Eos Grantees in the News
Keeping the Spotlight on Poverty
During the 2008 presidential campaign, the Spotlight on Poverty and Opportunity, an Eos grantee, sought to make poverty a central issue by commissioning polls and inviting candidates to submit video presentations. But after the campaign hubbub subsides, how do you raise awareness about an issue that many see as intractable?
With exclusive research and commentary, a series of webcasts with political leaders, and sponsorship of policy forums—such as a recent one in San Francisco discussing income and health disparities —Spotlight is working to keep policymakers focused on poverty.
In the United States, nearly 40 million people live in poverty, which the Federal Government defines as an annual income of less than $21,200 a year for a family of four. More than twelve million children grow up in impoverished homes and among 21 developed nations, American kids fare the worst on health, safety and measures of relative poverty. Even in an era of trillion-dollar bailouts, the return on investment from a sustained focus on eliminating child poverty could be substantial—economists estimate as much as $500 billion a year from savings on health and criminal justice costs alone. Spotlight is working to ensure the U.S. as a whole, and its poorest children, can reap those benefits.
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