Seven years or less
If you can’t eradicate poverty in your community in seven years or less, it may just be because you don’t want to. If you decide you do, we’ll help you get there.
In 1962
President John F. Kennedy told the American people that we were going to land Americans on the moon in that decade. He did so knowing that we had not yet developed all the technology necessary to make that happen. But he pledged it knowing that it was to become an important aspect of the American spirit and identity, a way to create a strong legacy. As a country, we made the commitment and, more importantly, embraced a collective mindset that this was a goal that we must achieve.
All who heard the speech knew what else it was: a race to the moon.
We won.
On July 21, 1969 American astronaut Neil Armstrong became the person to walk on the moon.
In 1964
Just a little over a year after Kennedy’s moon shot speech, President Lyndon Johnson gave a speech before Congress in which he said “This administration today, here and now, declares unconditional war on poverty in America…we shall not rest until that war is won. The richest nation on earth can afford to win it. We cannot afford to lose it.”
We lost it.
Despite it being called a war, it was not accompanied by a commitment nor was there a shared mindset that we had to achieve it.
In fact, in 1973 one out of every six Americans needed assistance to get by. Today, it’s one out of every four. We can leave a better legacy than this.
Sending human beings to the moon is considerably more complicated than
eradicating poverty in your community.
See for yourself here.
Join a cohort
Learn from individuals across the country about what is working well — or not working well — in their communities. Or work with your own neighbors from different sectors.
If your community needs to make greater progress, working with a cohort may increase the likelihood of success.