2021 Annual Report

With waves of COVID-19 spreading dangerously around the globe, 2021 was a year of deep uncertainty and hardship. Yet it was also one of the most consequential for RESULTS’ work to end poverty. Read on to learn about the historic breakthroughs we made with donor support.

2021 by the numbers

0  +

meetings with congressional offices

0  +

pieces of media published

0  

states where advocates raised their voices

Helped to inspire

0  %

decrease in child poverty in the U.S.

$0  B

in emergency rental assistance

$0  B

for global nutrition and COVID-19 response

Letter from the Board Chair and Executive Director

Reflecting on a year of transformational impact

2021 was a year of historic breakthroughs in anti-poverty policy and one of the most consequential ever for RESULTS’ advocacy. When we look at our impact, we see not only a massive, urgently needed response to the current crisis, but also a demonstration of how we could dramatically reduce poverty long-term if we apply the lessons from the pandemic response to drive ambitious structural change.

At the end of 2020, inequity and hardship were escalating as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic — and falling disproportionately on those already vulnerable and marginalized. Across the United States, more than 3 million people had been pushed into poverty, food insecurity was spiking, and people owed billions of dollars in back rent. Globally, malnutrition and deaths from preventable pandemics like HIV/AIDS and tuberculosis (TB) were on the rise, reversing decades of progress. Nearly 100 million people worldwide had fallen further into extreme poverty.

In this incredibly challenging time, RESULTS helped to achieve some of the most significant victories against poverty in our history — thanks to your support.

Building on decades of transformational advocacy and organizing, RESULTS’ staff, international partners, and nationwide network of dedicated constituent activists were ready for the challenge. Our coordinated and nimble campaigns focused on child poverty, housing, nutrition, global health, and education helped counter the catastrophic pandemic fallout. By June of 2021, legislation passed by Congress drove the steepest one-year decline in child poverty in U.S. history. In addition, we helped to secure billions of dollars in new U.S. funding to scale up the COVID response and mitigate its devastating impacts on the fight against HIV, TB, malaria, malnutrition, and maternal and child deaths in low- and middle-income countries.

Perhaps when we look back at 2021, we’ll remember it not only as a time of deep uncertainty and hardship for so many, but also as a turning point when the country realized that, in fact, we can end poverty if the political will exists.

Much of what we helped achieve, however, is temporary and precarious. Now we must move from shaping the emergency response to solidifying lasting systemic change.

Our work to end poverty would not be possible without our passionate advocates and generous donors. We’re grateful for all the ways this community helps to support the critical work to end poverty.

Joanne signature

Dr. Joanne Carter
Executive Director

Kul Chandra Gautam  
Board Chair 

“Even though my efforts at anti-poverty lobbying and donating seem insufficient to the task, it is what I can do. In this time of pandemic, great loss, and political rage and racism, I can still express generosity and connection through this path with RESULTS.”

Sue Oehser
First 100 Days Map

Setting an agenda against poverty in 100 days

In the tumultuous early days of 2021, control of the Senate remained undecided, the presidential outcome was in dispute, and democracy was under attack. The January 6 insurrection affected us deeply.

For many RESULTS volunteers, the Capitol is not just a distant landmark, but one that matters personally as well as politically,” wrote executive director Joanne Carter. “It’s where RESULTS advocates have shared their own stories, met with members of Congress across the political spectrum, built relationships with congressional staff, and moved policymakers into action. It’s where they’ve used the levers of democracy for good.”

She added, “With democracy under threat, RESULTS will build an even bigger movement. As hundreds of millions of people continue to face the consequences of the pandemic, poverty, inequality, and structural racism, there is far too much at stake.”

RESULTS advocates gathered on February 6 to kick off our First 100 Days campaign, launching a wave of advocacy to push forward anti-poverty goals in the initial 100 days of the new Congress and Biden administration. “The first hundred days will set a marker for the next four years,” said guest speaker Representative Barbara Lee (D-CA), noting that “RESULTS was probably the first organization to help me get my agenda together.” She added, “RESULTS is such a great example of advocacy and the people’s lobby on Capitol Hill.”

Over the next 100 days, our advocates set out to meet with members of Congress across the country and the political spectrum. They delivered, holding more than 300 congressional meetings — including reaching all 100 Senate offices — and encouraging Congress to set a new agenda to reduce poverty nationally and globally.

Graph: Percentage of U.S. children in poverty

Driving U.S. child poverty down to lowest level on record 

As the pandemic wore on, tens of millions of people were being forced to make impossible choices between rent and food, childcare and medical needs, while the country faced record-high levels of unemployment, food insecurity, and evictions. RESULTS worked tirelessly to engage and educate policymakers and influence what would become the American Rescue Plan.

