As the sun rose over downtown Orlando on August 12, I joined dozens of Central Florida changemakers at the Parikh Giving Alliance’s Change Makers Breakfast, where several nonprofit leaders gathered to celebrate their causes. Standing at the podium, I reflected on how my journey, from growing up being the “new kid” regularly (due to being in a military family) to spending 24 years building student programs, shaped my why in the world of education and psychology. My parents taught me that one act of courage can cause a butterfly effect, a ripple across generations, a lesson that became my purpose: to help others find belonging and opportunity, no matter where they start. In my speech that morning, I shared how this belief guided my career in education and even my doctoral research (Henlon, 2025). I saw firsthand that when people feel seen and supported, they push through barriers. Belonging, I’ve learned, is the common thread in every success story. Research, experience, and lived reality all echo the same truth: when people feel they belong, they persist (Fong et al., 2024).

That sense of purpose and belonging filled the room at the Change Makers Breakfast. The event brought together leaders in healthcare, education, and the arts who understand that real change happens when we work together across disciplines. Co-founder, Dr. Parikh, opened the morning by reflecting on the essential needs these sectors address and the unique role their alliance plays in fueling innovation through collaboration (parikhgivingalliance.org). Set to take the “stage” were a healthcare CEO, an educator (myself), and a Grammy-winning arts leader. Each of us offered stories of transformation, from free clinics healing the uninsured to educators sparking a student’s self-belief to the arts inspiring dreams. We even heard a stirring live performance of The Impossible Dream, a fitting anthem for a morning celebrating vision and perseverance.

Collaborative Philanthropy in Action

The highlight of the breakfast was announcing the Summer 2025 grant recipients, each an example of collaborative philanthropy in action. The Parikh Giving Alliance intentionally funds partnerships: its Collaboration Catalyst grants support projects where multiple nonprofits work together toward shared goals (parikhgivingalliance.org). By pooling resources and expertise, these joint initiatives aim to enhance community well-being through innovative programs in healthcare, education, and the arts (Bridgespan Group, 2021). It is a funding ecosystem designed to break down silos, recognizing that complex challenges like educational inequity or healthcare access cannot be solved in isolation (McCarthy & Knighton, 2019).

One collaboration features IDignity and Shepherd’s Hope, two nonprofits tackling different sides of the opportunity gap. IDignity works to restore legal identity for vulnerable residents, helping them obtain IDs and documents needed to access housing, healthcare, and employment. Shepherd’s Hope provides free healthcare to uninsured and underserved families. Together, their efforts address interlocking barriers: a person cannot access proper medical treatment or secure employment without identification, and they cannot maintain health or stability without medical care. By funding both organizations in tandem, the Alliance is bridging these systemic gaps with a holistic approach.

Another grant recipient, the Center for Independent Living (CIL), exemplifies partnership in service of inclusion. CIL focuses on empowering people with disabilities, promoting independence and full participation in the community. With Alliance support, CIL can expand programs that make education, workplaces, and arts venues accessible to all. This kind of investment multiplies impact: each ramp built, each sign-language interpreter provided, each adaptive technology device supplied helps create an environment where everyone feels they belong.

In the arts, collaborative philanthropy is opening doors for young talent. The Orlando Youth Chamber Ensembles, a grassroots music education initiative, received seed funding to expand youth access to quality music training. This investment not only nurtures creativity; it builds confidence and community among students. Research confirms that expanded access to arts education strengthens academic outcomes and social-emotional growth (Kisida & Bowen, 2019). When a young person joins an ensemble, they find a place to belong, developing discipline and teamwork through music, often leading to greater engagement in school. Similarly, a larger Transformational grant to Central Florida Community Arts will help scale inclusive arts programs for all ages and abilities, demonstrating how arts organizations and educators can partner to make creativity accessible to everyone.

Insights from Research

The approach taken by collaborative philanthropies like the Parikh Giving Alliance is backed by research and trends in the field. Nearly half of all philanthropic collaboratives active today were founded in the last decade, as donors recognize that pooling resources can multiply the impact of their giving (McCarthy & Knighton, 2019). When executed well, these collaboratives leverage diverse expertise and funder coordination to tackle social challenges more effectively than any one donor or organization could alone (Bridgespan Group, 2021). In other words, collaboration is more than a buzzword; it is a strategy for greater collective impact.

