Investments will help ensure a diverse, qualified talent pool for quality infrastructure jobs impacting tens of thousands of underrepresented workers
Today, President Biden announced commitments made by more than 350 organizations in 50 states and territories as part of the InfrastructureTalent Pipeline Challenge. This includes more than $70 million in aligned philanthropic commitments from foundations working with The Families and Workers Fund, the What Works Plus Collaborative, and America Achieves. The Challenge, launched by the Biden-Harris Administration in June, is a nationwide call to action for making tangible commitments supporting equitable workforce development focused on quality infrastructure jobs.
Today’s announcement includes more than $50 million in new philanthropic funding and a commitment to secure an additional $20 million in philanthropic funding for workforce development and equitable access to quality infrastructure jobs. To help secure that additional funding, America Achieves and the What Works Plus Collaborative are launching the Catalyze Registry, with matchmaking services to connect foundations with promising initiatives, and the Families and Workers Fund is launching a pooled fund portfolio.
The Catalyze Registry is an innovative hub and matchmaking service that will connect promising local talent pipeline initiatives – which seek to build skilled, diverse talent pools for upwardly mobile infrastructure jobs – with foundations and other nonprofit organizations that might fund those efforts. The goals of the registry are to:
America Achieves will support coalitions – partnerships of local and regional employers, community colleges, and labor and workforce groups, among others – as they build profiles in the registry. Those profiles will include summary information, photos, proposals, and other materials that explain to funders the transformative potential of their proposals to improve lives through pathways to good jobs in in-demand sectors, such as clean energy, transportation, and broadband. America Achieves will also work one-on-one with interested funders to support them in finding aligned and promising initiatives.
Established in 2010, America Achieves’ strategic focus and mission is to create clear pathways for economic advancement and success for all in a rapidly changing economy. America Achieves catalyzes large-scale impact by generating and incubating ideas, delivering thought partnership and philanthropic funding to promising and sustainable models, and convening and advising foundations and other key leaders to advance evidence-based solutions. Essential to these efforts is creating a shared understanding of the challenge and the range of potential solutions to ensure Americans can obtain the education and skills they need to be successful in the 21st century workplace.
Launched in 2022, the What Works Plus (WW+) Collaborative coordinates across philanthropy, non-profits, and government to advance equity and climate resilience by addressing gaps in the implementation of federal infrastructure funding. The collaborative focuses on developing and supporting partnerships that result in better outcomes for communities, workers, and entrepreneurs across four main areas: 1) government capacity building, 2) diverse pipelines to good infrastructure jobs, 3) inclusive and equitable procurement, and 4) community engagement. What Works Plus (WW+) is housed at Freedman Consulting, a firm known for its public-private partnership expertise and is creating a learning community for philanthropic funders interested in cross-sector collaboration.
The Families and Workers Fund is a coalition of diverse philanthropies working to help repair and reimagine the systems that fuel economic security, opportunity, and mobility. By deploying funding and building partnerships, the Fund seeks to advance jobs that sustain and uplift people and invest in developing a more inclusive, effective public benefits system.
“The Biden Administration has rightly focused the country on the need to help workers from all backgrounds prepare for and access quality infrastructure jobs. Successful implementation of the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law will depend on sustained commitments and effective programs putting America’s talented and diverse workforce to work. Commitments from America Achieves and our partners respond to this imperative and to the Infrastructure Talent Pipeline Challenge. As a result of the bipartisan efforts by Congress and the Biden Administration’s leadership on infrastructure and workforce development, communities across the country, from small towns to big cities, have an opportunity to build quality infrastructure while putting local residents to work in good jobs making this possible. With a successful focus on workforce development, employers and communities will benefit from connecting with the diverse, qualified workers needed to repair local roads and bridges, build out broadband, and expand access to electric charging stations. America’s talented and diverse workforce will be able to access good jobs and contribute their talents and skills to make this possible.”
“The recent surge in federal infrastructure funding offers a once-in-a-generation opportunity to advance equity, fight climate change, and create good jobs in communities across the country. This public-private partnership will help further these goals by enabling philanthropy to scale needed support for initiatives that build a diverse talent pool for good infrastructure jobs.”
We are excited to be a part of this registry as we look to maximize the impact of federal funding by attracting philanthropic dollars to fill in for critical activities that public dollars cannot support.”
The White House fact sheet can be viewed here. Watch President Biden’s announcement at 2:15pm ET on November 2nd, 2022 here. The new Catalyze Registry site can be viewed here. More information can also be found on the America Achieves blog.