We have been working towards permanent, refundable, anti-poverty tax credits for families and workers for more than a decade. In 2021, we saw the opportunity to focus tax policy on reducing poverty and closing racial poverty gaps.

We built on our years of work generating bipartisan political leadership to push for expansions to the Child Tax Credit (CTC) and Earned Income Tax Credit, as well as for increases in food and emergency rental assistance and an extension of the federal eviction moratorium. Hundreds of meetings with congressional offices and media pieces bore fruit as RESULTS’ advocacy helped, for example, to double the number of members of Congress who joined sign-on letters publicly declaring their support for CTC expansions and affordable housing.

When President Biden signed the American Rescue Plan Act into law in March 2021, the legislation contained hard-won victories for families affected by poverty. In addition to extending the moratorium on evictions, the rescue plan included $21.5 billion in emergency rental assistance and $5 billion in housing vouchers. Thanks to a boost for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), well over 40 million people in the United States were better nourished. And in a historic victory, the bill included expansions to the CTC that helped to slash child poverty nearly in half. Transformative changes to the CTC included increasing the benefit amount, making the credit fully refundable so families with no or very low incomes would get the full amount for the first time in history, and delivering payments monthly instead of as a lump sum.

Minutes after the Senate approved the plan, CTC champion Senator Sherrod Brown (D-OH) joined a call with hundreds of RESULTS advocates and exclaimed, “You really set the standard for citizen activists!”

Over the following months, CTC payments helped families put nutritious food on the table, pay the rent, and keep the lights on. They also obtained childcare so they could work more, invested in education, and avoided payday loans. Expanding the CTC to the lowest income families lifted 5.6 million people out of poverty. But when Congress allowed the expansions to expire at the end of 2021, millions of children and their families faced scarcity again. We continue to push for expanded tax credits to meet the needs of low- and no-income families — permanently.

Child is weighed by medical personnel in Morogoro, Tanzania
Child is weighed by medical personnel in Morogoro, Tanzania. (Image: Tom Maguire, RESULTS)

Advocating for children’s wellbeing globally 

Before the pandemic, deaths of children under five had fallen to an all-time recorded low and more children were in school than ever. But COVID-19 and its fallout pushed tens of millions of families into extreme poverty, disrupted programs that address child and maternal health and nutrition, and closed school doors for more than 600 million children.

RESULTS successfully advocated for funding to address rising malnutrition — the American Rescue Plan Act, passed in March 2021, included $800 million for global emergency food and nutrition programs.

We also supported the development and advancement of the Global Malnutrition Prevention and Treatment Act of 2021, which directs the U.S. Agency for International Development to focus on the highest-impact nutrition interventions. It also mandates robust monitoring and oversight of nutrition programs to ensure that U.S. investments are used effectively. Introduced in both the House and Senate late in the year, we will push for its passage in 2022.  

In addition, we worked with Congress to address the global education crisis by increasing support for the Global Partnership for Education (GPE), the world’s largest and only fund dedicated exclusively to delivering quality education globally. RESULTS helped to secure the first U.S. contribution at the inaugural pledging conference in 2011. In the decade since, RESULTS has led a successful effort to build and sustain bipartisan support in Congress for GPE, and funding has grown from $20 million to $125 million annually. In 2021 we built bipartisan support for a five-year $1 billion pledge — 110 members of Congress signed a bipartisan letter to the White House calling for the pledge, and dozens of members of the House and Senate cosponsored bipartisan resolutions in support of GPE.

When the Biden administration announced an intention to cut U.S. funding at the GPE financing summit, the bipartisan congressional commitment remained strong. The final foreign aid bill from Congress rejected the proposed cut. It’s now up to Congress to help ensure the COVID-19 education crisis does not turn into a permanent catastrophe for an entire generation.

RESULTS was also able to influence international funders like the World Bank by collaborating closely with our advocacy partners across four continents. 2021 was a critical year for this advocacy, as the World Bank fast-tracked a replenishment event for the International Development Association (IDA), which provides low-interest loans and grants to low- and middle-income countries. Donor countries committed over $93 billion to IDA, the largest amount ever. Our deep ongoing advocacy and engagement with the Bank, network of international partners, and decades of experience allowed us to hold the Bank to account and push for the funds to be put to the best possible use. In particular, the Bank agreed to increase investments in education, early childhood development, nutrition, and primary health care.

