Families and Workers Fund Announces $45+ Million Initiative to Help Strengthen U.S. Public Benefits System and Improve Families’ Economic Security
Collaborating With Government and Nonprofits, the Benefits Access & Equity Initiative Will Pool Philanthropic Dollars to Help Improve Public Benefits Access and Tech for 1.5 Million People
May 30, 2024 – Press Release
WASHINGTON, DC – The Families and Workers Fund today announced the Benefits Access and Equity Initiative, a five-year philanthropic effort to significantly improve access to and delivery of poverty-reducing public benefits across the U.S. The Initiative will pool philanthropic dollars to activate and grow a network of innovative nonprofit, tech, and government agency partners working across the many benefits that kids, families, and workers rely on to weather challenging times and stay healthy and economically secure, such as unemployment insurance, Medicaid, and the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP, formerly food stamps). With an initial commitment of $45 million from funders including Ballmer Group, the Annie E. Casey Foundation, the Gates Foundation, and the Conrad N. Hilton Foundation, the Families and Workers Fund aims to help improve the delivery of $3.5 billion in benefits to 1.5 million people.
For the one-fourth of the U.S. population who live at or near the federal poverty level, public benefits offer crucial lifelines to economic stability—but as much as $80 billion in those public benefits go unused each year. Outdated technology, government capacity challenges, and racial and other inequities combine to make it harder for eligible people to access or maintain the benefits they need. Such factors can also make it harder for government to deliver these benefits effectively and efficiently. Numbers aside, this work is part of a movement to help guarantee basic economic security for every person and family in this country and to demonstrate how government can truly and materially make a difference in people’s lives.
The Initiative has already mobilized $13.8 million in initial grants, including to the tech nonprofit mRelief, which has partnered with social service and government agencies to implement the first end-to-end SNAP enrollment process accessible from mobile phones, unlocking over $1.7 billion in SNAP benefits since 2018.
“Too many families go hungry because of needless barriers like cumbersome applications or in-person meeting requirements. By simplifying the process for families to access food stamps, we’ve seen firsthand how small innovations can lead to substantial outcomes,” said Porschia Davis, Director of Strategic Partnerships at mRelief, a Families and Workers Fund grantee. “This work serves the inherent dignity of all people.”
“Our public benefits programs aren’t yet living up to their full potential because they’re not set up to win, and this harms kids, families, local economies, and even democracy,” said Rachel Korberg, Executive Director of the Families and Workers Fund. “Today, there is the public will, partners, and opportunity to change that—and philanthropy has a vital role to play.”
To impact at least 1.5 million people over five years, the Initiative will collaborate closely with public agencies on the frontlines and focus on communities experiencing the greatest barriers to access, including families living on low incomes, rural communities, Black and Brown people, immigrants, women and LGBTQ+ people, and people with criminal court involvement.
“Public benefits programs are a crucial lever for lifting individuals out of poverty and improving economic mobility. But right now millions of eligible people miss out on that opportunity,” said Terri Ludwig, President of Philanthropy of Ballmer Group. “The new Families and Workers Fund initiative is addressing systemic inequities head-on, enabling our social safety net to fulfill its transformative potential for good.”
“Families in poverty contend with huge challenges just to contact a benefits office or to make an in-person appointment during work hours,” said Janet Iraola, a coordinator at a Boston school who helps families access public benefits and also a co-leader of the Families and Workers Fund’s Essential Leaders Council. “People who are struggling work hard. We just need others to work hard for us and with us.”
Announced at the 2024 Code for America Summit, the Families and Workers Fund’s Benefits Access and Equity Initiative will pursue an ambitious, three part strategy: 1) investing in catalytic tools, including technologies, that make benefits easier to access; 2) strengthening state and local government’s capacity to deliver services equitably and effectively; and 3) coordinating and supporting partners to build a shared north star of success and take collective action to improve public benefits access and delivery together.
The Families and Workers Fund is actively welcoming new funders to join the Benefits Access and Equity Initiative. For more information on the Benefits Access and Equity Initiative and ways to get involved, visit familiesandworkers.org/benefits-access.
About the Families and Workers Fund
The Families and Workers Fund is a platform for collective action and a pooled $125+ million collaborative fund chaired by the Ford Foundation and supported by 40 diverse funders working together to build a more equitable economy that uplifts all. The Fund deploys catalytic partnerships and collaboration across philanthropy, government, and the private sector to develop a more inclusive, effective public benefits system and to advance jobs that sustain and uplift people. To date, the Fund has committed more than $52 million in grants and strategic partnerships, directly impacted 1.4 million people, and leveraged more than $15 billion in additional public and private investments. Key funders include the Annie E. Casey Foundation, Ballmer Group, Charles and Lynn Schusterman Family Philanthropies, Conrad N. Hilton Foundation, Gates Foundation, The James Irvine Foundation, JPB Foundation, JPMorgan Chase, Rockefeller Foundation, and Schmidt Futures. The Families and Workers Fund is housed at the Amalgamated Foundation, an independent 501(c)(3) charity.