6100 foundation place drive power of partnerships annual ...€¦ · some say it takes a village,...

Power of Partnerships 2011 A N N U A L R E P O RT

6100 Foundation Place DriveBryan, Texas 77807Ph: 979.779.6100Fax: 979.779.6699

www.greatertexasfoundation.org12

VisionGreater Texas Foundation’s vision is for all Texas students to have equal opportunity to access and succeed in postsecondary education.

MissionGreater Texas Foundation supports e�orts to ensure all Texas students are prepared for, have access to, persist in, and complete postsecondary education.

We put particular focus on helping underserved and disadvantaged populations.

We pursue our mission by forming partnerships, supporting research, sharing knowledge, and making grants.

Foundation HistoryGreater Texas Foundation and its predecessor entities have a long history as a nonpro�t organization serving the citizens of the state of Texas. To learn about the foundation’s history, please visit our website at www.greatertexasfoundation.org.

Table of Contents

“Now more than ever, philanthropic and policy leaders must cultivate partnerships, which forge alignments between policy

and practice to create meaningful opportunities to access and complete a quality postsecondary education for all

students. GTF not only gets this unique partnership concept, it skillfully and courageously leverages its intellectual capital

to nurture the ecosystem for these high impact partnerships.” – Jacob Fraire, Vice President, Student and Institutional Success, TG

www.greatertexasfoundation.org 112

Mission 1

Vision 1

Foundation History 1

2011 Staff 2

2011 Board of Directors 2

Executive Summary 3

Foundation Headquarters LEED Certified 4

Regional Collaboration for Student Success in the Rio Grande Valley 6

Student Success BY THE NUMBERS: Building Data Capacity in Texas Community Colleges 10

Update on GTF Scholars 14

2011 Grant Activity 15

The Big Picture: Total Grants Approved by Funding Principle; Total Requests Declined 18

Financial Activity 19

Looking Forward: Collective Impact in Action 21

VisionGreater Texas Foundation’s vision is for all Texas students to have equal opportunity to access and succeed in postsecondary education.

MissionGreater Texas Foundation supports e�orts to ensure all Texas students are prepared for, have access to, persist in, and complete postsecondary education.

We put particular focus on helping underserved and disadvantaged populations.

We pursue our mission by forming partnerships, supporting research, sharing knowledge, and making grants.

Foundation HistoryGreater Texas Foundation and its predecessor entities have a long history as a nonpro�t organization serving the citizens of the state of Texas. To learn about the foundation’s history, please visit our website at www.greatertexasfoundation.org.

Table of Contents

“Now more than ever, philanthropic and policy leaders must cultivate partnerships, which forge alignments between policy

and practice to create meaningful opportunities to access and complete a quality postsecondary education for all

students. GTF not only gets this unique partnership concept, it skillfully and courageously leverages its intellectual capital

to nurture the ecosystem for these high impact partnerships.” – Jacob Fraire, Vice President, Student and Institutional Success, TG

Mission 1

Vision 1

2011 Staff 2

Executive Summary 3

Dear Friends and Colleagues:

Some say it takes a village, but we say it takes a region. It takes a region to ensure that every child has the opportunities and support structures in place to reach his or her academic potential and earn a postsecondary credential.

If you read our last annual report, you’ll know 2010 was a building year, literally and metaphorically, for the foundation. Just as much as 2010 was a year for building, 2011 was a year for further learning and implementation. As we continue to learn about the challenges students face on the road to postsecondary completion, the more we realize that working toward a sustainable solution takes a long-term and comprehensive commitment that no one entity can accomplish on its own.

As we re�ect on 2011 and move into 2012, the midpoint of our �ve-year strategic plan, we are humbled by the extreme dedication and commitment of individuals across the state and country to create better avenues for students to reach their full academic and career potential.

Illustrative of this, we are very pleased to include statements from a few of our colleagues about how their organizations value the power of partnerships. As you read through our annual report, you’ll learn from guest authors

about how several organizations are working to improve postsecondary outcomes for students in the Rio Grande Valley through a “collective impact” model and about how the Community College Leadership Program at �e University of Texas at Austin is working with fourteen community colleges in the state to build a culture of evidence to support e�ective student success agendas on their campuses. You will also �nd updated photos of the foundation’s new o�ce in Bryan, Texas and can catch up on the launch of Greater Texas Foundation Scholars, our new scholarship program for graduates of Texas early college high schools.

