Giving Forward Podcast: ‘In Good Hands’ with Rachael Tutwiler Fortune

Hello, Rachael, thanks so much for being here with me today.

Rachael Tutwiler Fortune

Thanks, it’s my pleasure!

Nina Waters 

We’re going to go back in the past a little bit to when we first met and you were the Community Engagement Manager at JPEF, and we were in the same building, sharing space with JPEF for five years. It was a wonderful experience. We got to see a lot of each other. Tell me a little bit about what was going on in your life then and in your career?

Rachael Tutwiler Fortune

Well, when I first came to the Jacksonville Public Education Fund, I was transitioning out of my classroom as a second and third grade teacher at S.P. Livingston, which is actually right around the corner from where my grandmother grew up. I had the privilege of teaching there for a couple of years and just absolutely loved and adored my students. That teaching assignment felt especially personal, given my family’s connection to the community. It was not an easy decision to transition out of the classroom. But I actually met my predecessor [at JPEF] in the classroom, and we began some conversations. He had just moved to Jacksonville and was serving as the Founding President of JPEF. We started talking about how – given my connection to the community, both through those teaching years but also some earlier work I did as a student leader at UNF – there might be some opportunities that would be a good fit for me at JPEF. So I just made that difficult decision. I’ll never forget crying on the carpet my last day teaching because I just loved my students so much.

Nina Waters 

And I’m sure they loved you!

Rachael Tutwiler Fortune

But when I transitioned to JPEF, I had the opportunity to be our first community engagement staff lead and to really help lay the groundwork for our community engagement work long-term. And as a part of that work, one of the exhibitions we did featured very powerful young people, and those felt like my students outside of the classroom and their stories needed to be told. Also, in our foundational community engagement effort, we heard from 1,600 people in Jacksonville, and their voices needed to be included in the effort of defining where we should take our public schools as we move forward. Well, when we first met, you were of course leading The Community Foundation for Northeast Florida. The organization had already placed a huge stake in the ground on public education, initially, through the Quality Education for All initiative. Why do you believe, kind of traveling back in time again, that our community needed a really strong local education fund?

[The ONE by ONE Campaign was launched in 2011 with the aim of bringing thousands of residents together to discuss public schools, form a volunteer-led Community Advisory Team, and create an action plan that represents the entire city. The accompanying ONE in THREE exhibit, housed at the Cummer Museum but traveling around to various sites in the county, featured dramatic photographic portraits of 20 current and former students of Duval County Public Schools who faced obstacles to achieving academic success, but beat the odds.]

Nina Waters 

Great question. So part of the work we did at The Community Foundation through QEA was a big listening and learning tour. We brought a lot of national speakers in to talk to us, and one thing we learned is that cities that were really making a change in public education and moving the needle in a positive direction had something that was called a local education fund – an LEF. So we said, we really want a high-capacity local education fund here in Jacksonville. And to be honest, we were already leading a 10-year education initiative. We didn’t want to become the local education fund; we are a community foundation. So it really was an exit strategy. How do we exit after 10 years and make sure this work continues? Creating a high-capacity LEF was important. So we brought in the head of the Public Education Network. She gave us the tools that we needed, and she said your role as a community foundation is to really get a strong governance system in place, get the financing that they need for the first five years, and find the right leadership. We were able to stand up the Jacksonville Public Education Fund, new executive director, entirely new board –  we raised the money for the first five years of funding and gave it to the LEF. And it’s been an amazing journey ever since. I think it’s one of the pieces of work that I’m the proudest of that the Community Foundation was able to do because I think it’s going to have the most long-standing impact of anything we’ve done over the last 20 years.

Rachael Tutwiler Fortune

Well, thank you. Clearly, we at JPEF are so indebted for your commitment and for laying the groundwork for our existence and our ongoing pursuit of our mission.

Nina Waters 

Well, thank you. So when we started the QEA work, one in three students was not graduating from high school. Their graduation rate was 51%.

Rachael Tutwiler Fortune

That was really a crisis for our community. We’re really proud of the progress we now see in that our graduation rate has been 86+ % over recent years. And we’re not satisfied with that progress. Even though we’re proud of it, we recognize we have even more work to do to make sure there’s equitable access to excellent education opportunities for every student,

Nina Waters 

Talk a little bit more about some of the other gains and improvements you’ve seen.

