"Passing Gear philanthropy seeks to engage society’s inventiveness and focus its capabilities on situations where current performance is missing the mark. It cultivates the will, imagination, and know- how to enable caring and concerned people to address contradictions between the ideals we hold and the disappointing realities we confront daily.
Ten years ago, MDC’s report The State of the South 2007: Philanthropy as the South’s “Passing Gear,” asked a key question of the field: How can philanthropy accelerate progress toward a South that is both equitable for all its residents and competitive with other regions of the country?
The original “Passing Gear” report leaned heavily on data about the current state of the South and the trends that were then shaping its future. That data – and the recommendations made to both respond to and shape it moving forward – sparked years of conversation, deeper research and ongoing questions about philanthropy’s role throughout our region. Since then, several foundations have intentionally applied Passing Gear principles to their work, reshaping their roles and significantly transforming systems, attitudes, and outcomes.
Now, a decade later, this second iteration of the MDC “Passing Gear” report, commissioned by Philanthropy Southeast and released at our 48th Annual Meeting, explores what has changed in terms of data, landscape, and philanthropic capacity and activity in our region.