United Way of Greater Philadelphia and Southern New Jersey (UWGPSNJ), in partnership with the City of Philadelphia, has announced The Poverty Action Fund’s first 2020-2021 grant cycle.

The Poverty Action Fund is a joint effort between United Way, the City of Philadelphia and private philanthropy to reduce Philadelphia’s poverty rate and create opportunities for an equitable recovery from the economic collapse. Through this initiative, a private-public partnership fund has been developed to streamline evidence-focused grantmaking processes and support high-performing community organizations and partnerships.

The Poverty Action Fund has three primary components:

• A citywide awareness-building strategy to ensure all residents of the region can engage in the fight against poverty and strive collaboratively for an equitable recovery
• A community investment process anchored by a series of Challenges, designed to invest deeply in place-based and population-based collaborations to maximize opportunity, income, and stability for families facing poverty
• A Knowledge Nerve Center to support data collection, evaluation, learning, and transparent reporting on outcomes and to ensure continuous improvement and adaptation

Through the Poverty Action Fund, the United Way is releasing its first Community Challenge centered on family stability. They are inviting organizations with diverse expertise and deep community reach to partner on place-based and/or population-based strategies to connect a maximum number of individuals and families with a comprehensive set of public benefits, subsidies, supports, and resources for which they are eligible.

Funding Information

Grants of $1,000,000 - $2,500,000 will be for a one-year engagement.

Eligibility Criteria

To be eligible to apply, partnerships must have these core elements in place:

• Must serve low-income communities and the mission must align with advancing individuals and families economically
• Ability to offer free tax preparation services at significant scale
• Ability to screen for, assess, and confirm receipt of a wide range of local, state, and federal benefits
• Demonstrated success in convening partners and bundling resource to maximize outcomes and increase access for community members
• Ability to track and report outcomes, including total financial and non-financial resources accessed, and participate in comprehensive evaluation
• Must be able to implement and operate the program between January 2021 and January 2022
• Lead applicant must have had an independent audit of their finances within the last two years
• Lead applicant must be a non profit or educational institution with IRS code Section 501(c) (3) and 509(a) (1), (2) or (3), or Section 170(c); or a public entity

For more information, visit UWGPSNJ.