expanded upon traditional quantitative analysis to weave together community conversations (in person and virtual), artistic expression, online content, and a series of reports to explore how - and if - southerners are reckoning with this moment of economic, social, and environmental upheaval.