Casey Grants Support Community-Led Workforce Development in Atlanta
The Annie E. Casey Foundation has awarded several nonprofits $350,000 in combined grants to help residents in Southwest Atlanta strengthen their employment skills and find family-sustaining jobs that align with their career goals and interests.
Awardees include:
- Atlanta Center for Self-Sufficiency, Center for Black Women’s Wellness and CommunityBuild Ventures, which have teamed up to offer employment services, including entrepreneurial coaching and industry-specific skills training, to women;
- Emmaus House and Per Scholas, which have partnered to provide information-technology training and job placement support to unemployed and underemployed residents;
- Generation and Saving Our Sons and Sisters International, which are working together to train young people for hospitality jobs at a forthcoming mixed-income development near Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport; and
- Urban League of Greater Atlanta, which will receive planning support to expand its education and training programs to serve more Southside residents.
To receive funding, applicants had to demonstrate competency in several areas, including resident recruitment and engagement, partnership building with local employers, skills and job-readiness training and a commitment to racial equity and inclusion.
“These organizations understand the local hiring environment and know how to support residents in ways that will connect them to meaningful opportunities,” says Janelle Williams, who leads the Casey Foundation’s economic inclusion efforts in Atlanta.
By funding partnerships — and not just individual organizations — Casey hopes to achieve greater results for residents and break through the barriers that keep Atlantans of color from finding careers that interest them, align with their skills and allow them to thrive, says Williams.