Place-based opportunity ecosystems bring together families, communities, public and nonprofit organizations, and cross-sector partners to create the conditions for families to achieve economic success and well-being.

These ecosystems connect human services with early childhood, education, health, economic opportunity and other systems that shape families’ lives.

Our approach begins with place because communities understand their own strengths, aspirations and challenges. We center the lived expertise, voice and power of families and community members in defining priorities, shaping solutions and determining what success looks like. We recognize and seek to address the historical and structural inequities that have shaped access to resources and opportunity within communities.

At the same time, place-based systems do not operate in isolation. Local, state and federal policies, funding decisions and public systems all shape the opportunities available to families. We support partnerships across all levels of government and community, connecting locally driven solutions with state and federal systems and policy to remove barriers and create more equitable conditions for economic success.

By learning from what works in communities and translating those lessons across systems, we seek to strengthen the social safety net, influence policy and practice, and advance a Real New Deal for Families through a Human Rights Economy.

Examples of Our Partners