Place-based Change
Bay Ed Fund: South San Francisco and East Palo Alto (US)
The Bay Ed Fund was founded on the premise that traditional philanthropy is often too short-lived for deep educational change. By replacing two-year grants with ten-year partnerships, the Fund bridges the opportunity gap for students in the Bay Area of California.
- Focus: Bridging the opportunity gap for 50,000 students through school and district redesign.
- Model: Combining community-driven solutions with research-backed strategies like the science of reading.
- Impact: Over 8,500 stakeholders participated in listening sessions, and 150 parent fellows were trained as advocates for systemic change.
- Big Idea: Creating a replicable model for reform that is rooted in community ownership and long-term investment.
Enseña Chile: Los Lagos Learning Network
Sixteen years into its mission, Enseña Chile is piloting a collective leadership model in a region known for its strong social capital. Despite the community’s ability to unite during natural disasters, Los Lagos faces significant educational hurdles, including a 27% chronic absenteeism rate.
- Focus: Equipping every child to learn, lead, and thrive by uniting schools, families, and organizations.
- Model: Shifting decision-making to the community to address foundational learning and student motivation.
- Impact: Mapping local resources to build coalitions that co-design regional strategies and track progress through annual reports.
- Big Idea: Rebuilding the habit of coming together to ensure every child has access to essential life skills.
The Power of Convening as a Strategic Tool
The joint inquiry by these organizations revealed that convening is the primary engine of systemic change.
Insight 1: Convening as a Catalyst to Break Silos and Unlock Community
In the early months of shaping its vision, the Bay Ed Fund brought together families, educators, union leaders, and community organizations for a joint convening. They traveled four hours to a small California town that had once faced deep challenges, including low literacy and gang violence, but had transformed through collaboration. The goal was not to copy its solutions, but to understand how collective action made change possible.
The trip sparked trust and conversation. For many, it was their first time imagining what they could build together. On the drive home, a mother stood up, her voice cutting through the exhaustion. “When I saw this community, I wanted to move there,” she said. “Now I want to build this right here with all of you. Who’s with me?” One by one, teachers and principals committed to working together for the long haul.
Enseña Chile echoes this lesson. As CEO Tomás Recart shared, “We’ve lost the habit of coming together.” In Los Lagos, the initiative is rebuilding that habit by creating spaces where schools, families, and organizations can connect and dream together through gatherings, school walks, and community moments, such as an annual barbecue that makes convening a lived practice.
Insight 2: Design Principles for Convenings That Lead to Change
“If your goal is to transform learning, you’ve got to show right from the start that this space is for bold, new thinking,” Paul, co-founder, Bay Ed Fund explained. Convenings should signal real change. From the setup to the smallest details, such as childcare, translation, family stipends, and welcoming community spaces, they should feel unlike anything participants have experienced before.
Convenings also help participants understand the context they are working in and map the landscape. “You need to know who is where, what they’re doing, and why,” Tomás reflected, highlighting the importance of connecting with existing efforts and aligning resources. These spaces work best when ownership is shared, and communities lead the process. Facilitators create the container but step back so participants feel their voices and decisions truly matter.
“When you have a big purpose, you unleash the power of coming together,” Tomás said. Purpose provides energy, but it must be paired with responsibility. Clear, practical objectives tied to the vision ensure accountability and real impact.
Inspired by the idea of “unreasonable hospitality” in fine dining, every interaction should go beyond expectations to convey care and respect. Educators and families, so often overlooked, should leave feeling valued, inspired, and ready to build something better together.
Emerging Questions- Power Dynamics & Participation: How do we bring together people with different levels of influence or opposing views? How can parents, teachers, students, and others meaningfully engage when their schedules are already full?
- Fatigue: How do we keep momentum for ten years without people burning out from too many convenings?
- Measurement: What short-term signs of progress can show donors that long-term change is happening?
- Funding: How might funding unintentionally influence or limit community ownership and decision-making?
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