�ank you for your interest in the foundation’s work, and thank you for being great partners and friends in this critically important goal to ensure a more educated Texas.

Sincerely,

Wynn Rosser, Ph.D.President & CEO

"In an era of limited resources, austerity, and a heightened focus on impact and accountability in the field of philanthropy, building and sustaining partnerships is essential. The Ford Foundation's partnership with Greater Texas Foundation in supporting college completion in distressed communities in Texas will go a long way to ensure that the most vulnerable populations will have the opportunity to access and complete a college degree with labor market value." – Doug Wood, Program Officer, Ford Foundation

Executive Summary2011 Sta�

Erin Arnold, AccountantAmber Bass, CPA, ControllerJudy Brock, O�ce AdministratorVictor Gongora, Graduate AssistantAllison Grainger, Student AssistantLeslie Gurrola, Strategy ManagerJudy Holt, ConsultantAmy Landers, Student AssistantCarol Miller, Grant ManagerKate Richardson, Project AssociateWynn Rosser, Ph.D., Executive DirectorKim Ulbricht, Executive Assistant

Dr. J. Malon SoutherlandPresident & Chair, Student Loan Committee

2011 Board of Directors

Dr. Samuel GillespieVice President & Chair, Audit & Accountability Committee

Mrs. Judy HoltSecretary

Dr. John MossPast President & Co-Chair, Charitable Activities Committee

Dr. Alonzo SosaCo-Chair, Charitable Activities Committee

Mr. Ralph RushingChair, Investment Committee

Mr. A.D. James, Jr.Director

Dr. Terry JonesDirector

Dr. Wesley K. SummersDirector

Mr. Bill YoungkinDirector

Power of Partnerships

�e challenge is great, but we see successes every day, and we know we are not in it alone.

Not all sta� pictured.

Dear Friends and Colleagues:

Some say it takes a village, but we say it takes a region. It takes a region to ensure that every child has the opportunities and support structures in place to reach his or her academic potential and earn a postsecondary credential.

If you read our last annual report, you’ll know 2010 was a building year, literally and metaphorically, for the foundation. Just as much as 2010 was a year for building, 2011 was a year for further learning and implementation. As we continue to learn about the challenges students face on the road to postsecondary completion, the more we realize that working toward a sustainable solution takes a long-term and comprehensive commitment that no one entity can accomplish on its own.

As we re�ect on 2011 and move into 2012, the midpoint of our �ve-year strategic plan, we are humbled by the extreme dedication and commitment of individuals across the state and country to create better avenues for students to reach their full academic and career potential.

Illustrative of this, we are very pleased to include statements from a few of our colleagues about how their organizations value the power of partnerships. As you read through our annual report, you’ll learn from guest authors

about how several organizations are working to improve postsecondary outcomes for students in the Rio Grande Valley through a “collective impact” model and about how the Community College Leadership Program at �e University of Texas at Austin is working with fourteen community colleges in the state to build a culture of evidence to support e�ective student success agendas on their campuses. You will also �nd updated photos of the foundation’s new o�ce in Bryan, Texas and can catch up on the launch of Greater Texas Foundation Scholars, our new scholarship program for graduates of Texas early college high schools.

�ank you for your interest in the foundation’s work, and thank you for being great partners and friends in this critically important goal to ensure a more educated Texas.

