What’s New

Nonprofits, state and local governments, and public-private partnerships among awardees receiving critical funding for workforce development and technical assistance in clean energy and construction industries.

The Families and Workers Fund has completed our fourth year as a pooled fund working to help build a more equitable economy that uplifts all. Our 2023 Annual Report uplifts our impacts to date.

May 22, 2024 | Press Release

On April 9, 2024, the Families and Workers Fund partnered with the Aspen Institute Financial Security Program (Aspen FSP) at the 2024 Financial Resilience Summit to help bring together federal, state, local, and nonprofit leaders working to improve public benefits access and delivery across the country.

November 14, 2023 | Press Release

The Fund reaches $110 million in total investment with “Powering Climate & Infrastructure Careers for All” Initiative to help build the workforce needed for the United States’ clean energy transition.

June 1, 2023 | Announcement

2022 was the Families and Workers Fund’s second year of building a more equitable economy that uplifts all. Our 2022 Annual Report uplifts our grantmaking impacts, which are on track to surpass our initial leverage target of $1 billion.

November 8, 2022 | Press Release

Report provides bold, actionable recommendations for government, philanthropy, business, and the nonprofit sector to invest in, test, and scale job quality measurement.

November 2, 2022 | Press Release

The Fund announces the results of the Talent Pipeline Challenge — the collaboration with the White House to help mobilize philanthropic giving for equitable infrastructure workforce development.

October 4, 2022 | Announcement

The Families & Workers Fund and the Aspen Institute Economic Opportunities Program release the Good Jobs Champions Statement and announce more than 100 signatories from across business, labor, workforce development, and policy.

Making Good Jobs Our North Star: Reflections on the First-Ever Good Jobs Summit

September 28, 2022 | Blog Post & Video

On June 21st, we sat in the Great Hall of the U.S. Department of Labor in Washington D.C., witnessing history. Leaders from across the federal government joined key representatives from state and local government, philanthropy, labor, workforce development, and business to share their common vision to advance a good jobs economy. 

The Families and Workers Fund & U.S. Department of Labor Co-Host the First Good Jobs Summit

July 11, 2022 | Announcement

On Tuesday, June 21st, leaders from the government, philanthropy, labor, nonprofit, and business sectors convened at the U.S. Department of Labor for the first-ever Good Jobs Summit, part of the Department’s Good Jobs Initiative to create and support good-quality jobs.

Families and Workers Fund Welcomes its Philanthropy and Operations Team

June 1, 2022 | Announcement

The Families and Workers Fund is pleased to announce the creation of a Philanthropy and Operations team and the hiring of three new colleagues. This new team will support efforts to achieve the Fund’s critical goal of fostering a coordinated philanthropic model to help build an equitable economy that uplifts all. It will also handle communications and all-around operational support, ensuring excellence in grant making operations, as well as program and partnership delivery.

Families and Workers Fund Releases 2021 Annual Report

May 19, 2022 | Announcement

The Families and Workers Fund is pleased to announce the digital publication of our 2021 Annual Report. Building on our 2020 programs that provided support for trusted, on-the-ground organizations offering emergency financial relief to more than 215,000 struggling workers and families during the COVID-19 pandemic, our Board and staff worked in 2021 to consider the challenges and opportunities of the economic recovery – and what role our philanthropic collaborative should play. We convened co-funder and grantee partners to imagine a pathway forward for a more equitable U.S. economy as our country continues to respond to and recover from the pandemic.

Families and Workers Fund Launches Collaboration with the U.S. Department of Labor to Measure and Support Good Jobs

April 20, 2022 | Announcement

The Families and Workers Fund is pleased to announce the launch of the Job Quality Measurement Initiative, a collaborative effort with the U.S. Department of Labor to better measure the quality of American jobs. For too long, the US has largely measured how many jobs our economy creates, but not whether those jobs sustained and uplifted the people in them. This initiative aims to address this gap by analyzing current data and measurement systems and releasing bold, public recommendations for improving job quality measurement. The initiative is also in partnership with the Omidyar Network, Lumina Foundation, and the Ford Foundation. 

Families and Workers Fund Announces Nearly $13 Million in Grants to Advance Good Jobs and A More Equitable Economic Recovery

March 16, 2022 | Press Release

The Families and Workers Fund today announced nearly $13 million in grants to US-based nonprofit organizations working to build a more equitable economy that uplifts all. Recognizing the once-in-a-generation opportunity for change created by the COVID-19 pandemic, these grants seek to leverage the trillions in public and private economic recovery capital, as well as new narratives about workers and equity, to create shared prosperity.

