In her recent blog post announcing $2.7 billion in commitments to equity-oriented nonprofits across the country, philanthropist MacKenzie Scott writes: "Arts and cultural institutions can strengthen communities by transforming spaces, fostering empathy, reflecting community identity, advancing economic mobility, improving academic outcomes, lowering crime rates, and improving mental health."

Scott explains that in selecting arts organizations to support, she and her team evaluated smaller arts organizations that are creating those benefits with artists and audiences from culturally rich regions to identity groups that donors often overlook. She also highlights her support for organizations working to address discrimination against ethnic and religious minorities and bridge divides through interfaith support and collaboration and organizations focused on supporting community engagement — historically underfunded groups whose leaders nonetheless inspire more people to serve.

As a longtime arts philanthropist, reading Ms. Scott's post, I couldn't help but recognize the work she was describing as systems change — a vision my organization, the Lewis Prize for Music, has set for itself. With my philanthropy, I've become intentionally focused on efforts that put youth music at the forefront of systems change. In my local community, we've built trust and relationships among nonprofits, Miami-Dade County Public Schools, and the Miami Foundation to collaborate for the benefit of all young people through the Music Access Miami initiative. Nationally, I work with a talented board, staff, and diverse advisors at the Lewis Prize to invest in creative youth development (CYD) music organizations that put young people and their talent at the heart of equitable systems change.

Read the full article about creative youth development by Daniel R. Lewis at PhilanTopic.