ICONIQ Impact Announces Grantees of $56M Collaborative Philanthropy Fund to Advance Long-Term Economic Mobility for Underserved Young People in the United States

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Feb 15, 2024, 09:00 ET

ICONIQ Impact's Education & Economic Mobility Co-Lab is supporting 16 organizations that are addressing the urgent challenges and persistent historical inequities that hinder economic mobility in the United States.

NEW YORK, Feb. 15, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Today, ICONIQ Impact—ICONIQ Capital's global platform for collaborative philanthropy—announced the 16 grantees of the Education & Economic Mobility Co-Lab. The Co-Lab is a $56 million philanthropic fund supporting organizations that are working to close the opportunity gap in the United States by: (1) providing more equitable career pathways for marginalized young people, (2) supporting mental health to spur academic and professional success, and (3) equipping underserved families with social, educational, and professional support.

A child plays an educational game at AVANCE, an Education & Economic Mobility Co-Lab grantee, while his caregiver attends an AVANCE parenting class next door. Photographer: Taylor Krauss

The United States is often heralded as the land of opportunity, where economic security and success can be achieved by anyone, irrespective of their race, gender, or family income. In reality, the United States displays some of the highest income and wealth inequality in the developed world, with divides falling sharply along race, gender, and class lines.

Fewer than 1 in 13 children born into poverty in the United States will go on to hold a high-income job in adulthood. For Black children born into poverty, the rates fall to just 1 in 40. COVID-19 exacerbated these grave inequities, and it's against this backdrop that philanthropists in the ICONIQ Impact community came together to launch the Education & Economic Mobility Co-Lab.

ICONIQ Impact's Co-Labs are founded upon collective action, guided by experts and local leaders, and driven by a desire for impact and results. The model allows philanthropists to pool their resources, leverage the knowledge of trusted issue-area experts and impacted communities, and source and vet nonprofit organizations with rigor.

The Education & Economic Mobility Co-Lab will offer three-year, unrestricted grants to 16 organizations working across three critical intervention areas.

Providing more equitable career pathways for marginalized young people: The trainings, tools, networks, and experiences that lead to high-wage jobs are often inaccessible to lower-income or otherwise marginalized communities. Seven of the Co-Lab's organizations are providing more equitable career pathways by ensuring all students and young professionals have access to the types of paid internships, vocational trainings, and apprenticeships that lead to high-wage jobs.

Supporting mental health to spur academic and professional success: Good emotional health and well-being is positively correlated with academic and professional success. Five of the Co-Lab's organizations are improving youth mental health by advancing local and federal policy, supporting student-led mental health advocacy, increasing access to teletherapy for the most at-risk youth, and more.

Equipping underserved families with social, educational, and professional support: Young people do better in school when their parents and caregivers are involved in their education. But active involvement can be challenging for families that earn a limited income, juggle multiple jobs, or face language and cultural barriers. Four of the Co-Lab's organizations are supporting underserved caregivers, like single parents and first-generation families, with everything from ensuring school readiness for their children to earning a college degree.

Grantee organizations include:

Propel: Propel America increases pathways for high school students and young adults to enter stable, thriving careers in the healthcare industry. Through their fellowship program, the organization partners with high schools, communities, higher education institutions, and employers to unify postsecondary and career navigation, job training, and job placement for young people.

Active Minds: Active Minds utilizes a multipronged and evidence-based approach to change narratives around mental health, reduce stigma, and establish a culture of mental health support nationwide, primarily through an expansive network of student-led high school and college chapters, as well as national programs and events.

AVANCE: AVANCE creates pathways to economic mobility for predominantly Latino families through high-quality, culturally responsive, two-generation programming that ensures school-readiness for young children and opportunities for parents to build social and economic capital.

A full list of grantees can be found here.

"Closing the opportunity gap in the United States is one of the foremost challenges in this country today," says Matti Navellou, head of ICONIQ Impact. "I'm deeply inspired by the work of our Education & Economic Mobility Co-Lab grantees and equally thrilled to see philanthropists in our community pool funds quickly and effectively to ensure that every family has equitable access to educational opportunity and economic security—regardless of race, income, or gender."

ICONIQ Impact has mobilized $56 million thus far and is inviting additional philanthropists to join this effort. Philanthropists interested in learning more about or providing additional funding for the Education & Economic Mobility Co-Lab should contact ICONIQ Impact at [email protected].

ABOUT ICONIQ IMPACT:

ICONIQ Impact is ICONIQ Capital's platform for collaborative philanthropy. We convene an extraordinary community of families, founders, and organizations to tackle some of the world's most complex challenges. Guided by experts and impacted communities, our model lowers the barriers to philanthropy, encourages collective action, and prioritizes learning and equity at each step.

ICONIQ Impact Co-Labs are collaborative philanthropy funds where donor communities make multi-year grants to a portfolio of nonprofit organizations addressing urgent challenges facing the world today. Each Co-Lab enables donors to maximize their efficiency through co-funding while learning from inspiring experts and leaders of impacted communities.¹

MEDIA CONTACT:

Amy Enright
Newton Street
[email protected]
+1 206 612 3151

¹ICONIQ Impact serves as a philanthropic advisor to the third party sponsoring the Co-Lab and receives compensation for its advice.

SOURCE ICONIQ Capital