Rachael Tutwiler Fortune

One of the things that I know we’re proud of at JPEF is that in addition to improving the overall numbers, we’ve also seen gaps in student achievement based on subgroups narrowing over that same time span. Another indicator of the progress we’ve made is also seeing those gaps narrow on what’s called the National Assessment of Educational Progress. That’s an assessment that really allows us to compare how Duval County is doing compared to large urban districts across the country. Duval has performed comparably well to other large districts across the country. We’re so very, very proud of that progress. We are always looking for what’s the next frontier, where do we need to do better for our students. And as we focus on issues like addressing literacy disparities, addressing the teacher shortage, addressing the fact that we do have a mental health crisis coming out of the pandemic – those are the issues that we’re laser focused on today. We’ve gone through this collective trauma, and the pandemic was absolutely a setback. Let’s look at the data, long-standing data that tells us where we have been successful over time. We do not need to forget what’s working, and we need to stay the course on those things. As we do that, we also need to be thinking about where we want to innovate for our future and identify those opportunities for innovation. The best innovations, in my opinion, come based on some good work someone has already done, and then building on it. As far as what the next frontier is, sadly, the pandemic was a reminder for us all that our young people who are most vulnerable and at the highest risk – that’s where the greatest challenge lies. This is where the setback was happening amid the pandemic. So it was a very humbling reminder for us all that we need to do a better job of resourcing communities and schools that especially need our support the most.

Nina Waters 

Recently, the state of Florida is one of two states nationally that has stopped administering the Youth Risk Behavior Survey, or the YRBS. Talk a little bit about what you think that means for our state and the students.

Rachael Tutwiler Fortune

As I mentioned before, I find great value in our ability to compare how we’re doing in our community and in our state against other places in the country. And really, my heart goes out to those who felt personally impacted by the fact that we won’t have that particular data set in our community anymore. I do understand the Florida Department of Education is developing a new assessment that is intended in some ways to replace that for our state. So we stand in a sort of anticipatory posture, just really waiting to see what the details of that are, what information it provides us, and just eager to see our community move forward. Because we cannot take a step back. We know that especially on the heels of COVID, young people are in a lot of pain. And mental health is a challenge that so many, not only kids, but adults are struggling with. So we need to collect as much data as possible to really understand how we can best meet the needs of our young people in our communities.

Nina Waters

I am very concerned about the fact that we aren’t going to be administering that test because I think part of the challenge for me is that we use that as funders, and the nonprofit community used it to address programs. I am worried, too, that we may lose funding, as a result of it, for some of the clinics that we have in the schools. I was just reading about the reduction in the teen pregnancy rate in Duval County. And because of the Youth Risk Behavior Survey, we were able to understand some of the behaviors that students were having. And we were able to put things into place as a community to really help. That’s really reduced the rate. So that’s just one of the areas that is a very big concern for me moving forward. Also, the teen suicide rate. As you talked about earlier, mental health is an extreme issue in our community for a lot of children. Not being able to understand some of the behaviors and the risks that children are taking, we don’t really know how to provide services that are really going to meet those needs. So I’m hopeful like you are about them redoing a test. I’m just a little concerned that that the test really won’t measure what we need to know.

Rachael Tutwiler Fortune

Absolutely. And I’ll say on a very personal note, and as a person who was a teen mom, I share those concerns. I think, oftentimes, we really are not collecting information that allows us to understand what young people are really struggling through and what supports they need to be successful. This is where we really do have to lean in and get it right.

Nina Waters 

I agree, it’s a big concern.

Rachael Tutwiler Fortune

One of the things we’ve had a lot of great conversations about is the importance of building authentic relationships and really cultivating meaningful partnerships, including with donors.

Nina Waters 

I think the most important thing with donors is trying to understand what is important to them, what makes them tick. When you look back, we have all been so affected in one way or another entire life by nonprofits. Whether you were born in a nonprofit hospital, you were in the Girl Scouts, you were a part of the YMCA, we’ve all been touched. And some people have had other things happen where they’ve had to call in hospice, or things like that. So understanding really where people’s passions are, I think, is the first step. Then finding ways that your organization can meet those passions and that is really relevant to them. Really, the biggest thing is trying to find those matches. It’s important to understand that not everybody’s a match for your organization, and that makes sense, too. But also helping donors find an organization that may be a match for them, that they may appreciate. So that’s really the first step. Then the second thing, I think, is really understanding that donors like you to keep in touch with them, not just when you’re asking for money. So there may be times that you’re out somewhere and see their name. And you might just say, “Hey, thank you for giving the giraffe exhibit at the zoo. You know, I enjoyed that with my grandchildren today.” It’s really having them be part of your life and then you’re part of their life – and building those trusting relationships. It takes time. People always talk about donor time – we always think, well, we can send a letter, and they’ll give us a gift. It’s a relationship people give to people. I could actually say many donor stories or relationships that you’ve built. But tell me one example for you that has been meaningful?

