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The Belonging Barometer The State of Belonging in America

March 7, 2023

Belonging is a fundamental human need, and one that is linked to many of the most complex challenges of our time.Without a sense of belonging, individuals and communities suffer; with it, they thrive. Yet, because belonging is notoriously difficult to measure, it is often ignored in efforts to address the deep fractures in our societies.One purpose of this report is to call attention to belonging as a factor that matters deeply for leaders and stakeholders across diverse sectors. We make the case for including belonging in the design and implementation of programs and policies across all areas of life in the United States. A second purpose is to propose a nuanced new tool for measuring belonging—the Belonging Barometer—that is robust, accessible, and readily deployable in the service of efforts to advance the common good. As with any new tool, it is our hope that the Belonging Barometer can and should be refined and improved upon over time. We offer it up to changemakers across the world and welcome feedback and collaboration.In this report, we review the concept of belonging and introduce a new measure, the Belonging Barometer. We then describe initial findings based on a nationally representative survey regarding the relationship between the Belonging Barometer and health, democracy, and intergroup dynamics in the US. Next, we report on the state of belonging across five life settings: family, friends, workplace, local community, and the nation. Lastly, we briefly discuss emerging themes and considerations for designing belonging interventions.

Cultivating Contact: A Guide to Building Bridges and Meaningful Connections Between Groups

September 27, 2022

The United States is in the process of reckoning with many forms of social division, but it is also facing a moment of immense possibility. With deepening divides occurring and being fomented across racial, religious, socioeconomic, partisan, and geographic lines, trust in others has declined and members of distinct groups are more isolated from each other than ever. Many forces seek to exploit these vulnerabilities and stoke fear and anxiety about group differences. Yet our nation's history shows us that, even in the midst of these challenges, Americans from all walks of life have found ways to come together across lines of difference to solve critical community problems.How we choose to respond to group differences is ultimately up to us. We can take steps either to build walls or build bridges in the face of these differences. When we feel insecure, unsafe, or threatened, our initial instinct is to build walls, in an effort to protect ourselves and our groups. This instinctual response can help us to feel more secure and protected in the short term; but one long-term consequence is that we may grow more distrustful and fearful of people who are not like "us" and whom we don't personally know. Worse still, challenging social and economic conditions can exacerbate these tendencies, such that we start to develop competitive narratives that pit "us" against "them" and further deepen existing divisions between groups.Instead, when we build bridges, we take steps to engage with people across lines of difference. Engaging with one another in meaningful and authentic ways often requires us to step outside of our comfort zone, as we begin to share our life stories and experiences openly while attending deeply and respectfully to those shared by others. From interacting with others with this spirit of openness and attentiveness, we invite others into our worlds, just as they invite us into theirs. By doing so, we not only develop greater mutual understanding, but we are also likely to become more invested in each other's lives and to care more about each other's groups—and this emotional investment and caring is what compels us to work toward improving our communities and social institutions to ensure that everyone feels like they belong.In this guide, we describe how to set the stage for people from different backgrounds to engage with each other in ways that foster trust and belonging, while also drawing on their similarities and differences to solve community problems. We review a number of strategies that encourage people from different groups to work together as equals, so that they can share ideas and perspectives, and co-create new initiatives in collaboration and across group divides. We also provide materials that can help organizations begin to envision how they might assess the effectiveness of their contact programs.

Supporting Underserved Communities Amid COVID-19: Insights from Louisville's COVID-19 Community Impact Survey

February 10, 2022

The COVID-19 pandemic has had a disproportionate impact on vulnerable people across the United States, including racial and ethnic minorities and immigrants. Many have faced challenges in retaining employment and meeting the basic needs of their families. In order to better support Louisville's underserved communities and expand equitable access to services for all residents, New American Economy (NAE) partnered with the City of Louisville to survey residents about their experiences during the pandemic. The COVID-19 Community Impact Survey, conducted between February and May of 2021, asked Black, Indigenous, and other people of color (BIPOC) and immigrant communities in Louisville about their essential needs, the impact of COVID-19 on their wellbeing, and what assistance they have received to support their families through the crisis.

