Foundation grantmaking focuses on four major program areas. These programs touch upon a number of major issues. Each grantmaking program also works within clearly stated geographic parameters or regions.
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This grant renews support to the Prima Civitas Foundation to pursue a broad range of initiatives and strategies designed to make Michigan globally competitive in the new economy. Begun in 2005 with the mission of transforming mid-Michigan's economy, the grantee now works statewide to build networks that connect Michigan's knowledge assets with catalytic opportunities for economic growth. During the grant period, the grantee will continue to implement a strategic plan focused on promoting international trade; attracting international businesses; and recruiting, retaining, and developing a 21st century workforce. Through the Flint Area Reinvestment Office, a program of Prima Civitas, the grantee will also continue to maintain a strong focus on the Greater Flint region.
This grant provides partial support to the National Economic Development and Law Center to direct the development of a National Sector Alliance. The National Economic Development and Law Center was identified to convene this national body, building on their role as technical assistance provider, information broker, and facilitator. The National Sector Alliance would serve as the vehicle to coordinate the national dialogue about sector initiatives, and to advance a national sector strategy that is responsive to the concerns and priorities of stakeholders. The alliance would develop as a non-partisan national collaborative, serve as an information clearinghouse for sector practitioners, develop a marketing plan to promote sector intervention strategies, and design and implement a public policy agenda.
This grant will support a partnership between the National Economic Development and Law Center's National Network of Sector Partners and the Southern Growth Policies Board to develop a Southern Sectoral Employment Initiative. Sector employment development aims to help low-income workers find, keep, and advance in good-paying jobs, while also improving the regional economy by addressing labor-market needs in targeted industry sectors. This initiative will be geared toward expanding support for sector initiatives in the South and creating upward mobility for low-wage, low-skilled workers.
Across the U.S., college students are launching programs to help low-income entrepreneurs access the training and financing needed to start their own businesses. Studies by FIELD, a longtime Mott grantee, explore this unique movement in the field of microenterprise.
The Mott Foundation has long believed that employment is an important pathway out of poverty. To that end, the Foundation supports programs, initiatives and partnerships around the United States that seek to help low-income, low-skilled workers overcome their barriers to employment, enter the labor market and increase their earnings over time. Grantmaking includes funding for educational initiatives, particularly at the community college level, that help people gain the knowledge, skills and experience that employers are looking for.
Grantmaking is done primarily through Mott’s Expanding Economic Opportunity program area. Related funding through the Flint Area program targets the Foundation’s home community of Flint, Michigan.
By YAZEED MOORE, Pathways Out of Poverty program officer
Most of us have heard the old saying…college isn’t for everyone. But a series of reports by the Center on Education and Workforce at Georgetown University might suggest otherwise. According to this research, the portion of U.S. jobs that required some post-secondary training nearly doubled from 1973 to 2008 — going from 28 percent to 59 percent — and is projected to increase to 63 percent in the next decade.
Though the terms “post-secondary” and “higher education” can describe professional certification or a traditional four-year college experience, the Mott Foundation embraces the notion that education can make a difference in the lives of individuals and families. To that end, the Foundation has supported a wide variety of efforts aimed at increasing the levels of skill and educational attainment for individuals in a myriad of settings from high schools, community colleges, to nonprofits. Wherever you find yourself in this debate, it’s worth taking a look at the reports, especially if you believe that more education will be needed over time for students of all ages to enter (and stay) in the workforce.
A trio of reports suggests that an alternative model of temporary staffing programs—one that provides low-income workers and employers with careful job matching and support services— not only helps workers obtain jobs, but also offers them important pathways to gaining the skills that employers are looking for.
The reports, produced by the Center for Social Policy at the University of Massachusetts-Boston, explore findings from the Mott-funded Alternative Staffing Demonstration.