report from the field:

Human Services

Donors interested in Human Services probably have one of the most difficult fields in philanthropy, in trying to ensure that their investments are well-chosen. The problems are extremely complex and sometimes intractable; the solutions are rarely generally agreed-upon; there is always the question of whether any donor can make much of a difference in such a large arena; and to make matters worse, philanthropy is also, as the Catalogue has found, in a period of paradigm-shift in which even the data we are working with is questionable, in part because it has not been developed for philanthropic purposes.

Much of the human services sector’s revenues come from state government, which invests $2.5 billion annually in human services contracts and grants. These contracts often rigidly define what services can be provided to whom, leaving agencies with little flexible funding for innovation and new approaches. Government support, which is necessary for large social issues, tends almost necessarily to be a rather blunt instrument. Philanthropy is much better at exploring innovative approaches, testing various options, identifying emerging issues, providing leadership for the development of public policies, and filling in gaps where needed support is lacking (which is almost everywhere in human services).

Take family homelessness for example. For the past twenty years, Massachusetts has expanded a costly emergency shelter system at the expense of prevention programs and rent subsidies. Yet repeated national research has demonstrated that preventing homelessness is cheaper and that the only predictor for a homeless family to remain housed post shelter is the availability of a rent subsidy; services provided by shelters and others, while they may help the family in other important and even necessary ways, do not affect whether the family is housed two years later. This illustrates the complexity of this field.

Those of us still in the game thrive on these challenges, and look for programs that build on the natural strengths and coping skills of the poor, helping them gain social and financial assets. We support direct aid for poor people, then use what we learn to change the systems that serve them and build public will to end poverty. We push the groups we support to get better at partnerships with others, as multiple players and sectors are needed to work together on the intractable issues of poverty. When the going gets complicated and messy (as it inevitably does), we can remind ourselves of the excellent programs included in this Catalogue, and take comfort in the fact that at least our gift has concretely helped a few people.

Melinda Marble
Executive Director, The Paul and Phyllis Fireman Charitable Foundation
Catalogue Trustee