Addressing the Needs of Vulnerable Communities During COVID-19: Insights from Tulsa’s COVID-19 Community Impact Survey

December 9, 2021

The COVID-19 pandemic has disproportionally affected vulnerable communities across the United States, including racial and ethnic minorities and immigrant groups. Many face severe challenges in meeting the essential needs of their families and handling mental health issues, both of which have been exacerbated by the prolonged stress and isolation during the pandemic.To better support these vulnerable communities and to ensure that Tulsa's emergency services provide equitable access to all of its residents, New American Economy (NAE) worked with the City of Tulsa and local community organizations to survey Tulsans about their experiences during the pandemic. The COVID-19 Community Impact Survey conducted targeted outreach between February and May of 2021 to Black, Indigenous, and other people of color (BIPOC) and immigrant communities in Tulsa about the essential needs of their families; the impact of COVID-19 on their wellbeing; and the help they received from local organizations.

Understanding The Impact of COVID-19 in Diverse Populations: Georgia-data analysis by LCF Georgia based on a national initiative led by New American Economy

November 12, 2021

In 2020 the New American Economy (NAE), wanted to better understand why COVID-19 had such disproportionately severe economic and health impacts on BIPOC and immigrant communities in 5 cities. LCF Georgia and the Atlanta Mayor's Office of Immigrants Affairs expanded the scope of the data collection from a city to a state-wide effort and incorporated translations and outreach to communities that spoke languages other than English and Spanish with particular emphasis on Portuguese and Mayan languages.The Georgia-specific analysis centers on comparing different ways in which the crisis was experienced by immigrants, children of immigrants, non-immigrants, and Metro vs. Outside Metro Atlanta.

Understanding the Impact of COVID-19 on Diverse Populations: Insights and Strategies for Inclusive Emergency Management From Cities on the Frontlines

August 19, 2021

As communities across the United States work to recover from the COVID-19 pandemic and economic recession while also grappling with a surge in new cases, it's clear that the impact on Americans has been unequal. More so than previous crises, COVID-19 exposed gaps in access to basic information, services, and social safety-net support that disproportionately impacted Black, Indigenous, and other People of Color (BIPOC) and immigrant communities. These communities have shouldered a greater share of the economic and health-related consequences of the pandemic, and without targeted efforts to promote equitable disaster response and recovery, they will be more vulnerable to future emergencies.In this report, we provide lessons and guidance for how cities can equitably respond to COVID-19 and future crises based on our five-city COVID-19 Community Impact Survey, a year-long effort to document best practices generated by the Cities Index Working Group and other leading municipalities across the country, and findings from Year 3 of the NAE Cities Index. Our findings shed new light on the ways in which COVID-19 affected communities of color and immigrant communities, including challenges they faced in accessing timely information, health care, utility and rental assistance, and other crucial services during some of the most difficult months of the pandemic. Data gathered in 17 languages by community partners also reveals the difficulties many residents will face as the recovery continues in the months ahead. Finally, this report highlights the varied and often creative ways cities have stepped in to fill gaps in the federal response, and includes recommendations for how local governments and community leaders can help promote a more equitable, inclusive response to future disasters and emergencies.

Advancing Frontline Women: Realizing the Full Potential of the Retail Workforce

March 4, 2019

Even though women comprise half the retail workforce, they are overrepresented in frontline positions and consistently underrepresented in higher-paying management roles. By advancing women into management roles, companies are able to improve retention rates, reduce the cost of turnover, improve customer loyalty, and strengthen retailers' performance.Advancing Frontline Women identifies 12 evidence-based practices companies can employ to help break down barriers women face in the workplace, while simultaneously creating a competitive advantage.

Diversity & Inclusion in Corporate Social Engagement

December 7, 2018

With support from the Walmart Foundation, CECP led this year-long inquiry with the goal of identifying and sharing actionable insights and best practices that corporate leaders can learn from and apply in their own companies.The white paper lays out six key trends which includes case studies, latest knowledge, methods, and valuable insights. We hope this report will equip you and other corporate societal engagement (CSE) professionals to advance your company's corporate citizenship efforts to address issues of diversity and inclusion.This release comes in advance of the Day of Understanding on Friday, December 7th when leading businesses and organizations including CECP will host daylong discussions and activities on understanding differences, inclusive work cultures, and education in their respective companies.

Supportive Services in Workforce Development Programs: Administrator Perspectives on Availability and Unmet Needs

December 13, 2016

This report presents findings from a national, online survey of 168 administrators of job training and career and technical education programs. It examines administrators' perspectives on the role of supportive services such as child care and transportation assistance in improving program completion, the availability of supportive services across different types of training programs, the unmet support needs of job training participants, and sources of funding and cost-effective strategies for providing supportive services. The report was informed by expert interviews on the need for supportive services in the workforce development system and promising models for providing these services. It is the second report of a larger Institute for Women's Policy Research project that is funded by the Walmart Foundation. The first report in the series, Supportive Services in Job Training and Education: A Research Review, presents findings from a review and analysis of literature on the importance, effectiveness, and availability of supportive services for participants in job training programs in the United States.

