Nonprofit Organizations Awarded More than $6 Million from William Penn Foundation for Workforce Development and Pandemic Recovery Efforts

PHILADELPHIA (January 4, 2022) – The William Penn Foundation today announced 44 grants totaling more than $6 million to support workforce development and job training opportunities for nearly 2,000 Philadelphians, as well as continued support for families’ basic needs.

These grants follow more than $8 million awarded in the first half of 2021 as part of the Foundation’s Family Recovery Fund, an initiative supporting both direct grantmaking and matching funds to organizations providing access to healthy food, housing, educational opportunities, and employment. In total, the Family Recovery Fund awarded more than $14 million.

The grants announced today support programs that offer relevant skills, certifications, or credentials, and a connection to in-demand jobs that pay a living wage and offer opportunities for upward mobility. Grants also support transitional employment programs tailored to Philadelphians who would benefit from extra supports, such as young people aging out of the foster care system and people returning from incarceration. Many industries are represented, including technology, skilled trades, clean energy, healthcare, and childcare.

“The employment initiatives led by these organizations will help support increased economic opportunities and stability for more Philadelphians and their families,” said Janet Haas, M.D., Board Chair of the William Penn Foundation. “The programs are experienced in connecting people to the jobs and careers that will help build a stronger future for their families and for the city of Philadelphia.” 

The following organizations received grants to support their work connecting Philadelphians with jobs and career advancement opportunities:

• ACHIEVEability
• African Cultural Alliance of North America
• Beyond Literacy
• Big Picture Philadelphia
• Center for Employment Opportunities
• Community Integrated Services
• Congreso de Latinos Unidos
• First Step Staffing
• Hopeworks
• Impact Services Corporation
• PAR-Recycle Works
• Peirce College
• Philabundance
• Philadelphia Academies, Inc.
• Philadelphia Energy Authority
• Philadelphia Lawyers for Social Equity
• Philadelphia OIC
• Per Scholas
• Resilient Coders
• The Monkey and the Elephant
• Turning Points for Children
• UNITE HERE Mid-Atlantic Training and Scholarship Fund
• University City District
• Uplift Solutions
• Urban Affairs Coalition/One's Up
• Urban Affairs Coalition/YO-ACAP
• Youth Empowerment Advancement Hangout (YEAH Philly)

Grants made to the following organizations match the support of funders in the region:

• African Family Health Organization
• Bread & Roses Community Fund/Kensington Community Resilience Fund
• Catholic Social Services
• Centro de Cultura, Arte, Trabajo y Educación
• Clarifi
• Faith in the Future Foundation
• Free Library of Philadelphia/Read by 4th
• Girls Justice League
• Justice at Work
• La Puerta Abierta
• Legal Clinic for the Disabled
• Movement Alliance Project (Camp Sojourner)
• Philadelphia HUNE, Inc.
• Philadelphia Legal Assistance Center
• Philanthropy Network Greater Philadelphia/Greater Philadelphia Extracurricular Collaborative
• Tree House Books
• Village of Arts and Humanities

To see the earlier list of Family Recovery Fund grantees announced in June 2021, click here.

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About William Penn Foundation                   

The William Penn Foundation, founded in 1945 by Otto and Phoebe Haas, is dedicated to improving the quality of life in the Greater Philadelphia region through efforts that increase educational opportunities for children from low-income families, ensure a sustainable environment, provide inclusive and equitable public spaces and arts and culture experiences, and advance philanthropy in the Philadelphia region. Learn more at www.williampennfoundation.org