Closing the Wealth Gap to Strengthen American Communities
Every day, more than 50 million Americans live in or near financial crisis. Progress at scale is possible, even in the face of huge challenges; but any progress will require innovation, trust, leadership, and entrepreneurial thinking. The wealth gap remains massive and threatens to undercut a future of shared prosperity, greater opportunity, and increased equity. How can funders effectively address this pervasive issue?
In this webinar, we surfaced advice from those with deep experience in efforts to address the wealth gap. We asked them to share successes and lessons learned from solutions that were designed to serve as the countervailing forces to the structures that have precluded far too many people from building economic power over centuries. Our panelists aimed to answer the following questions – what are those solutions? What challenges and opportunities should inform our collective work? What role does philanthropy play in scaling solutions?
Watch the recording to hear from experts who were early leaders in the field of wealth inequality, as they share their mistakes, unanticipated successes, and their vision for our collective future.
Panelists included:
o Ida Rademacher, Vice President, Aspen Institute & Executive Director, Financial Security Program
o Lisa Mensah, President and CEO of Oregon Community Foundation (OCF)
o James Head, Former President and CEO, East Bay Community Foundation
o David John, Senior Strategic Policy Advisor at AARP, Former Senior Research Fellow at The Heritage Foundation