Sincerely,

Wynn Rosser, Ph.D.President & CEO

Executive Summary2011 Sta�

Erin Arnold, AccountantAmber Bass, CPA, ControllerJudy Brock, O�ce AdministratorVictor Gongora, Graduate AssistantAllison Grainger, Student AssistantLeslie Gurrola, Strategy ManagerJudy Holt, ConsultantAmy Landers, Student AssistantCarol Miller, Grant ManagerKate Richardson, Project AssociateWynn Rosser, Ph.D., Executive DirectorKim Ulbricht, Executive Assistant

Dr. J. Malon SoutherlandPresident & Chair, Student Loan Committee

2011 Board of Directors

Dr. Samuel GillespieVice President & Chair, Audit & Accountability Committee

Mrs. Judy HoltSecretary

Dr. John MossPast President & Co-Chair, Charitable Activities Committee

Dr. Alonzo SosaCo-Chair, Charitable Activities Committee

Mr. Ralph RushingChair, Investment Committee

Mr. A.D. James, Jr.Director

Dr. Terry JonesDirector

Dr. Wesley K. SummersDirector

Mr. Bill YoungkinDirector

�e challenge is great, but we see successes every day, and we know we are not in it alone.

Not all sta� pictured.

Greater Texas Foundation has always had high standards for its grantmaking, partnerships and research. Sustainability is very important to the foundation in its funding and work to increase postsecondary education attainment for Texas residents. It’s no surprise that the board of directors would carry those same standards and commitment to sustainability over to the design and construction of the foundation’s new facility by using the U.S. Green Building Council’s Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) principles. Following this vision to a tee, Furman & Keil Architects and Braun & Butler Construction

Foundation Headquarters LEED Certi�ed

succeeded in designing and building the �rst new construction LEED Gold Certi�ed building in Bryan, Texas -- which we now use to consider using LEED sustainable and environmentally responsible building principles. Team member Dunnam Tita Architecture and Interiors developed interior architecture and furnishings consistent with this mission and assisted in the development of our LEED educational component. We welcome you to visit and take a tour of our new o�ce, or if you can’t visit in person, learn about our LEED Gold building on our website at www.greatertexasfoundation.org.

Greater Texas Foundation has always had high standards for its grantmaking, partnerships and research. Sustainability is very important to the foundation in its funding and work to increase postsecondary education attainment for Texas residents. It’s no surprise that the board of directors would carry those same standards and commitment to sustainability over to the design and construction of the foundation’s new facility by using the U.S. Green Building Council’s Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) principles. Following this vision to a tee, Furman & Keil Architects and Braun & Butler Construction

Foundation Headquarters LEED Certi�ed

succeeded in designing and building the �rst new construction LEED Gold Certi�ed building in Bryan, Texas -- which we now use to consider using LEED sustainable and environmentally responsible building principles. Team member Dunnam Tita Architecture and Interiors developed interior architecture and furnishings consistent with this mission and assisted in the development of our LEED educational component. We welcome you to visit and take a tour of our new o�ce, or if you can’t visit in person, learn about our LEED Gold building on our website at www.greatertexasfoundation.org.

�rst visited the Rio Grande Valley (RGV), the southernmost area of Texas along the US/Mexico border, in October 2010 on a tour arranged by Greater Texas Foundation. During that visit, I

met a remarkable young woman whose story I will now forever keep in my heart. “Luz” was the daughter of Hispanic immigrants, and every year, her parents pulled her out of school months early so that she could pick produce with them as a migrant worker. While her peers were in school, Luz was working fourteen-hour days, carrying a plastic bag so that she didn’t have to stop picking to go to the bathroom. At �fteen, she told her parents that her education was too important, and that she wouldn’t be going with them anymore – at which point they basically disowned her. She “couch-surfed” for several years on her own and continued to work fourteen-hour days – only this time on her school work. Upon graduating from high school, Luz received a full scholarship to the University of Texas at Brownsville, and she then went on to get a full scholarship to dental school. Hers is a story of grit, determination, and desire – a story of success. However, that success was against great odds. As she told her

story, I kept thinking over and over to myself that it just shouldn’t be that hard, that we have an obligation to make it easier for young people in the RGV to attend and complete college.

A few months later, FSG had the privilege of working with a group of funders in Texas, including Greater Texas Foundation, Communities Foundation of Texas/Educate Texas, Houston Endowment, and �e Meadows Foundation, to conduct action-focused research aimed at improving postsecondary persistence and completion across the state. As part of that e�ort, we developed an evidence base for �ve regions including the Gulf Coast, the Dallas/Forth Worth Metroplex, Central Texas, El Paso, and South Texas including the Rio Grande Valley. We collected and analyzed extensive secondary research, visited all �ve regions, and interviewed a broad array of educators and community leaders to understand and describe the existing landscape and identify opportunities to signi�cantly improve postsecondary persistence and completion. �e full set of reports can be found at www.greatertexasfoundation.org under the “Research” tab.

