Launched in Spring 2020, the Network specifically focused on improving the economic circumstances of low-income families and addressing racial disparities. This work was critically important as people from coast to coast experience reduced incomes, job loss and financial anxiety as the result of COVID-19.
About the Economic Mobility Action Network
The first cohort of the Economic Mobility Action Network was managed by CFLeads and funded by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation with additional support from the Charles Stewart Mott Foundation.
Structure
The Network, comprised of six community foundation teams that include board members, CEOs, senior staff and community partners, worked together over two years to better understand the key elements of economic mobility, build their community leadership capacity, identify and implement solutions, and support learning and action of the other participants and the community foundation field.
Desired Outcomes
The Network was designed for participants to:
- Apply the five community leadership competencies in their economic mobility work.
- Employ and further develop key tactics to advance their economic mobility agenda through the five competencies.
- Identify the benefits of a strong local-national funder relationship in tackling a complex issue.
- Develop peer connections with others in the cohort that can be leveraged as they work toward greater economic mobility in their communities.
Cohort
The participants in the Economic Mobility Action Network were selected based on a number of factors, including their existing economic mobility work, a demonstrated commitment to racial equity, strong community leadership experience, as well as demographic and geographic diversity.
The community foundations that made up this pilot Network are:
- Community Foundation for Greater Buffalo
- Foundation for Louisiana
- Greater Cincinnati Foundation
- The Chicago Community Trust
- San Francisco Foundation
- Southwest Initiative Foundation
Click below to watch lessons learned, key takeaways, and more from the community foundations that participated in the two-year Economic Mobility Action Network pilot:
Report
Download our report, Advancing Economic Mobility in our Communities, which documents the results of the Economic Mobility Action Network.
In this report, you will find:
- The core elements of positive impact that made this network a success
- An evaluation of internal and external outcomes
- Snapshots of each participating community foundation’s economic mobility agendas and the community leadership approach they took to this work
Contact
If you have any questions about the Economic Mobility Action Network or if you are interested in participating in a future cohort, please contact Leonard Brock at lbrock@cfleads.org or 617-854-3549.
