Report on the Establishment of the Try Pie Quasi-Endowment Fund and its Alignment with Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

Introduction

Try Pie, a youth employment initiative based in Waterloo, Iowa, has announced the establishment of a quasi-endowment fund in partnership with the Waterloo Community Foundation. This strategic financial measure is designed to secure the long-term operational viability of the program, which focuses on empowering diverse teenage girls through comprehensive skills development.

Program Mission and Core Activities

The primary mission of Try Pie is to equip diverse teen girls with essential life and leadership skills through meaningful, paid work. The program’s model integrates practical experience with structured education, directly contributing to local economic and social development. Key components include:

• Work Experience: Hands-on training in a commercial kitchen and storefront environment.
• Classroom Learning: Structured curriculum focused on financial stewardship, job skills, faith development, and community reconciliation.
• Integrated Application: A core principle, as articulated by Co-Director Sarah Helleso, is the immediate application of learned concepts in the workplace, fostering the development of life-changing habits.

Alignment with Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

The Try Pie initiative demonstrates a strong alignment with several United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, embedding them into its operational framework.

1. SDG 5: Gender Equality & SDG 10: Reduced Inequalities: The program’s exclusive focus on empowering diverse teen girls directly addresses the need to achieve gender equality and empower all women and girls. By providing targeted opportunities, it works to reduce inequalities within the community.
2. SDG 8: Decent Work and Economic Growth: Try Pie promotes inclusive and sustainable economic growth by providing youth with decent work. Participants receive a paycheck while gaining critical job skills, preparing them for future productive employment.
3. SDG 4: Quality Education: The program provides inclusive and equitable quality education by offering vocational training and practical instruction in financial literacy and other life skills, supplementing formal education and promoting lifelong learning opportunities.
4. SDG 1: No Poverty: By providing employment and teaching financial stewardship, the program equips participants with the tools and income to help break intergenerational cycles of poverty.
5. SDG 16: Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions: The curriculum’s inclusion of “community reconciliation” contributes to promoting peaceful and inclusive societies. Furthermore, the establishment of the endowment fund builds a strong, accountable, and sustainable institution capable of long-term impact.
6. SDG 17: Partnerships for the Goals: The creation of the fund through the Waterloo Community Foundation is a clear example of a partnership between a non-profit organization and a community institution to achieve sustainable development objectives.

Financial Sustainability and Strategic Impact

The establishment of the Try Pie Quasi-Endowment Fund is a critical step toward ensuring financial resilience and programmatic longevity. The fund’s strategic impact includes:

• Providing a stable and predictable income source to support ongoing operations and long-term planning.
• Enhancing the program’s capacity to deliver its mission without interruption.
• Leveraging the Endow Iowa Tax Credit Program, which offers a 25% state tax credit to donors, thereby incentivizing community investment and strengthening its financial base in alignment with SDG 17.

Conclusion

The creation of the Try Pie Quasi-Endowment Fund represents a significant advancement in securing the future of a vital community program. This initiative not only ensures the continued empowerment of young women in Waterloo but also serves as a model for how local non-profits can strategically align their operations and financial planning with global Sustainable Development Goals, fostering gender equality, quality education, and decent work for a more sustainable and equitable community.

SDGs Addressed in the Article

• SDG 4: Quality Education
• SDG 5: Gender Equality
• SDG 8: Decent Work and Economic Growth
• SDG 10: Reduced Inequalities
• SDG 16: Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions
• SDG 17: Partnerships for the Goals

Specific SDG Targets Identified

1. SDG 4: Quality Education

   • Target 4.4: By 2030, substantially increase the number of youth and adults who have relevant skills, including technical and vocational skills, for employment, decent jobs and entrepreneurship.
     
     Explanation: The article states that the Try Pie program provides “life and leadership skills,” “financial stewardship,” and “job skills” through a combination of “commercial kitchen and storefront work experience with classroom learning.” This directly contributes to providing youth with relevant vocational skills for employment.

2. SDG 5: Gender Equality

   • Target 5.5: Ensure women’s full and effective participation and equal opportunities for leadership at all levels of decision-making in political, economic and public life.
     
     Explanation: The program’s mission is to empower “diverse teen girls” with “life and leadership skills.” By focusing specifically on girls and leadership development, it lays the foundation for their future participation in economic and public life.

3. SDG 8: Decent Work and Economic Growth

   • Target 8.6: By 2020, substantially reduce the proportion of youth not in employment, education or training.
     
     Explanation: Try Pie is described as a “teen employment initiative” that combines “meaningful work” with “classroom learning.” It directly engages youth who might otherwise be outside of employment or training, providing them with skills and a paycheck.

4. SDG 10: Reduced Inequalities

   • Target 10.2: By 2030, empower and promote the social, economic and political inclusion of all, irrespective of age, sex, disability, race, ethnicity, origin, religion or economic or other status.
     
     Explanation: The article highlights that the program’s mission is to empower “diverse teen girls.” This focus on a specific demographic (youth, female) and diversity promotes social and economic inclusion for a group that can face unique barriers.

5. SDG 16: Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions

   • Target 16.6: Develop effective, accountable and transparent institutions at all levels.
     
     Explanation: The establishment of the “Try Pie Quasi-Endowment Fund” at the Waterloo Community Foundation is a strategic move to “ensure its long-term sustainability” and provide a “stable income source.” This action strengthens the Try Pie initiative as an effective and sustainable institution.

6. SDG 17: Partnerships for the Goals

   • Target 17.17: Encourage and promote effective public, public-private and civil society partnerships, building on the experience and resourcing strategies of partnerships.
     
     Explanation: The collaboration between Try Pie (a teen employment initiative/civil society program) and the Waterloo Community Foundation to create and manage the endowment fund is a clear example of a civil society partnership to achieve sustainable development objectives.

Indicators for Measuring Progress

1. For Target 4.4 (Relevant Skills for Employment)

   • Implied Indicator: The number of teen girls participating in and completing the Try Pie program.
     
     Explanation: The article mentions that “Try Pie participants gain confidence and life skills.” Tracking the number of participants serves as a direct measure of how many youths are being provided with these vocational and life skills.

2. For Target 8.6 (Youth Employment, Education, and Training)

   • Implied Indicator: The number of teens employed by the Try Pie program.
     
     Explanation: As a “teen employment initiative,” the most direct measure of its impact on youth employment is the number of participants who are actively working and receiving “paychecks.”

3. For Target 16.6 (Effective Institutions)

   • Mentioned Indicator: The establishment and growth of the “Try Pie Quasi-Endowment Fund.”
     
     Explanation: The article explicitly mentions the creation of this fund as a mechanism to “ensure its long-term sustainability.” The existence of the fund and the amount of capital it holds are direct, measurable indicators of the program’s institutional strength and stability.

SDGs, Targets, and Indicators Analysis

Source: kwwl.com