New Hampshire Tomorrow

Thriving kids grow into thriving adults who contribute to prosperous and healthy communities.

But right now, too many of our kids never have that chance.

Contrary to our cherished myths about social mobility, the ZIP code a child is born and educated in largely determines their outcomes. Children from high-poverty communities are more likely to struggle with poverty — and all its attending challenges — as adults. For children of color in those communities, faced with barriers that are the legacies of racist systems and policies, the likelihood is even greater.

This is not how the American Dream is supposed to work.

In New Hampshire, thousands of kids from struggling families lack access to everything from stable housing to high-quality early childhood care and education to advanced placement classes in high school and enrichment activities. They are less likely to go to college, less able to get good jobs and less ready to contribute to communities. In New Hampshire, according to a report from the state Commission to Study School Funding, “The highest poverty school districts have the lowest student outcomes. The negative relationship between poverty and outcomes is very strong.”

This is the trend that world-renowned sociologist and New Hampshire resident Robert Putnam has labeled the “opportunity gap.”

Together, we can — and we must — reverse these trends. This is both a moral obligation and an economic imperative.

On average, New Hampshire children do well. But children are not averages — and right now, too many of New Hampshire’s children are not getting what they need to thrive.

New Hampshire’s young people are in the midst of a mental health crisis, exacerbated by the global pandemic. Children have been called the “secondary victims” of New Hampshire’s opioid epidemic. Our LGBTQ+ youth are struggling with the messages sent by anti-LGBTQ+ legislation and efforts to ban books. All children are missing out on complete lessons in U.S. history, based on recent legislation banning certain concepts from being taught. In-state tuition at our public colleges is the second-highest in the nation, and our college students graduate with the nation’s highest debt load. The winding down of pandemic-era relief efforts has hit many families and children hard.

But there are solutions. We know that when kids have access to a range of opportunities and supports throughout their lives, they are able to thrive and to become adults who sustain their communities.

Together, we can make that happen.

TAKING ACTION

To help improve outcomes for New Hampshire’s young people, the Foundation is investing in early care and education; family and youth supports; substance use prevention, treatment and recovery/behavioral health; and education and career pathways. These areas of work are inextricably connected, and each aligns with work being done by the public sector, nonprofits, education and business. Each area of this important work needs generous donor support.

The Foundation made an initial commitment in 2016 to invest at least $100 million over a decade in those areas. By the end of 2022, the actual figure had already reached $131.4 million. However, the resources, partnerships and action needed to make lasting change are far greater than one community foundation can provide. We are making every effort to get those funds multiplied with additional resources from local and national partners.

As we move forward with our renewed purpose of making New Hampshire a more just, sustainable and vibrant community where everyone can thrive, that initial commitment dovetails with our strategic plan and focus on equity, racial justice and economic security across all of our work. New Hampshire’s children deserve equitable and just systems and policies — from stable housing to well-funded and welcoming schools, access to nourishing food, mental health supports and mor — that will help them grow into thriving adults.

A NEW HAMPSHIRE FOR ALL TAKES ALL OF NEW HAMPSHIRE

Working together, we can increase opportunities for New Hampshire’s kids and help make New Hampshire a community where everyone can thrive. Please join us with your best ideas, your energy, commitment, voices and resources. For our kids. For New Hampshire tomorrow.

Please join us to ensure that all of New Hampshire’s kids have the opportunity to thrive.
Together, we can build a stronger New Hampshire tomorrow.

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