New American Leaders (NAL) leads a movement for inclusive democracy by equipping immigrants, refugees, and their allies with the tools needed to run for office, engaging in civic action that brings their voices to the forefront of American politics, and supporting successful candidates post-election in their preparation for holding public office. NAL enlisted a Capstone team to evaluate the legislative and policy successes of elected officials within the organization’s network. The team formulated and deployed a survey to capture data on legislative and policy successes—both explicit and implicit—and utilized its survey responses and independent policy research to produce a report on the measurable successes of elected officials across the key states of Arizona, California, Georgia, Michigan, Nevada, and New York. The team’s report includes a comprehensive analysis of its survey and research findings, paired with recommendations for future surveying efforts.

Global Dialogue is an independent, international platform for philanthropic partnership, enabling funders to work together to advance human rights and social change within countries in the European Union (EU). Fiscal host organizations offer incubation and operational support for grants and small funders. Global Dialogue engaged a Capstone team to help determine its strategic direction as a UK-based fiscal host following Brexit. The team was tasked with evaluating the potential costs and benefits of partnering with an EU entity, establishing its own operation in an EU jurisdiction, or maintaining its current status. Using information obtained from desktop research and stakeholder interviews, the team prepared a final report outlining strategic options for Global Dialogue in the context of broader trends within the philanthropy and fiscal host sector.

Students with special needs have historically been overlooked in the American public school system and only in the last 50 years has the federal government provided explicit protections for these students. Existing literature shows evidence of ongoing and significant differences in referrals to special education services based on race and gender. The Capstone team sought to understand whether, and to what extent, disparities in special education access contribute to disparities in educational outcomes for marginalized groups. The team analyzed data from the 2011 Early Childhood Longitudinal Study conducted by the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) and developed a final report outlining its findings to help inform special education support and services.

Day One is a nonprofit organization that partners with youth to end dating abuse and intimate partner violence (IPV) through an empowerment model of community education, supportive services, legal advocacy, and leadership development. Day One’s clients are impacted by various issues beyond IPV, including the school-to-prison pipeline, lack of reproductive care, and housing insecurity. However, Day One has limited capacity to engage in advocacy efforts related to these areas. The client enlisted the team to identify best practices for setting policy and advocacy priorities and deepening staff and youth involvement in these processes. The team conducted legislative research, identified potential allies in elected office, surveyed staff and youth clients, and conducted employee focus groups. Based on its research findings, the team developed a final report recommending policy priorities, internal and external advocacy strategies, and best practices for engaging staff and youth.

TakeRoot Justice (TRJ) leverages legal and policy expertise to help community-driven movements dismantle systems of racial, economic, and social oppression. TRJ engaged a Capstone team to evaluate its role in community campaign advancement and ensure that its legal representation of individuals feeds into an organizing strategy for systemic change. The team conducted a literature review on movement lawyering and administered a survey to twelve of TRJ’s partner organizations. They also carried out focus groups across four key TRJ practice areas: consumer justice, housing rights, immigrants’ rights, and workers’ rights. Drawing on its findings, the team produced a report with guiding documents to increase internal capacity for organizing and a toolkit to facilitate stronger partner relationships.

The United Nations Capital Development Fund’s (UNCDF) Local Development Finance team is committed to facilitating effective urban infrastructure financing solutions in the world’s least developed countries (LDCs). As LDCs experience rapid urbanization, municipalities face mounting pressures to deliver a variety of public services. As urban inequality increases, LDCs also encounter additional challenges to providing basic infrastructure to marginalized communities living in informal settlements and slums. UNCDF enlisted a Capstone team to create strategies to improve and democratize access to basic services through urban form. The team conducted research on proven practices for creating livable cities that prioritize human connection and mobility, and for urban development that promotes health, prosperity, and sustainability. The team also investigated existing financing mechanisms that prevent municipalities from realizing the ideal urban form and proposed alternative solutions for community development finance. The team’s findings inform new efforts by UNCDF to create localized and specialized urban development funds.

Mi Familia Vota (My Family Votes) is a leading Latinx civic engagement organization whose mission is to build Latinx political power by expanding the electorate, strengthening local infrastructure, and engaging voters year-round. In Texas, a long state history of voter suppression has led to low voter registration and participation. Mi Familia Vota’s Texas division engaged a team to help expand its capacity to advance a proactive voting rights agenda. The team researched and analyzed electoral access policies, designed a survey to gauge community members’ voter access experience, tracked and evaluated new legislation introduced in Texas, and created a power map of key legislators and committees in the Texas House of Representatives to identify potential allies and opponents. With this information, the team produced a legislative action plan to guide Mi Familia Vota’s mobilization around affirmative and restrictive voting access proposals.