Editor’s note: This essay is part of Mississippi Today Ideas, a platform for thoughtful Mississippians to share their ideas about our state’s past, present and future. Opinions expressed in guest essays are the author’s own and do not necessarily represent those of Mississippi Today. You can read more about the section here.
If you are in downtown Jackson while the Legislature is in session, stop by the Capitol and watch democracy in action. It’s like a real-life civics lesson.
Most people know that there are two chambers, that committee meetings are regularly held and that floor debates can be observed from the public gallery. But there is also a lively part of the process, held most days during the session, on the first floor under the Capitol rotunda.
Here, a range of groups representing various walks of life, programs and issues gather to present information on their organizations. If you get there early enough, you might even score a biscuit or a stress ball.
Jason Dean Credit: Courtesy photo“Mississippi Nonprofits Day,” scheduled for Thursday, will bring leaders from across Mississippi to the Capitol to showcase their value to state legislators, agency heads and statewide elected officials.
One of the groups presenting under the dome that you need to go see is the Mississippi Alliance of Nonprofits and Philanthropy. The objective of the Alliance is to harness the collective power of nonprofits by connecting them to issues that matter to thought leaders and decision makers. This issue-focused mindset helps the nonprofits improve their messaging effectiveness as they engage in the work on issues that are important to them.
For example, the Alliance hosts affinity groups focused on education, health and workforce development, helping nonprofits and foundations collaborate on policy solutions and share best practices. This support ensures nonprofits can source the best ideas, implement them with a degree of flexibility that government agencies often can’t match and garner a level of community trust that helps those programs succeed.
Nonprofits are kind of a big deal here. Mississippi is consistently ranked highest in the country for per capita charitable giving, but nonprofits also provide a material impact to the local and state economy.
Based on aggregate IRS Form 990 filings, Mississippi has over 17,000 nonprofits in the state, employing 92,000 people and holding $29 billion in assets. These include civic organizations, charitable groups, religious associations, educational focused groups, business leagues, chambers of commerce, professional associations, social clubs and, yes, even cemetery corporations.
But more importantly, they are bridge builders that convene stakeholders and focus resources to solve specific quality of life challenges. Just recently, I’ve seen the Great City Foundation and other corporate foundations organize and convene stakeholder meetings over several weeks to develop Mayor John Hohrn’s visionary plan called “Jackson Rising.”
I’ve seen education-focused groups such as the Woodward Hines Education Foundation work directly with state agency leaders to increase the number of Mississippians with postsecondary certifications, credentials and degrees. There have been efforts to provide workforce training to citizens who are reentering society after being incarcerated, a factor that is directly correlated with lower recidivism rates.
Why is all this important? Steps like increasing the number of citizens with occupational specific training after high school or increasing the number with an associate or bachelor’s degree lead to more people working, resulting in growth in the state’s gross domestic product and an overall stronger economy. That means the state has more money to pay our bills. It matters.
One huge impact I’ve seen a nonprofit have here is related to the headlines heralding the recent education achievement described as the “Mississippi Miracle.” This alliterative phrase refers to the significant gains in reading scores and other educational achievements.
The results are for real, and it began with the Barksdale Reading Institute, first setting the foundation for what became the Mississippi Early Learning Collaborative Act in 2013. This bill was passed after a lengthy and collaborative process, ultimately providing the framework and funding structure for schools and nonprofits to work together. It also established the third-grade reading gate, which requires students to read on grade level before advancing to the next grade.
In 2024, legislators increased the state’s appropriation to early learning collaboratives by $5 million to reach $29 million total. It was nonprofit organizations with their deep knowledge of community needs and their relationships built over the years, which supported efforts to turn policy into practice.
Gov. Tate Reeves and his team have made historic economic development project announcements lately that demolish any previous investment number. With all of the promising news ranging from education to economic development, now is the time to put it all together and leverage our capabilities, and it’s time to stomp on the gas.
Neither governmental entities nor nonprofits can fully achieve this on their own. The focus needs to be on ways to achieve greater collaboration between the public and nonprofit sectors: an interdependent relationship that produces outcomes greater than either sector could achieve on its own.
With legislators providing the framework and resources, and nonprofits delivering expertise and excellent services, we create something greater than the sum of its parts. This isn’t just good policy. It is essential to Mississippi’s long-term prosperity.
Go see them all working at the Capitol. And maybe get you a biscuit.
Jason Dean is senior vice president at SiteLogIQ, whose mission is to develop energy efficiency solutions for its school districts and other public sector clients. He has worked in the workforce and education policy arena in Mississippi for 25 years, including as chair of the Mississippi Board of Education. Dean has been a White House fellow, a governor’s education adviser, a board member of the National Association of State Boards of Education, a board member of a local school board and currently serves as a board member on the Jackson State University Development Foundation. He earned a bachelor’s degree from the University of Southern Mississippi, and has a master’s and doctorate in education from the University of Mississippi.
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