The Anchor Dashboard: Aligning Institutional Practice to Meet Low-Income Community Needs
Type
Policy Brief or Report
Year
2013
Level
County
State(s)
All States
Policy Areas
Children & Families, Civil Rights, Democracy & Governance, Economic Justice, Education, Environment & Natural Resources, Health
Anchor institutions are place-based entities such as universities and hospitals that are tied to their surroundings by mission, invested capital, or relationships to customers, employees, and vendors. These local human and economic relationships link institution well-being to that of the community in which it is anchored. Increasingly, anchor institutions across the nation are realizing this interdependence and are expanding their public or nonprofit mission to incorporate what we call an "anchor mission." In other words, they are consciously applying their long-term, place-based economic power, in combination with their human and intellectual resources, to better the long-term welfare of the communities in which they reside.