U.S. Grantmaking Program:  Human and Community Development

To help develop successful individuals and strong communities, the Program on Human and Community Development focuses on the relationships among people, place, and systems. Through grants and loans, the program explores two primary themes: the important role of place — home, community, city, region, and state — in people’s lives; and the shared interests between individuals, particularly those in trouble or in need, and society at large. Specific fields of work include community and economic development, stable and affordable housing, juvenile justice reform, and education — understanding how young people are different because of their use of digital media, a difference likely to be reflected in how they think, learn, judge, confront ethical dilemmas, and interact with others. The Program also supports a series of special policy projects, including the role that evidence plays in social policy and the country’s fiscal health.

During the past year, MacArthur has deepened its investment in core areas of domestic grantmaking. Significant progress has been made in Models for Change, the Foundation’s national juvenile justice reform initiative, as partner states have begun to change systems and processes and enact legislation to make their juvenile justice systems more fair and effective. Window of Opportunity, a $150-million initiative to facilitate the preservation of affordable rental housing and new ownership, also expanded, reaching 37 states. MacArthur formally launched a new area of work in Digital Media and Learning, an effort to explore the hypothesis that increasing digital media use is affecting how young people see themselves, interact with others, express their independence and creativity, and how they think, learn, and exercise judgment — differences that are likely to have profound implications for formal and informal education.