Doctor in Abidjan points up at x-ray
Maxime Djangone Bi is a social worker tackling MDR-TB in the heart of Abidjan. He insists that patients follow their treatment plan and take each prescribed drug. (Image: Global Fund)

Ending new and old pandemics

COVID-19 has undone decades of progress against other pandemics like TB and HIV and exacerbated inequities. While the development of COVID vaccines was an extraordinary achievement made possible by public investment and global support, neither the brunt of the crisis nor the benefit of the breakthroughs have been shared equitably. RESULTS has pushed for bold U.S. leadership to support countries experiencing these severe hardships and health disparities.

The Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria was among the first and fastest institutions to provide critical support to low- and middle-income countries. It was well-positioned, given its work to build health care delivery systems and tackle diseases that disproportionately impact people in poverty, but it lacked sufficient funding to address the urgent need.

RESULTS highlighted the Global Fund’s role in addressing pandemics and pushed for emergency funding from Congress. In March, Congress approved an allocation of $3.5 billion as part of the pandemic relief package, more than double any prior U.S. annual funding commitment to the Global Fund. The infusion of resources helped low- and middle-income countries better respond to the ravages of COVID; fortify their efforts against TB, HIV, and malaria; and increase access to primary health services.

RESULTS’ advocacy played a key role in other record-breaking commitments to global health. In February, President Biden announced a $2 billion contribution to the global vaccine financing facility, COVAX. Then in June, he committed to donating an additional 500 million doses of COVID-19 vaccines to low-income countries. These commitments were made possible thanks to a bipartisan bill RESULTS advocated for that was passed at the end of 2020. RESULTS also worked to secure the support of 115 members of Congress to include significant funding for global vaccine manufacturing in the recovery package that was being negotiated at the end of 2021.

Grassroots advocacy power:

The key to our success

To build our largest grassroots movement ever, we expanded strategically throughout the U.S. to reach dozens more members of Congress and have an active presence in all 50 states. Examples of RESULTS advocates’ passion, commitment, and impact abound:

  • Just two weeks after joining RESULTS, an advocate in Florida led a discussion about TB with Sen. Marco Rubio’s (R-FL) office.
  • During a meeting with New York advocates, a new member of Congress not only agreed to join a resolution in support of the Global Partnership for Education but asked to attend the pledging conference. 
  • In one month, West Virginia advocates published eight pieces of media supporting the expanded Child Tax Credit, including a letter in the Washington Post, which they shared with Senator Manchin’s office (D-WV) during key negotiations.

Advocates with lived experience of poverty played a particularly important role in our work. They shared their personal and professional expertise on anti-poverty policies — and how advocacy organizations and policymakers can better center people with lived experience of poverty — with congressional offices, the media, and at conferences.

Speaking up to a senator in the national spotlight

By Rayna Castillo, Tempe, Arizona

“My personal understanding of poverty motivates me to help make sure no one else goes through the kinds of struggles that my family and I went through.”

A parking lot Zoom meeting with Congress

By Kazmyn Ramos, Indianapolis, Indiana

“I didn’t think that I could have so much access to policymakers… It feels good to know that my voice can contribute to change.” 

Celebrating our Experts on Poverty

By Keisha McVey, RESULTS Senior Associate

“To truly end poverty, we must have the voices of those most impacted at the table, helping to destroy false narratives, and coming up with and implementing real solutions.”

2021 Donors

Thank you to all our generous donors, including those not listed here. Your financial partnership in 2021 was essential to our collective work and impacted the lives of millions of people around the world.  

Anonymous

Bainum Family Foundation

Bernard and Anne Spitzer Charitable Trust

Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation

Economic Opportunity Funders

Eleanor Crook Foundation

Francis Beidler Foundation

Hopewell Fund

Keating Family Foundation

Pierce Philips Family Foundation

Robin Hood Foundation

Rockefeller Foundation

Sixteen Thirty Fund

The Anne and Henry Zarrow Foundation

The Annie E. Casey Foundation

The Duda Family Foundation

The Gordon R. Irlam Charitable Foundation

Wallace Genetic Foundation

Wellspring Philanthropic Fund

Below we recognize all those who contributed to RESULTS in 2021 with a donation of $1,000 or more.

