Economic Mobility Learning Series: Commit Partnership
Community Impact
In this Economic Mobility Learning Series conversation, Greater Houston Community Foundation and Understanding Houston were joined by Miguel Solis, President of Commit Partnership.
Commit Partnership works to help unite and align school systems, higher education institutions, policymakers, businesses, nonprofits, community members and foundations to create systemic change in our education system and improve economic opportunity. It is the nation’s largest educational collective impact organization with over 200 institutions (including 15 school districts and eight higher-ed institutions educating over 790,000 students), focused on improving post-secondary completion and economic mobility levels across the North Texas region.
Table of Contents
- Advancing Economic Mobility in Houston Through Collective Impact
- Watch the Webinar Featuring Commit Partnership
- Key Takeaways for Advancing Economic Opportunity in Houston
- Previous Economic Mobility Learning Series Speakers and Models
Advancing Economic Mobility in Houston Through Collective Impact
The Economic Mobility Learning Series advances the Community Foundation’s work to convene leaders and donors around evidence-informed strategies for economic mobility in Houston. Through online seminars and thought leadership, the series highlights cross-sector efforts and research that help individuals and families move up the economic ladder.
As Greater Houston continues to grow, these lessons can help donors and community leaders think more clearly about housing-focused strategies that support economic mobility and strengthen communities across the greater Houston region.
Watch the Webinar Featuring Commit Partnership
Key Takeaways for Advancing Economic Opportunity in Houston
The conversation highlighted several lessons for donors, civic leaders, and community organizations considering how neighborhood investments can support long-term economic mobility in Greater Houston.
Treat PK-12 as an economic mobility engine, not a graduation machine. In Dallas County, school district leaders measure success by what happens to students after graduation. Considerations include whether students go on to earn a living wage, not just whether they finish high school. This shift has helped school districts and higher education institutions see themselves as connected parts of one pathway.
Invest in governance and leadership, as this is the single most critical initiative. Before Commit Partnership was founded, Dallas ISD had eight superintendents in 16 years. Additionally, one year, school board elections were cancelled because no one ran. That kind of turnover made it nearly impossible for any reform to take root. Commit Partnership responded by investing more in school board leadership efforts. Its Commit to Leaders continuum supports community members from first learning about their school districts to programming on how to serve effectively on a school board.
Publicly praise while addressing challenges through private collaboration. Miguel described Commit Partnership’s two superpowers as data and trusted relationships. He shared how one cannot work without the other. Rather than using data to call out underperformance publicly, Commit Partnership’s staff brings insights directly to superintendents on a regular cadence. Holding more difficult conversations privately and constructively, while using data to inform decisions, builds trust and creates the conditions for systems to evolve and work better together.
Use philanthropy as catalytic capital to make public systems work better. Philanthropic dollars at Commit Partnership are meant to start things—not fund them forever. Promising practices are piloted locally, scaled across the county, and then shared with policymakers so that public funding can sustain them.
Narrow your focus on the systems with the most leverage. The root causes behind poor outcomes are numerous and can be overwhelming. That said, Commit Partnership chose to concentrate on three priority systems: high-quality talent, rigorous instruction, and postsecondary access and success.
Pursue bold bets and be accountable for the results they produce. When partners set a goal of doubling living wage attainment for 25- to 34-year-olds by 2040, some people thought it was too ambitious. However, this shared goal has given leaders across different institutions and systems something to align around. In just over four years, 50,000 additional students have placed on what Commit Partnership considers a path to economic mobility. This has exceeded their original five-year goal of 40,000 students. Miguel stressed that the work is far from finished, but the progress shows what is possible when a community commits to a shared vision.
Previous Economic Mobility Learning Series Speakers & Models
Child Action Poverty Lab
Learn from a nationally recognized organization, Child Action Poverty Lab, that serves as an unofficial research and development engine for the Dallas region, connecting public systems, community organizations, and neighborhoods to use data-driven, human-centered design approaches to break cycles of intergenerational poverty.
Leading on Opportunity
Understand how Leading on Opportunity in Charlotte, North Carolina uses strategy, policy, and data to advance economic mobility across the region it serves. Leading on Opportunity is an entity of the Foundation For The Carolinas that supports Charlotte on its generations-long journey to improve economic mobility for all.
Opportunity Insights
Explore findings from Opportunity Insights’ recent study of the HOPE VI program. The research found that children who grew up in revitalized HOPE VI housing experienced better long-term outcomes and suggests that connecting isolated, low-income communities with surrounding areas can expand economic opportunity.
Prosperity Initiative
Gain insights from the Prosperity Initiative, a regional model from Pima County/Tucson, Arizona, which demonstrates how government and community can work together to reduce generational poverty cycles.
Promise Partnership Utah
Uncover how Promise Partnership Utah, a collective impact model focused on youth economic mobility, leads collective impact, cross-sector collaboration, and cradle-to-career outcomes that help young people achieve upward mobility.
More Helpful Articles by Greater Houston Community Foundation
- The Community Impact Fund: A Turning Point
- High-Impact Grantmaking: Fueling High-Impact Philanthropy
- Greater Houston Disaster Alliance Launches New Efforts with $1.7 Million Investment
- What Houston’s Economic Mobility Coalition is Building Next
- Purposeful Giving: Place-Based Philanthropy
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