ABOUT 24,700 INDIVIDUALS
IN ARLINGTON
are trying to make ends meet
on $38,700 or less. That’s 30%
of our area median income for
a family of four.
Current data shows that living costs for such a household in Arlington average three times that.
High-wage jobs comprise a significant share of the County’s economic growth,
but workers in lower-wage jobs form the backbone of the economy:
Our childcare and health care workers, office cleaners,
our restaurant, retail, and construction workers.
These workers and their families are at
high risk of being priced out of our community.
Arlington’s vision statement says that we are a caring and inclusive community.
The County defines equity as all Arlingtonians having the resources
to experience optimal well-being and realize their full potential.
Arlington Community Foundation shares this moral mandate of equity and inclusion,
as well as the economic mandate of preventing our essential workers
and neighbors from being displaced.
Here’s what we’re doing to keep our most vulnerable neighbors at home in Arlington.
Our economic mobility work is guided by the US Partnership on Mobility from Poverty’s 3-fold definition of economic mobility: increased income and assets, personal power over one’s life, and a sense of belonging to the community.
Our multi-year economic mobility focus and our outreach to scale up business involvement can produce capital and other resources beyond our current local funding mix.
Every dollar raised and invested in this work now will come back to this community’s most vulnerable many times over.
Arlington’s Guarantee
A guaranteed income pilot that aims to provide unconditional cash relief of $500 to 200 low income working families in Arlington every month for 18 months.
Shared Prosperity
The Shared Prosperity Initiative engages the business, government, and nonprofit sectors to mitigate displacement of very low-income residents and allow these residents to continue to contribute to Arlington’s economic viability and diverse community fabric.
Bridges Out of Poverty
This public-private partnership represents a re-design of the safety net system to reduce bureaucratic hurdles and strengthen connections so people in poverty can gain traction and move forward.
The Cliff Effect
The Cliff Effect refers to the drop off in eligibility for subsidies for health care, food, child care, transportation, or housing that working low-income families experience with even a minor rise in earnings.
For additional information about Arlington Community Foundation’s economic mobility initiatives, contact Anne Vor der Bruegge, Director of Grants and Initiatives.
Invest in a
more equitable
Arlington
for all.
Browse and donate to one of our
economic mobility funds,
or contact us to learn more about
starting your own fund
with the Community Foundation.