Rachael Tutwiler Fortune

Absolutely. For me, building authentic relationships with donors starts with authentic listening, and really just trying to understand how what you care about what your mission is aligns with what they care about, and what their in making the world a better place might be. I was just with our dear friend, Cindy Edelman, last night, who I’ve had a long standing relationship with in that she was our second board chair and a founder of JPEF. I had the privilege of working with closely with her on the ONE by ONE campaign that we talked about a little bit earlier on, but now we also have the annual fellowship for Excellence in Education at JPEF. I’m so appreciative of the relationship that I have with Cindy.  We just had a daughter, as you know, my third and my grand finale – my final child. But it meant the world to me that Cindy was kind enough to send her a gift. That’s just one of those examples of how beyond the work, we’re just a part of each other’s lives. We’ll grab lunch, just to catch up, just to see how our families are doing, sending personal notes when special things are happening. So if I see her being recognized, I want her to know that I see that. I’m so grateful for the difference she makes in our community. I had the privilege of coming over, actually to The Community Foundation building, recently for a talk she did on art. And it was amazing, right? So it’s not in our education domain, but this is a passion area of hers. She’s so amazing, and I learned so much just by attending that talk. So we’re in each other’s lives.

[The Cindy Edelman Excellence in Teaching Fellowship, launched in 2019, identifies and rewards excellence in teaching by supporting a program of professional development or research of the fellow’s choosing. Open to Duval County Public School teachers in grades K-12, the fellowships provide up to $6,500 per individual or $10,000 per team of teacher for approved expenses. The fellowship is an endowed fund at The Community Foundation and is administered by JPEF in partnership with TCF.]

Nina Waters 

That’s really important. It really is in that it helps to build trust, too. Because I think when donors trust you and you trust them, you can have that authentic relationship and you can have honest conversations. And I think that’s critically important. That’s terrific.

Rachael Tutwiler Fortune

Well, as one of the people that certainly is standing on your shoulders in the community, you’ve invested so much in this sector. Way back from when you were the executive director of Pace [Center for Girls], you’ve had the opportunity to serve and invest in our community in so many ways. Can you talk just a little bit about some of the people who invested in you, the difference they made in your life, and what it’s meant for you to invest in the next generation coming behind you?

Nina Waters

In this field, I’ve had so many people since I entered the nonprofit sector who have been important to me, and it’s hard to call names. But there’s a couple that really stand out for me, At Pace, there was a woman named Mildred Thompson, and she was the founder of Dandee Foods. She came here in the 50s and started that company on her own. Just think about being a woman in the 50s, starting your own company.

Rachael Tutwiler Fortune

I can’t imagine.

Nina Waters 

She started it out of the trunk of her car, and then she built it into an amazing business. It’s been really successful. She was about 4’10”, probably. When I got to know her, she was probably in her late 70s, and she was never taken seriously by people. We’d go into rooms with businesspeople, and no one really ever noticed her. But she had this quiet strength, she was kind of like a Steel Magnolia. And I spent years watching her and watching how she was in meetings, watching how she carried herself and how she was always able to get her way in the end. I always thought that was so interesting. We were in a really contentious meeting with a group of people when we were building the Pace building. And by then she was probably in her 80s. And we walked out of the meeting, and I said, “Mildred, how do you stay so calm in these meetings?” She was so incredible. She looked at me said, “Well, Nina, I sit and I listen, and I nod my head. And I tell everybody what it is they want to hear. And I walk out, and I do whatever the heck I want to do because I know that’s the right thing to do.” And it really helped me to be able to say, okay, you can do this, and you can make things happen. There are so many times in my life and in my career where I kind of call on her. She’s my “what would Mildred do” person. She passed away many years ago, but she is still so much with me. She was a really good teacher for me. The second one is when I came to The Community Foundation – Dolores Weaver. I think everyone knows that we’re close and we’ve known each other for a long time. She has taught me more about philanthropy than I could ever help her with. I mean, all of the ways that she gets people to give. The most important thing she taught me was about when she was younger, when she and Wayne didn’t have the wealth that they have now – because they really did have a very humble beginning. She said no one ever asked her for money, and she did have money she could have given. But she never knew the joy of giving then because no one ever asked her to give, and no one ever thought she could. So a lot of her giving is to say to everyone, try philanthropy! Philanthropy’s definition is love of humankind, and everybody wants to be involved in that, and you get so much from it. So she’s taught me a lot about what you have to give and how you give, and why it’s important. It’s been an amazing relationship and mentorship with her. So those are two women that have really, really changed my life. So you and I have had a conversation many times about the fact that The Community Foundation and JPEF are not direct service providers. It is hard when you’re an umbrella organization like us, not serving individual people, to get donors to understand why it’s important to give to you and to give to your work. Talk a little bit about that and how you overcome that. How do you sell the work of JPEF to others?

[Dandee Foods is a family-operated wholesale sandwich company based in Jacksonville. Mildred Thompson borrowed $600 in January 1956 to buy the Dandee Sandwich Co. Initially, a Ham & Cheese “triangle” sold for 15 cents, and Mildred’s son Jerry delivered sandwiches daily after school. Today, Dandee Foods produces a variety of sandwiches, subs, salads, wraps, fresh cut fruit, and parfaits.]