Here is what we learned about the Rio Grande Valley. Only 16 percent of students complete a higher education degree or certi�cate. Hispanic students, who currently represent more than 90 percent of the region’s students and whose numbers are projected to grow 25 percent in the next 20 years, attain degrees at an even lower rate of 13 percent. At the same time, by 2016, the fastest growing occupations in the region will require a postsecondary degree and demand for college graduates will grow by 35 percent. So unless graduation rates are improved, particularly for Hispanic students, the region’s overall performance and its economic prospects will decline.

�is presents a signi�cant and complex challenge, one that no single organization is going to be able to address. �ere is no “silver bullet” solution. Instead, it will require the combined e�orts of a wide array of actors including schools, community groups, after-school programs, county and city agencies,

parents, and others to move the needle in the Rio Grande Valley. We at FSG think problems like this are best addressed through collective impact – which involves a set of cross-sector actors holding a common vision for success, coordinating their actions, and striving to achieve the same goals. You can read more about collective impact at www.ssireview.org/articles/entry/collective_impact. By studying such e�orts, which are currently emerging in incredible numbers across the country and around the globe, we’ve honed in on �ve success factors that tend to drive meaningful improvement: • Common Agenda – all of the actors develop a joint understanding of the problem and a common vision for change • Shared Measurement – everyone signs on to and pursues a targeted set of indicators that are used to track progress and improve e�orts • Mutually Reinforcing Activities – cross-sector actors coordinate their e�orts through a joint plan of action • Continuous Communication – there are regular meetings, at the leadership level, to build trust and ensure action • Backbone Support – the e�ort is supported by a separate sta�ed organization with the resources to convene and coordinate action

Although it sounds simple, the truth is that collective impact initiatives are messy and only succeed when funders and operating organizations are willing to put aside their individual agendas, adapt their activities, and integrate their e�orts. Collective impact isn’t about funding or being the best organization, but about supporting the best set of solutions

and ensuring that all of the actors who are needed to deliver those solutions are involved, aligned, and improving.

And we are excited to see great energy, investment and momentum behind e�orts to align the education system and key education actors in the Rio Grande Valley. �e leadership at multiple school districts and institutions of higher education across the region are highly motivated and committed to improving their coordination and e�ectiveness. For example, the district-wide scaling of early college high school models at Hidalgo and Pharr San Juan Alamo school districts in partnership with South Texas College is having a great impact on students. And the RGV is now being recognized nationally for this work, as well as for other innovative practices being implemented at the secondary and postsecondary levels.

Based on these factors, the RGV emerged in our research as a region of promise and great opportunity. Capitalizing on the high level of synergy and leadership within the region, Greater Texas Foundation has made a signi�cant investment with its grant making, with its convening power, and with its ability to leverage partners to increase regional collaboration and improve student success. �is has included commissioning research; highlighting the region’s successes and needs via speeches, conference sessions and blogging; convening and attending a set of highly productive meetings with local organizations, including school districts and institutes of higher education; developing partnerships with state and national funders and education reform

organizations to increase their awareness and support of regional e�orts; and laying the ground work for the creation of a more formal regional plan to align the involved actors, integrate ongoing initiatives, and further develop the full set of solutions that are needed to drive dramatic gains. �ese e�orts are a great start, but there is still much work to be done to increase collaboration and to move to true collective impact in the region. Doing so will require building on progress to date to �nalize a common vision; determining and tracking progress toward agreed upon goals and outcomes; designing a strategy to coordinate regional activities; and developing an infrastructure to ensure ongoing communication, knowledge sharing, accountability, and action across all the actors. Succeeding in such an e�ort will also require the region’s educators to build trust, develop new ways of working together, and engage the broader community including business leaders, nonpro�ts, community groups, and policy makers.

