Funding from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation supports equity initiatives for individuals with high barriers to labor market success
This latest investment will help to strengthen our support of students as they work to achieve economic empowerment and upward mobility. The grant will fund a strengthened coaching practice, supporting students as they manage the many hurdles to success at work.
"We are proud and grateful to receive funding from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation that will fuel the launch of this work, empowering the people who are most left behind in our economy," said STRIVE CEO & President Phil Weinberg. “This programming will provide the targeted tools and sustained supports needed to guide individuals into careers that offer opportunities for upward mobility.”
During the 15-month grant, STRIVE will study the progress of our students in New York and Atlanta, using those findings to impact how coaching and case management models can be strengthened nationally. Building off an already strong coaching practice, STRIVE partnered with Economic Mobility Pathways (EMPath) to incorporate their research-backed economic mobility coaching practice – Mobility Mentoring® – to infuse as a core component of STRIVE’s career coaching model.
"We have a long history of supporting organizations like STRIVE to provide the strongest economic mobility coaching possible to their clients. This partnership allows us to learn so much, impacting more people and establishing a new approach to implementing Mobility Mentoring with national workforce organizations," said Kim Janey, president & CEO of EMPath.
Mobility Mentoring, a research informed practice, is the professional practice of partnering with individuals in need of support so that over time they may acquire the resources, skills, and sustained behavioral change necessary to attain and preserve their economic empowerment and upward mobility. STRIVE has translated and adapted this work to respond to the specific needs of the students, focusing on their coaching in four core categories that drive upward mobility: financial management, family stability, well-being, and education/training. To date, STRIVE is the only national workforce development organization within EMPath’s Exchange member network.
“In every city, there is talent that goes untapped because of systemic barriers to the resources and training people need to get hired and stay employed. STRIVE is breaking through those barriers and creating pathways towards good jobs and prosperous careers,” said Executive Vice President of Programs and Impact Lakythia Ferby.
Access to effective case management and social services are a vital part of achieving economic mobility for individuals and communities facing multiple societal barriers, such as housing insecurity, food insecurity, and lack of childcare. 93% of STRIVE students are on public assistance. 72% have been unemployed for more than six months. 41% are parents of minors. And 33% are justice impacted. Beyond providing the additional coaching support needed for individuals toward lucrative careers, STRIVE believes the workforce development field can grow stronger from learning more about best practices to support individuals like our students.