"We Should Be Coming Out of These Grants With More Questions Than Answers"

Editor’s note: jacob adams stylizes his name in all lowercase. We’ve honored that preference throughout this piece.

In a moment of political backlash, funding contraction, and mounting pressure on progressive nonprofits to soften their identities, InnerSpark Learning Lab is choosing a different path. Formerly STEM to the Future, the Los Angeles-based nonprofit supports Black and Brown youth through justice-centered, STEAM-infused programming that puts young people in charge of their own learning.

We sat down with jacob adams, InnerSpark's founder and executive director, to talk about leadership in motion: how he’s navigating funding precarity, evolving without compromising values, and why he’d rather see the organization shut down than water down what it stands for.

Interview:

Eric: This has been a year of change for a lot of folks in the social impact sector. How are you thinking about this moment as a leader doing the kind of work that you do?

jacob: Yeah, that’s a good question. It kind of feels like so many institutions we thought we could rely on are falling apart. And that’s scary, but also—most of those things could’ve been a lot better anyway. So I’m thinking about how we use this time to build the things that actually work for us. That’s not new work, but maybe there’s more opportunity now. People are seeing that maybe these systems aren’t going to save us.

Eric: You mentioned the education system. As we’re talking, the Department of Education is potentially on the chopping block. What’s that mean for you?

jacob: I need to do a little more research, but my understanding is that most of the oversight and funding happens at the city and state level. That said, the federal department still matters. Like, if you wanted to submit a civil rights complaint about a school, that’s who you’d go to. So losing that is a big deal. But in a broader sense, I think we’re too focused on these centralized systems. We should be asking: how do we make schools places that kids, families, and teachers actually want to be? Not based on some abstract national standard, but based on what’s needed right there, in that neighborhood. Every school should be its own Department of Ed.

Eric: What’s getting in the way of that vision becoming reality?

jacob: People are just trying to survive. Housing, food, childcare, wages—it’s hard to even get by, let alone build the school you want. And most of us didn’t grow up in schools that evolved or adapted, so we don’t expect that from them. We’re taught to see systems like school or healthcare as finished solutions. But they should be experiments. And if something’s not working, we should be changing it—not just tinkering around the edges.

Eric: Have you seen any shifts in how funders are responding to this moment, especially compared to, say, the early COVID response?

jacob: Not really. During COVID, there was a real moment where funders stepped up. It doesn’t feel like that now. It feels like people are pulling back. Some funders are even changing their websites, their language—removing terms like “Black” or “Brown” or “girls”—so they don’t get targeted. I get it, to a degree. But it’s also like, what happens after that? You’ve erased your values. What are you standing for? The other side isn’t changing. They’re doubling down. So we’ve got to hold our ground too.

Eric: Have you personally felt the effects of this backlash in your funding?

jacob: Yeah, we had one funder say they couldn’t fund us because our website mentioned Black and Brown kids. We’d worked with them before, they loved our work. But suddenly, it was a problem. They’ve since changed their tone, and we’re meeting again. But in general, it feels like there’s more competition for less money. Funders are nervous, and it’s making everything harder.

Eric: How are you navigating the pressure to scale, versus going deep and staying aligned with your values?

jacob: We have a clear vision. But the “how” changes all the time. It’s like teaching—you can have a great lesson plan, but the minute you’re in the classroom, a kid says something that changes everything. You have to adapt. We try to stay nimble like that. We’re not doing this for funders. It’s not about looking good on paper. It’s about creating spaces that truly work for the people who use them. Scale isn’t the goal. Depth is.

Eric: That makes me think about failure. The sector is so failure-averse. How do you talk about experimentation and failure with your team, funders, or community?

jacob: Everyone’s failing. But in this sector, we’re supposed to pretend we’re not. You hit your metrics, you write your grant report, and everyone acts like we’re solving the problem. But we’re not. We’re just performing. I think funders could be running real R&D if they let grantees come together and share what they’re learning. Not just send a report and move on. Ask better questions. Treat it like a real experiment.

Eric: Do you feel like you have other leaders or orgs you can learn from?

jacob: It’s hard. Most of the time, you go to a conference, and everyone acts like they’re doing amazing. But I know the work behind the scenes. I’ve got a few friends—like Darius Fequiere, who started Matiq Labs—who are trying to be real about it. But there’s risk in being honest. I get why people don’t do it. But I think we’re holding ourselves back by pretending.

Eric: You also recently rebranded. What drove that change?

jacob: We used to be called STEM to the Future. But STEM was never really the point. It was always about how we teach—and how we center the community in that process. When people saw “STEM,” they expected robotics or coding. But we’re more focused on helping kids figure out who they are and what kind of world they want to live in. InnerSpark reflects that better. Everyone has an inner spark.

Eric: You’re also posting pretty consistently and transparently on LinkedIn. What led you to that?

jacob: I just wanted people to see the journey. Not just the highs or the wins, but the middle. The real stuff. That’s what most of this work is. And I think the more honest I can be, the more people can relate. It’s not about being performative. It’s about being constructive.

Eric: Final question — what’s one thing you wish more people understood about justice-centered orgs like yours?

jacob: That philanthropy sets the agenda. Not the community. Not the orgs. Philanthropy says what it wants, and everyone adjusts. That disconnect has real consequences. So if you care about this work—donate. Even a little. Ten bucks a month. Set it and forget it. And trust the people doing the work to use it well.