Although the path to collective impact is a challenging one, we at FSG truly believe that such an approach to system alignment has the potential to transform the RGV, greatly increasing educational attainment and workforce readiness for a substantial number of Texas’s most underserved students. We are proud to be a partner with Greater Texas Foundation and others in this important work, and we will do everything we can to make sure that young people in the Rio Grande Valley don’t have to make the extreme sacri�ces that Luz made, but instead receive the support they need to succeed.

By Jeff Kutash

Je� Kutash is a Managing Director at FSG, a nonpro�t research and consulting �rm. Je� leads FSG’s national Education and Youth Practice.

"Educate Texas joins with Greater

Texas Foundation in the belief

that long-term, positive impact for

Texas students can best be

achieved through collaboration.

We are proud of our many

projects with GTF that are in place

and already changing the lives of

families across our state, such as

the Rio Grande Valley Collective

Impact Initiative." – John Fitzpatrick, Executive Director,

Educate Texas

Regional Collaboration for Student Success in the Rio Grande Valley

By Jeff Kutash

Je� Kutash is a Managing Director at FSG, a nonpro�t research and consulting �rm. Je� leads FSG’s national Education and Youth Practice.

"Educate Texas joins with Greater

Texas Foundation in the belief

that long-term, positive impact for

Texas students can best be

achieved through collaboration.

We are proud of our many

projects with GTF that are in place

and already changing the lives of

families across our state, such as

the Rio Grande Valley Collective

Impact Initiative." – John Fitzpatrick, Executive Director,

Educate Texas

Regional Collaboration for Student Success in the Rio Grande Valley

Mission 1

Vision 1

2011 Staff 2

Executive Summary 3

Mission 1

Vision 1

2011 Staff 2

Executive Summary 3

ecent years of work with community and technical colleges have demonstrated that there is no more powerful or potentially constructive prompt for change than the

process of engaging a campus community with data that accurately depict the experiences of students as they move to and through the college. Or don’t. �e overall purpose of the Student Success BY THE NUMBERS (SSBTN) initiative is to strengthen data-use capacities at participating Texas community colleges and to help them build an increasingly powerful culture of evidence to support an e�ective student success agenda.

Work with invited colleges began in summer 2011 with an invitation to host a two-day campus visit by a two-person team of expert project consultants. �e purpose of that visit was to engage campus leaders and constituent groups in conversations about their current data use, as well as their aspirations and challenges in building both that capacity and a campus-wide culture of evidence.

After the initial “diagnostic” visit, colleges were invited to commit to focused work over a two-and-a-half year period, with the project team providing support through assignment of an expert consultant to each college and through additional training and development

opportunities, as well as online resources. Fourteen Texas community colleges made the commitment, identifying the goals they plan to achieve through work with SSBTN.

Although each college has unique strengths and challenges, several cross-cutting themes emerged during the initial visits. Brief highlights are provided below.

Desire for a Shared Vision of Student Success

�rough initial dialogues, it became evident that people at each college recognize that development of a shared de�nition of student success— along with clearly de�ned measures for assessing student success— should obviously undergird the college’s student success e�orts. Many participants acknowledged that college-wide conversations aimed at developing a common understanding of what student success means are a necessary �rst step. �rough SSBTN, some colleges already have initiated those conversations. Scheduled consultant visits o�er additional opportunities for facilitated dialogue on how the college can use a clear set of indicators to de�ne, ascertain and monitor student success.

Making Institutional Research a Priority

College leaders acknowledge that institutional research plays a vital role in supporting student success work. Especially among colleges that have been operating without a designated institutional research function, but across other participating institutions as well, the need to develop the institutional research capacity is well recognized. �rough a project partnership

with the Association for Institutional Research (AIR), SSBTN colleges have selected participants to complete online training courses on a variety of institutional research topics. With the goal of building data capacity in mind, each college has begun to identify key members of the campus community to participate in this training.

Using Data for Planning and Decision Making

Many colleges expressed a need to "do better with data" and recognized the limited manner in which data currently are used on campus. Facilitated data-informed discussions and inquiry-based decision making—the capacity to convert data into useful information and then into action—are not currently standard ways of conducting business. However, the prospect of building those skills and institutional habits resonated with many of the colleges.