Roxanne and Kip Allen

Steve Andre and Diana Fertsch

Anonymous (5)

Judy and Jim Arbogast

Nick Arena

Steve Arnold and Veda Stanfield

Ashish and Mimi Bali

Louisa Barkalow

Susan and John Beckett

Phyllis Behlen and Benjamin Matthews

Phyllis Bjorkman and David Corner

Paul and Kathy Brindle

Ted and Patricia Bruno

David Burns

Dixie Camp

Anne Child

Len and Phyllis Chorazy

William and Paula Clapp

Elizabeth Clerkin

Kathleen H. Close

Harold and Betsi Closter

Mark Coats and Peggy Stoll

Baird Craft

Heide Craig

Nancy Curtiss

Eliot and Patricia Daley

Sam Daley-Harris

Bruce Davidson

Suzanne Davis and Wiliam Hornby

Susan Davis

Kathy DeLoach

Nancy Dickerson

Lois Dodson

Kathleen Duncan

David Ellis

Peter and Sharon Fiekowsky

Jim Ford

Doris Galloway

Nancy Gardiner

Kul Gautam

Karen and Anton Gielen

Linda G. Gochfeld, MD

Alan Gold

Michael Greene

Edgar Greville and Elaine Shell

Scott Harris

Peggy Harvey and Paul Hornick

John Hatch

H. Ralph and Susan Hawkins

Robert Heyl and Margaret Minogue-Heyl

John and Mary Hornby

Roger L. Hudson

Gordon Irlam and Manjula Jonnalagadda

Mary G. Jackson

Lucinda Jewell

Martha Karnopp and James Chaput

Ellen Kempler and Ken Rosen

John and Patricia Kennish

Oscar Lanzi III

Scott Leckman

Laurence Levine

Jan and Joy Linn

Laura Taylor Linn

Maud Lipscomb

Benjamin Loevinsohn

Ernest Loevinsohn

Jennifer Long

Susan Lorence

Barbara Mihm

Claudia Morgan and Tom Biddle

Susan Morrison

Kathryn Nelson

Alan and Ellen Newberg

Bill and Tari Nicholson

Phoebe and Dennis O’Connell

Susan Oehser

Carl Page

Stephanie Page

Lynne Patalano

Lesley Reed

Rich and Reba Renner

Betsy Rice

Anita Rose and Neal Perrine

Dr. Amy Rossman

Bob and Barb Sample

Ken and Linda Schatz

Nick and Debra Schatzki

David Schubert

Steven and Katya Scordino

Dr. Kathryn Sherlock

Jonas Simonis and Jillian Barron

Neiladri Sinhababu

Richard Smiley

Colin and Margaret Smith

Sterling Speirn

Fred Steves

Peter Stoel and Karen Josephson

Peggi Sturm

Rick Sukkar

Eloise Sutherland

Kyle Talkington

Marc Tolo

Gagan and Manisha Toor

Cynthia Tschampl and Kimball Halsey

Larry Tuke and Brooke Healy

Janice Twombly

Karan Vazirani

Neil Watkins

Marty and Jean White

Marty and Madeline White

Peter White

Thomas White

Beth and Paul Wilson

Lucinda Winslow and Bill Baker

Michael Winters and Kelly Penrod

Yvonne Wyborny

“Our desire to witness a world without hunger, disease, and poverty remains as strong now as it did over 40 years ago when we first volunteered for RESULTS. We hope others will join us in investing in RESULTS.”

Ken and Linda Schatz

2021 Annual Report Financials

FY2021 Total Budget: $9,881,075

* October 1, 2020, through September 30, 2021 

2021 Financials - Revenue
2021 Financials - Expenses

2021 Board of Directors

Chair

Kul Gautam
Former Deputy Executive Director, UNICEF

Executive Committee

Lily Callaway 
Grassroots Board Member 

Joanne Carter 
Ex Officio 
Executive Director, RESULTS and RESULTS Educational Fund 

Sam Daley-Harris 
Founder, RESULTS and RESULTS Educational Fund 

Jennn M. Koo 
Grassroots Board Member 

Ernie Loevinsohn 
Issues Committee Chair 
Executive Director, Fund for Global Health 

Lindsay K. Saunders 
Grassroots Board Member 

Maxine Thomas 
Grassroots Board Member 

Qiana Torregano 
Grassroots Board Member  

Jan Twombly 
Treasurer 
Finance and Audit Committee Chair 
President, The Rhythm of Business 

Board of Directors Members

Pankaj Agarwal 
Managing Director, ReCubed Consulting 

Nikki Eberhardt, Ph.D. 
Professor of Business, Minerva University 

Roger Hudson 
Fundraising Committee Chair 

Scott Leckman 
M.D., F.A.C.S. 

Marian Wright Edelman 
President, Children’s Defense Fund 

Professor Muhammad Yunus 
Founder, Grameen Bank 

Ashish Bali 
Advisor and Consultant
Former Global CFO, Deloitte

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