Enhancing community economic ecosystems 

From a report by Truist Foundation

Can philanthropy act as an enabler to enhance entire ecosystems? What would it take to create long-term change within communities of the greatest need?

In 2021, Truist Foundation in the USA embarked on a journey to reimagine how funding could help enable economic mobility, build capacity within communities, and lead to long-term, widespread impact. Wide-ranging discussions and research considered different philanthropic funding models, the Truist Foundation’s endowment structure, how to define “communities of greatest need,” and how to measure success.

This foundational work clarified that creating economic mobility requires a strategic funding approach that touches on three components of an integrated community system:

• the individual beneficiaries,
• the grantees with the knowledge and savvy about what their communities need most, and
• an ecosystem of partners who could scale impact.

Truist Foundation pivoted to embrace these ideas and insights. Their funding is now narrowed to two strategic pillars for improving economic mobility. Grantees must meet criteria demonstrating their ability to:

1. Strengthen small businesses by providing access to capital and training, or
2. Build career pathways to economic mobility by equipping essential workers and unemployed adults with the tools they need to move into middle-skill jobs.

They have developed a suite of indicators that measure outcomes like job creation and economic mobility that allow them to see impact across their  grants. Grantees use a shared platform to provide outcome data.

Truist Foundation also fund initiatives that influence ecosystem development:

• Formation of coalitions and networks focused on economic mobility
• Research and knowledge sharing
• Shared information and practical experience in addressing specific barriers to economic mobility
• Policy change advocacy at state and federal level

What have been the results?

Significant impact in the communities they serve:

• 42,700 workers created or retained employment.
• Small business owners supported by grantees created or retained over 26,000 jobs.
• Supported non-profits placed nearly 16,000 workers into jobs.
• 86% of jobs were for full-time work.
• Improvements in financial well-being far exceed the US national average.  
• More than 18,000 small businesses were directly impacted by the work of our non-profit partners.
• 56% of businesses supported were owned by low- to moderate-income individuals.
• Grantees provided more than 178,000 hours of training and technical assistance to small businesses.
• Grantees provided capital to small business owners through more than 1,300 loans and 3,800 grants.
• Small business owners saw a 16% average increase in 12-month revenue, and a 14% average increase in financial well-being score. 

Their purpose now is to inspire and build better lives and communities. By partnering with non-profit organizations across their markets, they're helping them innovate and make a meaningful difference in the lives of those they serve.

Download the report, Scaling for Impact, from here.