As part of their preparation for a two-and-a-half day data-intensive SSBTN Institute in spring 2013, the colleges will undertake longitudinal student cohort tracking (typically for the �rst time at their institution); administer either the Community College Survey of Student Engagement (CCSSE) or the Survey of Entering Student Engagement (SENSE); and complete structured assignments to understand their student engagement data. �rough these tasks, they will get a clearer picture of students’ educational experiences—both areas where they are successful and those where they are likely to falter. �roughout this work, colleges will closely review and consider the mix of

Student Success BY THE NUMBERS: Building Data Capacity in Texas Community Colleges

When reviewing letters of inquiry and proposals from community colleges around the state,

foundation staff and directors noticed a stronger use of and understanding of student data and

outcomes from institutions that have had the benefit of participation in Achieving the Dream.

(GTF supports 11 Achieving the Dream colleges around the state.) In response to this

observation, at the board’s request, staff approached Drs. Byron and Kay McClenney from the

Community College Leadership Program at The University of Texas at Austin to create an initiative

designed to build data system and data use capacities at the mostly small and rural Texas

community colleges that have not participated in Achieving the Dream. In this article,

Kay and Byron describe the outcomes of the first year of the resulting three-year initiative,

Student Success BY THE NUMBERS.

By Byron N. McClenney and Kay M. McClenney

Byron N. McClenney and Kay M. McClenney are co-directors of Greater Texas Foundation-funded Student Success BY THE NUMBERS initiative, part of the Community College Leadership Program at �e University of Texas at Austin.

current practices—people, data management, policies and procedures—used in planning and decision making around student success.

Broadening Access to Data

In order to move successfully to a more data-centered approach to planning and decision making, colleges also recognize an immediate need to improve data transparency and access. Several colleges also described “pockets” of data use—typically within programs or departments—where data have been collected to answer questions about student success and the impact of current student success initiatives. Moving from isolated islands of data to a more systematics approach and converting data into actionable information for decision making will be key elements in the colleges’ work on the SSBTN initiative.

Training on Data Access and Data Use

�e key to broadening access to data is training. Providing training to faculty, sta�, and administrators on understanding what data are available, how those data can be retrieved through the college’s data systems, and what questions the data can answer will facilitate the development of a culture of inquiry. �rough SSBTN work, colleges will have an opportunity to expand student success conversations beyond those who typically work with data to leadership, faculty, and sta� who are interested in determining whether or not new initiatives are bringing about higher levels of student success.

Identifying Critical Data for Student Success

One member of a college commented, “We are sitting on a mountain of data,” a statement that rings true for all the colleges, as they have been accustomed to submitting compliance reports to state and federal governments as well as the regional accrediting association. Needed now is focus on identifying which data are critical for student success work. Many of the colleges recognize that the process of inventorying and organizing the data they have on hand, identifying how the data currently are being used, and determining how they could and should be used to greater e�ect, are necessary steps in improving their skill and purposefulness in data use. As the SSBTN project moves forward, the colleges will gain that focus on gathering, analyzing, and communicating about data elements that are essential for depicting student progress, engagement, and success.

Making the commitment to build data capacity and a culture of inquiry and evidence requires engaging individuals throughout the college in the continuing process of using data to understand their students and their educational experiences. To do this successfully, active involvement of college leaders is essential. �e college presidents involved in this project are keenly aware of the growing importance—even urgency—of pursuing a focused, data-informed student success agenda. �e future of their students, their communities and their state depends on it.

"As a national funder with a small education team, we are limited in our ability to work deeply in any particular place beyond our home state of Michigan. A number of Texas foundations, most notably GTF, have actively sought to build partnerships with us over the past few years, and we truly appreciate their outreach. These relationships have given us the confidence that Kresge Foundation dollars can be well-deployed in Texas - where not only is there tremendous need, but there is a comprehensive strategic effort in place to improve postsecondary access and success for underserved students." Caroline Altman Smith, Senior Program Officer, The Kresge Foundation