Sean Ernst

MDC

MDC is a nonprofit founded in 1967 and based in Durham, N.C., that equips Southern leaders, institutions, and communities to improve economic mobility and advance equity. We bring together foundations, nonprofits, and leaders from government, business, and the grassroots to illuminate data that highlight deeply rooted Southern challenges and help them find systemic, community solutions. Our approach uses research, consensus-building, and programs that connect education, employment, and economic security to help communities foster prosperity by creating an "infrastructure of opportunity"—the aligned systems and supports that can boost everyone, particularly those who've been left behind, to higher rungs on the economic ladder. Since 1996, MDC's landmark State of the South reports have shaped the economic agenda of the region, shining a spotlight on historic trends, deep-rooted inequities, and solutions that offer rural and urban communities a path forward. MDC is supported by grants and contracts from foundations, governments, and the private sector. Learn more at www.mdcinc.org.