The Promise team—its board of directors, funders, partners, and staff—is excited to share the progress of the Family Stability Challenge.
The Promise is a first-of-its-kind public-private partnership among Philadelphia’s government, business, private philanthropy, and community organizations to tackle the city’s biggest problem: Poverty.
But what does that look like? It looks like more than 50 community partners working together to remove barriers preventing people and families from gaining upward economic mobility. It looks like 30 record-clearing clinics in 30 weeks, giving people the opportunity for a fresh start. And it looks like more than 53,000 families getting connected to critical economic security programs and public benefits during the COVID-19 pandemic as a result of the Family Stability Challenge.
In The Promise’s report, Family Stability Challenge Year One Accomplishments; Expanding Access to Benefits and Tax Services in Philadelphia, you’ll dive into the progress our Family Stability Challenge partners have made in their inaugural year and discover some of the key lessons that can inform the broader benefits access ecosystem.
KEY TAKEAWAYS INCLUDE:
- The power of collaboration was leveraged by 30 organizations that formed four coalitions covering communities throughout the city: The Collaborative to Advance Stability; The Latino Equitable Development Collective; No One Left Behind; and The South Broad Partnership.
- 53,400 households accessed 58,927 benefits and services. Participants were assisted with completing applications for more than 60 benefits. A total of $52.3 million in benefits were accessed, including $23.3 million in tax credits, $2.5 million in free tax preparation, and $26.6 million in cash equivalent benefits.
- Unsurprisingly, the COVID-19 pandemic and the economic fallout that ensued disproportionately affected low-income households. The dual crises also created economic hardship for the community-based organizations that provide benefits access and other financial supports throughout the City. The Family Stability Challenge enabled these organizations to maintain or expand their capacity, enabling families to connect to services.
Read the full report here.
Read an executive summary here.
While we are pleased to share these key learnings and promising trends in the data with you as we look to the future of this work, our learning continues. We are keeping our promise to you, our neighbors, and Philadelphia.
