$4M Available for Workforce and Economic Mobility Programs
- Ty Boone
- Aug 7
- 3 min read
The GitLab Foundation and Families and Workers Fund have opened a $4 million funding round for organizations helping workers enter and remain in high-quality careers.
The second round of the Powering Economic Opportunity Fund focuses on renewable energy, infrastructure modernization, advanced manufacturing, and related skilled trades.
Selected organizations may receive flexible grants of up to $500,000 over one or two years.
However, this is not a general job-training grant. The fund is looking for organizations working directly with employers, unions, industry associations, or other workforce partners to change the workplace practices that influence retention, advancement, and long-term earnings.
Grant Breakdown
Powering Economic Opportunity Fund: Round Two
This funding round supports initiatives that connect workers to durable, living-wage careers while improving the employer-side practices that help those workers remain employed and advance.
Funding Organizations: GitLab Foundation and Families and Workers Fund
Total Round Two Funding: $4 million
Maximum Award: $500,000
Grant Period: One or two years
Award Type: Flexible philanthropic grant
Geographic Focus: United States
Initial Application: Short concept note
The fund prioritizes projects with the potential to generate at least $100 in increased lifetime worker earnings for every $1 invested by the foundation.
GitLab Foundation will conduct the return-on-investment calculation using the applicant’s projected wage, participant, and employment data.
Eligible Applicants
Eligible applicants include:
U.S.-based 501(c)(3) nonprofit organizations
Fiscally sponsored projects
Non-501(c)(3) organizations applying with an eligible 501(c)(3) partner or fiscal sponsor
Certain social enterprises, associations, and collaborative initiatives using an eligible nonprofit application structure
Every proposal must include a named and active partnership with at least one:
Employer
Union
Industry association
Multi-employer partnership
Other qualifying industry partner
The partnership requirement is pass or fail. Applications without an active partner will not advance beyond the concept-note stage.
The industry partner does not have to serve as a co-applicant or fiscal sponsor. However, the application must describe the partner’s role and provide evidence that the relationship is active.
Priority Industries
The fund is particularly interested in careers connected to:
Renewable energy
Infrastructure modernization
Advanced manufacturing
Construction and skilled trades
Energy systems
Industrial occupations
Other sectors experiencing sustained demand for skilled workers
Applicants should connect their proposed work to actual employer demand, not general labor-market projections alone.
What the Fund Supports
Strong proposals will test a specific workplace or employer-supported practice designed to improve worker retention, advancement, job quality, or long-term earnings.
Examples may include:
Wage increases tied to skill milestones
Structured career-progression systems
Paid work-based learning
Apprenticeships
Stable and predictable scheduling
Supervisory and mentorship improvements
Employer-financed education
Employer-recognized credentials
Childcare support
Transportation support
Income-stabilization strategies
Curriculum designed with employers
Hiring commitments
Employer co-investment
Practices supporting workers displaced by AI or other economic changes
The fund is not primarily interested in counting how many people complete a training program. It wants evidence that workers obtain quality employment, remain in those jobs, increase their earnings, and continue advancing.
Required Sustainability Strategy
Applicants must identify a potential “durable payer.”
A durable payer is a non-philanthropic source of funding or authority capable of sustaining the tested practice after the grant ends.
Potential durable payers may include:
An employer that continues the practice because it reduces turnover or improves productivity
A union contract or collectively bargained agreement
A multi-employer or industry-association financing structure
A public reimbursement or funding mechanism
Another sustainable financing arrangement supported by the employer or industry partner
Applicants do not need a finalized long-term financing agreement at the concept-note stage.
They do need a credible hypothesis explaining who could sustain the practice, why that organization would pay for it, and what evidence the project will produce to support that decision.
Expected Outcomes
Selected organizations should be prepared to report on:
Job placement
Employment retention
Retention beyond the first year
Earnings gains
Career advancement
Employer investment
Public or private capital leveraged
Replicability across employers or regions
Evidence identifying which program components improve long-term outcomes
Applicants should already have data systems capable of tracking employment and earnings outcomes.
Application Timeline
Concept-note deadline: August 12, 2026
Invitations for full applications: September 2026
Full application review: Through November 2026
Award announcements: Early December 2026
Review the complete Powering Economic Opportunity Fund requirements and application information.
The August 12 deadline makes this a readiness opportunity.
An organization that already has an employer partnership, defined workforce model, participant data, measurable employment outcomes, and a specific workplace practice to test may be positioned to submit the concept note.
An organization still searching for an industry partner is not.
This fund is explicitly moving away from training for the sake of training. The applicant must show how its work will change employment outcomes, improve earnings, and create a practice that employers or another long-term payer will continue funding.
That is a much higher standard than promising to enroll and graduate a certain number of participants.
Comments