Jenny Weissbourd joins the Families and Workers Fund as Senior Program Manager, Policy and Partnerships

The Families and Workers Fund is pleased to welcome Jenny Weissbourd as our Senior Program Manager, Policy and Partnerships. In this role, Jenny will collaborate with governments, nonprofits, and employers at the federal, state, and local levels to support them in improving jobs and delivering equitable, effective public benefits.

Families and Workers Fund announces $25 million commitment to advance good jobs

November 9, 2021 | Press Release

The Families and Workers Fund announced today a $25 million commitment to advance good jobs—its largest financial commitment to date. The Fund’s Executive Director Rachel Korberg made the announcement at the Department of Commerce’s Interagency Convening on Equitable Economic Growth, which brought together leaders from across government, business, and the nonprofit sector. “Today is a once-in-a-generation opportunity to advance jobs that not only sustain families and workers, but also uplift them and spur greater opportunity for all – especially those who have been most locked out of that opportunity,” Korberg said.

Unemployment Insurance Equity Grant Open Call

November 1, 2021 | Grant Opportunity

As states work to improve equity in the delivery of UI benefits, state-based nonprofit and community organizations could potentially play a critical role in synthesizing and sharing the experiences key population groups had when accessing (or trying to access) UI benefits. The Families and Workers Fund is offering one-time grants to state and local nonprofit and community-based organizations that would like to support their state government’s efforts to build a more equitable UI system.

Families and Workers Fund Launches Mission to Build a More Equitable Economy with Sustainable Jobs and 21st Century Benefits That Support Families During Crises

October 5, 2021 | Press Release

The Families and Workers Fund (FWF) today announced the launch of a five-year collaborative philanthropy dedicated to building a more equitable economy that uplifts all. Recognizing that the COVID-19 pandemic has created a once-in-a-generation opening to improve the lives of workers and their families, FWF will work to deploy funding and build partnerships to help repair and reimagine the systems that fuel economic security, opportunity and mobility. The Fund seeks to advance jobs that sustain and uplift people and also invest in the development of a more inclusive, effective public benefits system, with a focus on unemployment insurance. It will be co-chaired by Darren Walker, President, Ford Foundation and Eric Braverman, Chief Executive Officer, Schmidt Futures.

Tyonka Perkins Rimawi Joins the Families and Workers Fund as Senior Program Manager

September 24, 2021 | Announcement

The Families and Workers Fund is excited to announce that Tyonka Perkins Rimawi has joined us as a Senior Program Manager. In this role, Tyonka will manage the Families and Workers Fund’s grants program, including sourcing, evaluating, and managing grants, and supporting grantee partners to achieve their greatest possible impacts and influence. She will also manage community engagement.

The Families and Workers Fund Announces Rachel Korberg as Founding Executive Director

March 25, 2021 | Amalgamated Foundation

The Families and Workers Fund is thrilled to announce the appointment of Rachel Korberg as its founding Executive Director. Launched in April 2020, it was the first national, multi-donor pooled fund dedicated to the economic hardship caused by COVID-19. While the Families and Workers Fund initially focused on rapid response, it is now a $33 million and growing entity that has transitioned to working as a five-year funder collaborative. It aims to help build a future in which everyone experiences economic security, opportunity, and mobility—especially those who have historically been locked out of the country’s prosperity.

Families and Workers Fund Raises Nearly $30 Million for Workers Hardest Hit by COVID-19: Press Release

December 16, 2020 | Amalgamated Foundation

Launched in April amidst the first peak of the pandemic in the United States with an initial commitment of $7 million, the Families and Workers Fund now stands at nearly $30 million. The Fund was the first multi-donor pooled fund dedicated to the economic crisis caused by COVID-19, designed to tackle both the immediate need for cash assistance due to the US’s inadequate social safety net, and the long-term, structural change needed for workers and their families to experience an equitable recovery.

Why Empowering Frontline Workers is a Key Element to a Safe Reopening

August 18, 2020 | Fortune

As the U.S. reopens despite the coronavirus continuing to ravage the country, workers across industries—from agriculture to airport security and meat processing—are getting sick. A century ago it was very common for people in the U.S. to fall ill or even die on the job. We are at risk of returning to a horrifying reality where earning a paycheck again means risking your life.

How We Can Actually Thank Essential Workers: Give Them More Money

May 9, 2020 | Business Insider

The Ford Foundation and Schmidt Futures, along with a diverse group of funding partners, launch the Families and Workers Fund to support essential workers – as well as the now more than 33.5 million people who have lost their jobs and filed for unemployment benefits in the past seven weeks.