[Delores Barr Weaver and Wayne Weaver were the first majority owners of the Jacksonville Jaguars, which they sold in 2016 for $770 million. In 2012, they converted the Weaver Family Fund, which awards around $1 million annually, into a $23.7 million donor-advised fund at The Community Foundation.]

Rachael Tutwiler Fortune

Absolutely. I love that phrase – we’re umbrella. It’s easier to sell direct service or mentoring or I provide X number of teachers. But equally as important is having community infrastructure. We have the privilege at JPEF of providing research, of convening the community around critical issues, of advocating for issues that will shape the future of public education and our community. It’s an honor to do this work. It’s important for people to understand that we don’t have as many robust conversations that are grounded in data, we don’t have our community really coming together to talk about our shared values. It’s what we aspire to create and what we commit to creating for the future. We’re not able to look back long term, as you and I did in this conversation, to think about the progress we’ve made, why we’ve made that progress, and where we need to stay the course. I think there’s never been a more urgent time for us to lean into the value proposition of that work.

Nina Waters 

We absolutely believe in that. During the last 20 years, we have helped to raise money for specific organizations. And, of course, we get asked all the time, why do you do that for this organization and you don’t do it for that? What we’ve tried to do is say: we do need that infrastructure, and there are places we have not had it, and we have made investments. How can we pull donors together to create a funding strategy to get these things capitalized so they have the capacity to do this important work? In a lot of cases, but for a nonprofit center, or [an organization like] LISC, The Community Foundation would be looking at doing that work. And we don’t run programs, we fund programs. We have to be really careful to not to not run them because we aren’t qualified to do it, first of all. And we should be funding those things; we shouldn’t be taking money out of the sector to be doing that work ourselves.

Rachael Tutwiler Fortune

No, I couldn’t agree more. I think that our community’s embarking upon a lot of change right now, and it’s important that all the people who will continue to help guide decision-making understand the value that these organizations provide. Well, Nina, oh my gosh, I know that I speak for a lot of people – we’re excited for your season of retirement, but we can’t believe it. But you have so much to be proud of. I hope you know that we’re so grateful for the service you provide in our community. What is it that you’re most proud of as you prepare to retire?

Nina Waters 

That’s a really hard question. The thing that I am the most proud of, and that I’ll think about the most when I’ll retire because I’ll probably have time to think then, is when I was at Pace, we had this amazing staff team that was so incredibly close and all rowing in the same direction, who cared deeply about the mission – but also cared deeply about each other. We had this culture there that, when I left there and I knew it was time to go (and you just know when it’s time to move on to the next adventure) – I thought, I’ll never have this again. But thank heaven I had it because so many people go through life and don’t have a work relationship like that. But then I came to the Foundation. And I will admit, in the beginning, it was a little bit of “a great landing in the wrong airport.” It was so different, and it wasn’t a team that I had helped to build. And I was learning so much. It  wasn’t direct service, and you didn’t have that same joy every day. But over time, we’ve built this team there that has been incredible. So I’ve had that twice. And it’s just the most amazing experience when you really enjoy going to work every day and you love to be with the people that you’re with, because you’re at work more than you’re at home. I mean, it’s the truth, even with hybrid work. You’re still with the people you work with more than you’re with your family. So it’s important to me that there’s a culture where people can be happy, and that people can be fulfilled. I really feel like I’ve been blessed with 35 years of my career having been in those types of environments. How lucky am I? So that’s the thing I’m the proudest of, and the thing that I will take with me very, very strongly as I leave.

Rachael Tutwiler Fortune

Well, thank you for that. I couldn’t agree more. May will be six years that I’ve been back at JPEF, and I can’t believe it. Feels like it has flown by. But that opportunity to build your team and invest in your people is a deep honor, to try to create that culture in which people feel like: this is a place I want to be, I’m thriving, I’m happy, and I know that my organization sees me as a critical part of the work family.

Nina Waters 

And the work is meaningful. You’re providing a meaningful experience every day, and everybody’s bringing their best self.

Rachael Tutwiler Fortune

And we know we’re having an impact together.

Nina Waters 

Yeah, it’s really important that everybody feels that feels a place in that. Well, I want to thank you. I will say that one thing that has made retirement easier is knowing that there are people like you, and like the team at The Community Foundation, and the bright stars on your team that are there ready. One leader told me several years ago, you shouldn’t be worrying because really we’re just waiting for you all to get out of the way. So I’m getting out of the way. I feel really good about it because we are in such good hands with you and with others. It’s been such a joy to get to know you and to watch you grow in this role, and you are so the right leader at the right time. I just can’t wait to watch from afar as you continue to make this community a better place for all. So thank you.

Rachael Tutwiler Fortune

Thank you, Nina. That means the world to me coming from you. And you’re amazing!