At The Miles Foundation, we envision a future where every child is given the foundation they need to live a healthy, hopeful, and productive life.
We believe this foundation begins at birth, and is shaped by experiences and relationships both inside and outside of the classroom. To that end, The Miles Foundation employs a whole-community approach to supporting children, parents, and families where they live, learn, and work – to build stronger communities and a brighter, better future…for every child.
BY THE NUMBERS
IN GRANTS SINCE 2010
TOTAL PARTNERS
OUR INITIATIVES
LIVE Better.
Best Place for Kids!®
Working hand-in-hand with local community partners and parents to lift up wraparound supports for families and children starting at birth through The Best Place for Kids!®.
2023 LIVE Better Initiatives:
1. Parent Pass™ App
2. Family Engagement
3. Maternal & Infant Health Coalition
LEARN Better.
Education Innovation
Leveraging innovative education models, local data, and effective practices to help every student thrive not only in Fort Worth but throughout Texas.
2023 LEARN Better Initiatives:
1. VELA Grants
2. Technology Innovation
3. Statewide Advocacy
WORK Better.
Best Place for Working Parents®
Partnering with the business sector to promote research-backed family-friendly workplace policies through The Best Place for Working Parents®.
2023 LIVE Better Initiatives:
1. Growing Nationwide Network
2. Inaugural National Innovator Award
3. 2nd Annual National Summit
2023 KEY MILESTONES
JANUARY
FEBRUARY
MARCH
- Texas 88th Legislature Begins with Focus on Education Policy
APRIL
MAY
JULY
AUGUST
SEPTEMBER
- Education Data One-Pagers for Local Stakeholders Shared in Partnership with Fort Worth Education Partnership (FWEP) →
- Grant Coates named Board Chair of Philanthropy Advocates
DECEMBER
- The Miles Foundation Publishes Year-End Newsletter
LIVE
Better.
THE BEST PLACE FOR KIDS!®
2023 Annual Recap
Together with leaders from philanthropy, education, healthcare, business, nonprofit, and our local cities and counties, The Best Place for Kids!® is employing a whole-community approach to build a more connected and supportive local ecosystem that enables all children and families to thrive.
2023 LIVE Better Initiatives
1. Parent Pass™ App
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2. Family Engagement
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3. Maternal & Infant Health Coalition
LIVE Better | INITIATIVE 1
Parent Pass™ App
The first-of-its-kind, all-in-one app created FOR Fort Worth families, BY Fort Worth families, expanded its offerings and scope in 2023 in several key ways.
Expanding from Fort Worth to all of Tarrant County
Now with
families in the app!
Offering 100+ Weekly Free Events for Families
Engaging 70+ Community Partners
Adding New Features & Upgrades
Weekly PREP Newsletter, Daily Top 5 Events, Parent-Created Content in Spanish & English
Celebrating One Year of Parent Pass™ with Our Community-Wide Birthday Bash
Adding New Partnerships
LIVE Better | INITIATIVE 2
Family Engagement
Iterating the App Based on Ongoing Parent Feedback
Total Audience Reach
LIVE Better | INITIATIVE 3
Tarrant County Maternal & Infant Health Coalition
Addressing the infant and maternal health crisis in our region The Tarrant County Maternal & Infant Health Coalition is comprised of local health networks and maternal health providers that collaborated this past year to build a more cohesive, connected system of care for Fort Worth mothers, families, and children to improve maternal and infant health outcomes in Tarrant County.
Engaging Key Coalition Partners
Building Maternal & Infant Health Resource Map
Launching Medicaid Renewal Campaign
Synthesizing Maternal Health Interview Takeaways & Next Steps
During the summer of 2023, The Best Place for Kids!® team conducted 79 interviews and surveys with Tarrant County mothers to better understand the lived reality of new mothers in our region. Key findings are helping direct the Coalition toward a coordinated, closed loop referral system for our region.
LEARN
Better.
