As a program officer, I’m always asking my team: how can we ensure our investments truly reflect the needs, requests and voices of the communities we aim to support?

As the former executive director of a nonprofit focused on higher education access and success, I saw firsthand that while we worked hard to design research-based interventions, we often fell short if we didn’t include the perspectives of the students we were trying to support. Students are experts in their own experiences, and without their voices at the table, we risk missing practical but not always obvious barriers to their success. For example, lack of reliable transportation or lack of cultural competency in activities and content can make or break their ability to participate and ultimately succeed. Our well-intentioned efforts can miss the mark if we aren’t deeply attuned to the everyday realities they face. That’s why participant voice and feedback is essential for designing solutions that are truly responsive, relevant and equitable.

One of the ways we have been able to support improving this has been partnering with Listen4Good, a national capacity-building initiative that helps nonprofits systematically collect and act on feedback from those they serve. Kresge’s Education Program team sponsored several of our grantees to participate in Listen4Good because we believed that centering community voice could improve program effectiveness, deepen trust and ultimately strengthen the impact of our funding.

Listening isn’t just a nice-to-do, it’s mission-critical. Listen4Good Director of Partner Services Sachi Takahashi-Rial stressed this point when she told me during a recent conversation that social sector leaders “can’t afford to make decisions based on assumptions.” She went on to say that we need to move from ‘we think’ to ‘we know’ by grounding decisions in community input. Especially now, with funding tight and needs shifting, high-quality feedback is how nonprofits make smart choices instead of guesswork. Just as importantly, consistent feedback practices help rebuild trust with populations and communities that may have lost faith in institutions. When organizations listen and visibly close the loop, people see that their input matters and that change is possible — trust deepens. Finally, feedback gives us the stories and data to demonstrate impact. We’re all being called to share the narrative of our work and community voice provides evidence to advocate for our programs.

Listening in action: SoCal CAN’s Project SOAR

One of our grantees, the Southern California College Attainment Network (SoCal CAN), put this approach into practice with its Project SOAR program, which provides free college guidance, advising and career support to students living in Los Angeles public housing communities. Prior to Listen4Good, Project SOAR had never surveyed all its participants. With Listen4Good’s coaching, they rolled out their first comprehensive feedback survey — and the results were eye-opening. The vast majority of respondents gave positive reviews. About four in five participants found it easy to access services, and nearly two-thirds felt very connected to the organization.

Equally valuable, the survey highlighted what wasn’t working. Participants identified three key barriers hindering access: program hours, transportation and location. This candid feedback challenged previous assumptions. SoCal CAN learned that even with on-site services in many housing communities, some students, especially those in areas only served virtually, still faced location and travel challenges. The team also discovered new needs: to their surprise, college-aged students made up 56% of respondents (versus less than 10% high schoolers), and 42% of these college students asked for more programming and scholarships tailored to them. This insight showed the organization where to focus next to keep older students engaged.

Project SOAR didn’t just listen, they acted. In response to what they heard, the team made several adjustments:

• In-person outreach: They organized in-person clinics during college application and financial aid seasons to foster face-to-face engagement and boost completion rates.
• New program for college students: They launched a SOAR Student Ambassador Program (an internship-style model for college-aged participants), directly shaped by the feedback for more college-specific support.
• Expanded access: They began pursuing grants to expand Project SOAR from eight public housing sites toward all 13, addressing the location gaps revealed by the survey.
• Better communication: They improved how they communicate drop-in hours and locations — posting at sites, sharing on digital channels, and highlighting this info at community events — so families know when and where they can reach staff.

By closing the loop in these ways, SoCal CAN showed program participants that their voices truly drive change. Community reactions were encouraging: participants expressed gratitude, and partners congratulated the team on these responsive changes. Just as Listen4Good predicted, this cycle of listen, learn, act not only improved the program but also strengthened trust with the community.

Listening matters now more than ever

My experience with Listen4Good has affirmed what I’ve always believed: when we truly center community voice, trust deepens, relationships grow stronger and outcomes improve. I’ve also seen it in the work of Kresge grantees like PeerForward, College Beyond, Growing Inland Achievement and the Hazel Park Promise Zone, to name a few. These organizations are not simply collecting feedback; they’re inviting students and community members to co-design solutions, rethink practices and shape the programs meant to serve them. This type of listening is both an act of humility and a strategic imperative — and that’s work we’re proud to champion.