Our strategic partnership with Arbor Rising (AR) has connected 35 non-profits in New York City metro area with hands-on consulting services. Arbor Rising identifies, funds and assists promising education, youth development and workforce development nonprofits, and supports each organization in the creation of management tools and strategic plans. Arbor Rising selects a cohort of the most high-potential, second-stage nonprofits each year that address root causes of poverty. Each grantee in their portfolio receives over 250 hours of high-dosage engagement on their model and program strategies.
We also supported development of the Leaders of Color Initiative, which provides additional support to early-stage leaders of color, as well as the launch of a Workforce Sustainability Fund, a hybrid grantmaking program that is designed to help promising job training organizations increase the share of their income coming from earned revenue.
Sixty-seven percent of grantee graduates have gone on to secure one or more million-dollar grants. Additionally, after three years with Arbor Rising, the median grantee more than triples the number of young people they serve as well as doubles their revenue.
In 2022 we created a $1 million Workforce Sustainability Fund at Arbor Rising, to promote the development of earned revenue streams for organizations selected by AR and Heckscher that would lead to sustainability and less of a reliance on philanthropic dollars. AR will pursue this through a combination of: (1) tailored capacity- strengthening support to identify, experiment with, and optimize income streams from employers, participants, and universities; and (2) targeted financial support designed to incentivize and accelerate earned income growth through matching funds.