EDUCATION INNOVATION
2023 Annual Recap
Funders from across the state, advocacy organizations, technology partners, school leaders and parents are re-envisioning the education experience and working to ensure quality educational options for every child and family.
2023 LEARN Better Initiatives
1. VELA Grants
|
2. Technology Innovation
|
3. Statewide Advocacy
LEARN Better | INITIATIVE 1
Awarding VELA Grants to Expand Local Educational Options
The Miles Foundation partnered with the VELA Education fund, that invests in everyday entrepreneurs – students, parents, teachers, and community leaders – who are meeting learners’ and families’ needs with nontraditional approaches to education. These models include homeschool co-ops, microschools, after-school programs, and many others.
Being a Part of 1,300 Grants Totaling Over
Supporting nontraditional and innovative school models
Deepening Support to Successful Educational Models Through Next Step Grants
Empowering School Leaders to Advocate for Education Innovation During Legislative Session
Impacting
Through Micro Grant School Models
Lifting Up Innovative Educational Models in the Media
LEARN Better | INITIATIVE 2
Utilizing Technology as an Educational Lever
Together with key community partners, parents, and families, The Miles Foundation has helped to build and launch three community-focused technology solutions: Schoolahoop, Parent Pass™, and the FIND! Child Care Tool – all first-of-their-kind models aimed at equipping parents and caregivers with the resources and information that they need to guide their children’s educational journey.
Building and Launching the First-of-its-Kind Parent Pass™ App
A one-stop-shop app to connect families to local resources and each other.
Offering Schoolahoop to Local Families
Helping parents find the best educational fit for their child.
Incorporating the FIND! Child Care tool into the Parent Pass™ App
Offering an easy way to search for quality, subsidized child care near parents’ home or office.
LEARN Better | INITIATIVE 3
Learning and Growing with Our Statewide Network
In 2023, we built stronger lines of communication and partnership with a diverse array of state and local stakeholders that are working every day to keep Texas at the forefront of education innovation and success. Serving as Board Chair for the largest statewide funder coalition Philanthropy Advocates, we look forward to mobilizing and aligning impact through foundations across Texas focused on education solutions.
Aligning With Our Fellow Philanthropy Advocates Members Across Texas
WORK
Better.
THE BEST PLACE FOR WORKING PARENTS®
2023 Annual Recap
The Best Place for Working Parents® is a growing national movement of business leaders that are proving that family-friendly is business-friendly. Launched in 2020, the first-of-its-kind online business self-assessment affords qualifying organizations across the country the ability to gain a competitive designation which recognizes innovation across the top 10 research-backed family-friendly policies proven to benefit working parents AND employers’ bottom line.
2023 WORK Better Initiatives
1. Growing Nationwide Network
|
2. Inaugural National Innovator Award
|
3. 2nd Annual National Summit
WORK Better | INITIATIVE 1
Growing Our Family-Friendly Nationwide Network & Research Base
Showing the ROI of Family-Friendly Policies in Our “Making the Connection” Report
Expanding the National Network to
|
|
Elevating Business Family-Friendly Innovations in the Media
Total Audience Reach
WORK Better | INITIATIVE 2
Recognizing Family-Friendly Best Practices through Inaugural National Innovator Award
The Best Place for Working Parents® recognized Tyson Foods as its 2023 National Innovator Award winner due to the company’s commitment to developing a worker-centered and business-smart solution through a quality onsite child care center that offers nontraditional hours and a subsidized tuition rate due to an innovative public-private partnership model.
Celebrating Our National Innovator Award Winner in the Media
WORK Better | INITIATIVE 3
Igniting Business Policy Change at the 2nd Annual National Summit
The second annual Best Place for Working Parents® National Summit in May 2023 brought together 200+ business leaders across all sizes and industries to share best practices in family-friendly, and provide tangible tools and tips for implementing research-backed policies.
Bringing Together Top Level Executives & Officials to Pioneer Workforce Innovations
The 3rd Annual National Summit will be hosted in 2024 in Nashville, TN
Open to all businesses across the U.S. and free to Best Place for Working Parents® designated organizations!
