As a name, “2Gen” has received mixed reviews. For some, it is a concise and accurate description of working with families across generations. For others of a more conservative bent, it can seem too trendy or associated with the opposite political party. They and others prefer terms such as “whole-family approaches” or “multigenerational approaches.” And for others, the term 2Gen is either not understood or misunderstood. One funder summarized it this way: “People are finding different doorways to walk through to do the work, and not everybody is using the 2Gen word.”

It is important for funders to make clear that the 2Gen approach, above all else, is an economic mobility strategy. That message cannot get diluted. 2Gen is about increased economic success and well-being of families with the goal of breaking the cycle of intergenerational poverty.

Interest in 2Gen approaches has escalated, and as a result, many organizations report that they begin implementation without fully understanding what the approach entails. Funders are often challenged with how to assess an organization’s knowledge and readiness to adopt a 2Gen approach. This makes it difficult to determine which organizations are best suited for investment. Some funders have developed “readiness assessments” to better understand the organization’s knowledge and capacity. These readiness assessment tools and approaches can be enhanced and shared broadly.

Many 2Gen peer-learning cohorts to date have engaged technical assistance (TA) advisors, consultants, or expert practitioners from other 2Gen organizations as coaches for emerging and maturing organizations. They help 2Gen practitioners advance from their existing stage or “starting point” to achieve their next goal or performance level. However, the field is experiencing several challenges related to technical assistance providers. The field is still quite young. As a result, there is almost no stock of people who have themselves fully implemented a 2Gen approach within an organization or system and then moved on to help others as a consultant. Many people who are serving as 2Gen consultants have worked as consultants in a range of poverty-alleviation and asset-building efforts; most have strength in some aspect of 2Gen approaches but need to build knowledge and muscle on all aspects.

The expert practitioners still leading nonprofit organizations who do occasionally serve as 2Gen coaches really enjoy doing it, but they are simply stretched too far. Thus, serving as a 2Gen coach makes it harder for the field-leading practitioners to pay close attention back home, and that poses a risk for the field as it builds a results base. Currently, there is not a large enough bench of people who can be tapped to coach other organizations and address the growing demand. Investment is needed to increase the capacity and number of 2Gen technical assistance providers.

2Gen approaches rely on the ongoing relationship between staff and family members. Relationship building is crucial and difficult, if not impossible, to achieve when there is a shortage of staff or high staff turnover. As a result, funding aimed at hiring and retaining quality staff is crucial in 2Gen approaches.

Because 2Gen approaches usually involve multiple family members, funders, and providers, they often require longer timeframes for both funding and evaluation. In terms of funding, three questions are especially important to ask early in the process to gain a realistic sense of program trajectories and to avoid misunderstandings down the road: What is the life cycle of the programs? How long does it take to implement a 2Gen approach? How do you determine whether organizations starting 2Gen approaches are “hidden gems?” When evaluating 2Gen approaches, it is important to acknowledge that criteria often used in less complex programs can be inaccurate and can even disguise true progress. 2Gen approaches can often be organic and need to evolve as providers work with family members to help them achieve financial stability. Savvy funders have come to realize that a change in strategy or an increased timeframe can often be an asset and not a liability, indicating that the program is adapting to the needs of those it is designed to serve.

Both private foundations and public sector funders tend to be organized as “siloed departments,” an organizational structure that can impede the successful pinpointing and funding of 2Gen approaches. Both public and private funders can address the silo effect by collaborating on a unified strategy to funding 2Gen approaches. When various departments or agencies come together, interact, and communicate, barriers to funding 2Gen approaches can be broken down, with each department or agency contributing to creating a successful 2Gen program. It is a clear case of the whole being greater than the sum of its parts.

For example, on the state level, a Maine Human Services initiative helped various department heads realize the value to the community of the interconnectivity of their funding. It brought people together across departments who then saw that their department’s funding was maximized because funding from another department was also involved. As a result, they continued to collaborate on other initiatives to “braid their funding.”

A private funder indicated that the evolution to a less siloed organization meant that foundation-wide, employees became more focused on “how we think about families, about how they are situated, and how we engage them.”

CONCLUSION

Over the last decade, numerous public and private funders have invested in 2Gen approaches, each using their own strategy. As funders continue to embrace 2Gen approaches, there is an opportunity to explore ways to better support them, connect them, and elevate best practices. It is an appropriate time to assess opportunities for collaboration. Collaboration could take several forms, but the following three ideas have emerged:

Information, tools, and resource sharing can help elevate funder best practices. Sharing research, reports, and tools will equip funders with the information they need to respond to emerging 2Gen issues, opportunities, or challenges. Below are potential resources suggested by funders that would be especially beneficial: