Economic Inclusion and Mobility

An equitable and inclusive economy that helps all of our region’s residents requires an early childhood care and education system that is universally accessible, high quality, equitable, affordable, reliable and sustainable for all families regardless of race, income or neighborhood. Broad collaboration across sectors, communities and organizations is necessary to provide the thought leadership, innovation, resources and advocacy to transform the early childhood landscape.

Safe and affordable housing is fundamental to enable every human to thrive. From Boston to our Gateway Cities, in Massachusetts, New Hampshire and Rhode Island, access to safe and affordable housing is becoming ever more challenging and even more so for people of color, where wealth building through property ownership is elusive.

Through philanthropy, volunteerism and advocacy, we seek to ensure affordable, safe housing as a source of stability. We also provide grant funding to organizations working to support individuals and families experiencing housing instability and those in need of rental assistance. We are focused on strategies to promote homeownership because while housing itself is important for stability, homeownership is one of the most effective means to help families build long-term wealth.

Systemic workforce disparities are contributing to economic inequality and resulting in jobs with less than a livable wage and flat career trajectories with inadequate training pathways that are misaligned with DEI aspirations and standards that should be the norm across workplaces and that promote wage gaps by race and gender.

We are focused on supporting organizations that work to break through these systemic barriers and equip people with the skills they need to secure work with family-sustaining wages and the opportunity to advance. Our investments, volunteerism and advocacy in this area are dedicated to closing the skills gap, expanding programming in English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL), providing more substantial worker protections, preparing workers for the jobs and careers of the future, and empowering all local residents to reach their full potential. In this work, we are focused on adults who are challenged by barriers to employment or advancement in employment, such as ESOL, ABE, technology, or certifications, etc. This focus does not include internships and school or career or school-to-college readiness.

Eliminating systemic racism, sexism, homophobia, ageism, and ableism, and working to bridge the wealth gaps that plague our communities, are the most pressing issues of our time. The approaches in place now have not closed the gap. In 2022, a total of $700,000 is available for grants focused on work that addresses economic inclusion and mobility in meaningful ways. We seek to spark and support innovation using new approaches based on the lived experience of the communities benefitting from the work.

Innovation Impact Grants can support collaborations across sectors and strategies, using new approaches based on research in the field. They could be beyond our strategy areas in Economic Inclusion and Mobility, if they will clearly advance the work to achieve equity and justice. They’re an opportunity to partner together and think big on approaches to sustainable, systemic solutions.