Russell Sage Foundation Publishes "Places in Need: The Changing Geography of Poverty"
America’s suburbs are enduring a crisis of poverty. Nearly 17 million Americans live in poverty in the suburbs, but they remain largely ignored by philanthropists who underfund the social service organizations they depend on. To stop this invisible crisis, philanthropists need to start giving the suburban nonprofit sector the attention—and funding—that it desperately needs.
That’s the provocative argument of Brookings Institution political scientist and urban studies expert Scott Allard, whose forthcoming book Places in Need: The Changing Geography of Poverty from the Russell Sage Foundation sheds a light on the crisis of suburban poverty, which has grown by nearly 50% in the last two decades.
Speaking with over 100 suburban nonprofit leaders and drawing on a wealth of data from 990 fillings, Allard finds that despite the growing need for the services of these organizations, suburban direct services providers remain underfunded, providing just $89 per person in poverty, compared to $397 for urban providers (see graph below my signature). With a local safety net that often falls short of that in cities, Allard shows the important role that philanthropy can play in the suburbs—if it’s willing to step up. . .