MCF Grants Additional $1.5 Million to Thriving Families Network
September 18, 2011
contact: Fred Silverman (415.464.2527 or via email)
To help low-wage earners in Marin County have greater financial security—so they are not stuck in low-paying jobs with a reliance on public benefits—the Marin Community Foundation (MCF) is investing $1.5 million in a collaborative effort called the Thriving Families Network.
Collectively, the 12 Marin-based organizations taking part in the network—begun in 2010 with an earlier grant of $1.5 million from MCF—will help low-wage earners become self-sufficient by preparing them for jobs that pay a living wage, with the concurrent benefits of reducing their debt and increasing their personal savings.
For example, a grant to Canal Alliance will provide training in financial literacy and business development, along with efforts to increase personal savings. And the Marin City Community Development Corporation will train workers to meet the needs of local employers, including businesses in the renewable energy industry.
Additionally, families taking part in the initiative will receive help in “getting through the kinds of crises, such as replacing tools needed for a job or having resources to cover a medical emergency, that otherwise can derail their ability to move ahead in their lives,” said MCF President and CEO Dr. Thomas Peters in announcing these grants.
As a result, Peters explained, funding will be available to help “close the gap” to cover such basic expenses as child care and health insurance, and to ensure that families access available public assistance to which they are entitled, including food stamps and earned income tax credits.
In the first year of this effort—part of the Foundation’s five-year strategy to end the cycle of poverty among low-income Marin residents—314 individuals enrolled in training or education to increase their prospects in the job market. “Many,” Peters explained, “were single mothers, new immigrants, and emerging entrepreneurs.”
He added that on average, each of the participants who completed job training programs increased his or her annual income by at least $6,000.
Peters said that the Thriving Families Network is an example of taking collective action to solve complex social problems. “The agencies involved are not working in isolation. It’s a classic instance of the whole being more than the sum of its parts.”
He explained that the 12 agencies meet regularly to share data and progress, using a case management model that tracks the progress of families and addresses challenges they face toward achieving their goals.
“This effort,” Peters said, “is helping families acquire skills and financial assets that can serve them throughout their lives and enable them to ride out future periods of economic stress.
“We have a strong commitment to creating opportunities where everyone can succeed. This is what it means to put the value of equity into practice.”
A list of grants made to the Thriving Family Network follows:
Adopt-A-Family $125,000
Bay Area Male Involvement Network 50,000
Canal Alliance 180,000
Center Point 45,000
Marin Asian Advocacy Project 30,000
Homeward Bound of Marin 200,000
Marin Housing Authority 180,000
Phoenix Project 50,000
Marin City Community Development Corp. 200,000
Novato Human Needs Center 150,000
Upwardly Global 50,000
Women’s Initiative 150,000
Tides Center 90,000
TOTAL $1,500,000
