By Joanna D. Geller, Ph.D, Jeremy Martin, PhD, Erika Abarca Millán, PhD, & Danielle M. Perry, PhD
In 2020, the Nellie Mae Education Foundation (NMEF) took a bold step to move to an explicit focus on advancing racial equity in public education. NMEF partnered with the Center for Policy, Research, and Evaluation to assess what this shift has made possible for grantees and communities across New England. Using a mixed-methods approach, our assessment highlights the impacts of NMEF’s strategy, including strengthened community voice, expanded youth leadership, and progress toward more equitable policies and systems.
Grantees described NMEF’s support as “transformational,” pointing to the importance of multi-year general operating funds, responsive program officers, and non-monetary supports like culturally responsive coaching and convenings. At the same time, findings surfaced persistent barriers, such as political backlash, pandemic-related disruption, and funding instability, that can slow systems-change work, alongside a call for NMEF to deepen transparency, strengthen long-term funding approaches, and expand meaningful community partnership in grantmaking and learning.