Recently, when someone asked me the question, "What’s new at work?” I stopped to reflect for a moment. I thought about recent meetings with grantees grappling with tough policy issues, conversations with staff about where to place our bets, interactions with board members about possible new directions. What struck me was the tremendous drive each of our partners has to find solutions to problems and to persist even when the odds are not in their favor.

Like many foundations, the board and staff at Joyce recognize the tremendous opportunity we have to experiment, to try new ideas, to take calculated risks on concepts and strategies that may not pay off. Of course we are also pragmatic. We are not in the business of tilting at windmills. But the powerful creative drive to find solutions is the intellectual currency in which our partners trade. It is why our sector is so vibrant, why many of the country’s finest minds are at work on the issues we care about, and why we all deserve some optimism that many problems can and will be solved.

As always, this year we have successes and disappointments to report, as well as several projects in the wait-and-see category.

In Environment, great progress can be seen in our efforts to slow the construction of conventional coalburning power plants and to promote new technologies that capture and store carbon. In November, the Midwestern Governors Association signed a groundbreaking agreement to adopt strong energy policies and reduce regional greenhouse gas emissions.

Unfortunately, another priority—protecting and restoring the Great Lakes—has been hindered by budget constraints and political gridlock. We will be considering new approaches to preserving and restoring this great natural resource, which holds the affection of Midwest residents and is vital to our economic future. Meanwhile, our project to restore the Maumee River watershed on the western shore of Lake Erie shows great promise. A strong team is pursuing innovative ways to protect the lake and improve the quality of the river.

In Education, a focus on improving teacher quality for high-need students has led us into several highly successful partnerships. In Chicago and Milwaukee, Joyce partnered with The New Teacher Project to analyze how union contracts affect hiring of quality teachers. In part as a result, a new Milwaukee contract includes provisions to encourage the placement of high-quality teachers in lowperforming schools. Joyce also joined with The New Teacher Center in Illinois to lead a statewide initiative calling for increased funding for mentoring and induction for new teachers in high-need schools. These collaborative efforts led to a dramatic expansion of the state’s pilot induction program.

In addition, early childhood advocates in Illinois funded in part by Joyce have been instrumental in ensuring legislative support for preschool funding, and charter advocates have begun to organize parent advocates and generate legislative interest in expanding the number of charter schools.

Moving low-skilled workers up the job ladder has long been the priority of our Employment program. A combination of experimentation and evaluation forms the basis of this grant making. We are in the middle of an ambitious three-year effort to test the effectiveness of “transitional” jobs in helping ex-offenders get and keep employment and re-integrate into our communities. A rigorous evaluation of this work will be available in 2010.

Another program focus is to reform the complex state systems for educating adult workers to navigate the shifting needs of today’s economy. We’ve chosen an inside-outside approach, with million dollar grants to community college systems in Indiana, Illinois, Ohio, and Wisconsin, alongside funding for advocates who push for reforms in these large bureaucracies.

Gun violence takes approximately 30,000 American lives each year. Joyce has supported efforts to bring together public officials, law enforcement, health professionals and citizens to reduce this terrible toll. We joined forces with Mayors Against Illegal Guns, a bipartisan force of mayors across the country focused on reducing the possession, use, and trafficking of illegal guns. Working collaboratively allows mayors to share information on ways to reduce violence in our communities.

Ensuring all citizens have an equal and fair right to vote is also an important mission for Joyce. Our funding for a study by the Moritz College of Law at The Ohio State University produced recommendations to improve election procedures around the region. Restoring voter confidence through nonpartisan channels can only strengthen our democracy. In addition, our work with the Midwest Democracy Network, an alliance of policy and legal experts, academic institutions, and civic and public interest organizations, has led to increased dialogue about ethical government and the need for a fair and impartial judiciary.

Our cultural grantmaking in recent years has reached out to artists and institutions across the Midwest through the Joyce Awards program. It is exciting to see the creativity and vibrancy of such works especially in cities like Detroit. Bold works of paint and sculpture are helping to redefine public art spaces around the Motor City and inspire young people to explore new possibilities of artistic expression.

So, we will continue to work with our persistent and determined partners—those who are motivated by challenges and unafraid to experiment with the possible. Working together to turn today’s big ideas into tomorrow’s big policy initiatives will always be “what’s-new-at-work” for us at Joyce.

Ellen S. Alberding, President
June 2008