Hunger Doesn't Take a Vacation: Summer Nutrition Status Report

June 1, 2016

This report measures the reach of the Summer Nutrition Programs in July 2015, nationally and in each state. This report is based on a variety of metrics and it examines the impact of trends and policies on program participation.First, the report looks at lunch participation in the Summer Nutrition Programs -- the Summer Food Service Program (SFSP) and the National School Lunch Program (NSLP), among children certified for free and reduced-price meals, combined -- using free and reduced-price participation in NSLP in the prior regular school year as a benchmark against which to compare summer. Because there is broad participation in the regular school year lunch program by low-income students across the states, it is a useful comparison by which to measure how many students could -- and should -- be benefiting from the Summer Nutrition Programs.Second, the report looks at the number of sponsors and sites operating SFSP, as this is an important indicator of access to the program for low-income children in the states.Finally, the report sets an ambitious, but achievable, goal of reaching 40 children with the Summer Nutrition Programs for every 100 participating in school lunch and calculates the number of unserved children and the federal dollars lost in each state that is not meeting this goal.

Increasing Farmer Success: Compelling Stories

July 11, 2013

In 2011 the Wallace Center, with funding from the Walmart Foundation, initiated a program to more effectively link limited resource and historically disadvantaged farmers to local produce markets in the Deep South. As a first step in this work, the Wallace Center undertook a study of the fresh fruit and vegetable markets in Alabama and Mississippi, specifically focusing on challenges faced by limited resource and historically disadvantaged farmers. This report explores the issues these farmers face and offers an array of potential solutions to address on-farm, market, and infrastructure problems. It provides an overview of historically disadvantaged and limited resource farmers in the South; presents on-farm challenges that these farmers experience in meeting local and regional market demand for fresh fruits and vegetables; explores market and infrastructure challenges that stand as barriers to farmers' market. This study has identified numerous and varied opportunities to address the on-farm, market, and infrastructure barriers small farms face in accessing these markets in the Deep South, including: providing capacity building and technical assistance directly linked to market activity; facilitating collaboration among farmers to share resources and achieve scale; catalyzing new, and working with existing, produce aggregators; moving beyond direct markets into local institutions and businesses, and varying the types of product that meet the needs of high and low end customers; aligning crop production to market windows; expanding use of organic production practices; and fully utilizing hoop house technology, among others. There is significant room for growth in local and regional food systems in the Deep South states of Alabama and Mississippi, which are currently underdeveloped. This report reveals pragmatic interventions and insights that will shape the success of developing local and regional food systems in the Deep South. Among them are the importance of collaboration along the supply chain; the role of market intermediary actors (such as supporting organizations, aggregators, distributors, and food hubs) who can expand the reach of local products into new markets; information sharing along the supply chain; transparency and trust in building relationships; the need to diversify partners and to work directly at the farmer level; the need for accountability processes and systems built into projects that ensure capacity and follow through; and encouraging farmers to take incremental steps to access larger markets.

Increasing Farmer Success in Local Food Markets in the Deep South: Mississippi and Alabama - Challenges and Opportunities in the Fruit and Vegetable Market

June 27, 2012

This study has identified numerous and varied opportunities to address the on-farm, market, and infrastructure barriers small farms face in accessing these markets in the Deep South, including:providing capacity building and technical assistance directly linked to market activity;facilitating collaboration among farmers to share resources and achieve scale; catalyzing new,and working with existing,produce aggregators; moving beyond direct markets into local institutions and businesses, and varying the types of product that meet the needs of high and low-end customers; aligning crop production to market windows; expanding use of organic production practices; and fully utilizing hoop house technology, among others.There is significant room for growth in local and regional food systems in the Deep South states of Alabama and Mississippi, which are currently underdeveloped. This report reveals pragmatic interventions and insights that will shape the success of developing local and regional food systems in the Deep South. Among them are the importance of collaboration among the supply chain;the role of market intermediary actors (such as supporting organizations, aggregators, distributors, and food hubs)who can expand the reach of local products into new markets; 7information sharing along the supply chain; transparency and trust in building relationships; the need to diversify partners and to work directly at the farmer level; the need for accountability processes and systems built into projects that ensure capacity and follow through; and encouraging farmers to take incremental steps to access larger markets. The Wallace Center intends this report to be a resource for farmers, farmer groups, and entrepreneurs to learn of new markets, stimulate collaboration, and encourage strategies to begin to address limitations in the food system.