Philanthropy often funds programs to help people move up, like scholarships, tutoring, job training, youth development, mentoring, college access, entrepreneurship, and community revitalization. Much of this work is valuable.
But a new Gallup / Walton Family Foundation report, How Opportunity Takes Root, suggests that donors should widen the lens. Opportunity doesn’t depend only on programs but on whether communities create the conditions that allow people to shape their own lives.
The report finds that two-thirds of Americans feel they can mostly determine their own path, even when things are difficult. But one-third feel mostly compelled by circumstances beyond their control. This agency gap has enormous consequences. Adults who feel in control are more than twice as likely to thrive as those who feel pushed by circumstances, 63% compared with 25%, respectively.
For donors, the message is clear. Funding isolated interventions isn’t sufficient to help people in need. Instead, donors must invest in the local conditions that make personal agency possible, allowing residents to solve problems at a local level.
