Northwest Area Foundation

Poverty reduction, in order to be significant and sustained, requires a realignment of power. It requires
changes to structures, systems, political culture and political will. Nonprofit engagement in public
policy advocacy is one important component of a comprehensive approach to poverty reduction and an
essential strategy for change. Foundations have the power and position to foster and advance the social
sector’s role in achieving change.

This paper addresses one of the most challenging aspects of philanthropy in Indian Country, namely reduction of poverty among American Indian communities. Poverty negatively impacts a broad spectrum of issues. The following discussion places the work of poverty reduction in both a larger economic and community-development context and a cultural context, which strongly influence program-specific strategies and potential outcomes.

This essay provides an overview of two different but potentially complementary approaches to poverty reduction: “community-building and social justice pathways to community vitality” and “work pathways to economic self-sufficiency.” It then discusses the role of advocacy in developing policies that can support these approaches.

Helping America’s low-income families build assets is one of the most cost-effective and sustainable improvements we can make as a society. While policymakers seeking to reduce poverty have traditionally focused on income, spending and consumption, a new vision has steadily gained prominence in recent years, focusing on savings, investment, and asset-building policies that work in conjunction with, not instead of, traditional anti-poverty policies and programs.