Education and arts partnerships, in particular, have shown remarkable outcomes. A city-wide effort to restore arts education in public schools, studied by the Brookings Institution, found that students who received greater access to arts learning saw fewer disciplinary infractions, higher standardized writing scores, and stronger compassion for peers (Kisida & Bowen, 2019). These students also became more engaged in school and optimistic about their futures, without any decline in core academic performance. Such findings affirm that investing in the arts is not a luxury but a catalyst for educational success and civic health.

Likewise, research on educational inclusion consistently shows that a sense of belonging can make or break student success. A comprehensive review by Fong and colleagues (2024) linked strong student belonging with higher GPA, better graduation rates, and greater persistence in school, with especially significant benefits for students from historically marginalized groups. My doctoral research with first-generation college students reinforces this: participants described how mentorship, peer support, and extracurricular engagement deepened their motivation and helped them persist to graduation (Henlon, 2025). Their stories underscored a central truth: students thrive when they feel seen, supported, and connected to a purpose larger than themselves.

Lifting as We Climb

As the breakfast came to a close, I felt the truth of our collective mission: we are, each of us, like butterflies setting off a ripple of change. “So today, we are the butterflies,” I told the audience. “Every scholarship, every hour of service, every idea shared sets winds of change in motion. Let’s keep lifting as we climb, investing in belonging and purpose. Because when we do, our small steps today become the big impacts of tomorrow.”

In that moment, the room full of educators, artists, health providers, and philanthropists all nodded in recognition. It was clear that belonging is both the fuel and the goal of our work. The Change Makers Breakfast offered a hopeful glimpse of what is possible when visionaries unite. Now it is up to all of us, in the philanthropic sector and beyond, to carry that momentum forward. Whether through funding a joint initiative, volunteering time, or forging a new partnership, we each have a role to play in advancing access and belonging.

When we invest in people and link arms across disciplines, small steps can lead to transformative change. The grant recipients honored this summer will be hard at work creating that change: helping neighbors attain housing and health, giving students a stage (or a canvas or a clinic) to discover their potential, and ensuring no one has to journey alone.

Belonging grows when we build together, and purpose finds power in partnership.

About the Author

Dr. Jessica Henlon is an Educational Psychologist, researcher, and leader with over 26 years of experience in student development, community engagement, and talent cultivation. She is passionate about designing inclusive programs and scalable systems that foster belonging and success. Through Dr. Jessica Henlon Consulting Co., she partners with schools, universities, and organizations to develop strategies that help individuals and institutions thrive. To learn more or inquire about consulting and speaking opportunities, visit www.jessicahenlon.com.

References

Bridgespan Group. (2021, December 14). Releasing the potential of philanthropic collaborations. The Bridgespan Group. https://www.bridgespan.org/insights/philanthropic-collaborations 

Kisida, B., & Bowen, D. H. (2019, February 12). New evidence of the benefits of arts education. Brookings Institution. https://www.brookings.edu/articles/new-evidence-of-the-benefits-of-arts-education  

Fong, C. J., Adelugba, S. F., Garza, M., Lorenzi Pinto, G., Gonzales, C., Zarei, P., & Rozek, C. S. (2024). A scoping review of the associations between sense of belonging and academic outcomes in postsecondary education. Educational Psychology Review, 36(1), 138–181. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10648-024-09974-y 

Henlon, J. (2025). Exploring the learning experiences of online first-generation college students participating in virtual extracurricular activities (Publication No. 32114979) [Doctoral dissertation, Capella University]. ProQuest Dissertations & Theses Global. https://www.proquest.com/docview/3217854749

McCarthy, K., & Knighton, M. (2019, October 7). The role of philanthropy in advancing equity in the arts. Stanford Social Innovation Review. https://ssir.org/articles/entry/the_role_of_philanthropy_in_advancing_equity_in_the_arts 

Parikh Giving Alliance. (n.d.). Parikh Giving Alliance. https://www.parikhgivingalliance.org