The Arthur M. Blank Family Foundation has awarded a three-year, $260,000 challenge grant to Seedco to pilot an innovative collaboration among community colleges, child care workers and Seedco’s EarnBenefits initiative, a technology and case management approach that helps low-income people gain access to a range of public and private benefits.

The grant will enable Seedco to expand EarnBenefits in two key ways:

  1. Increase access to benefits for community college students with children ages five and younger. Blank Foundation support will fund benefits screening and case management services at three local community colleges: Atlanta Technical College, Atlanta Metropolitan College, and Bauder College.
  2. Provide benefits screenings to child care workers across Atlanta. Seedco will work with The Georgia Alliance for Quality Child Care, a shared services alliance for early childhood programs developed by Quality Care for Children, to identify 20 child care centers to target for direct services. Seedco will design and implement a model program to screen child care center staff for public benefits.

To promote awareness of these two new pilot projects, Seedco will develop a customized outreach plan that includes taking advantage of the colleges’ cell phone messaging services, digital billboards, email communications, and high-traffic/high-volume departments and locales across campus. To reach child care staff, Seedco will set up workshops with center directors to educate and inform them about the pilot, as well as create a set of marketing materials to post on the Alliance website, include in the employees’ pay stubs, and post throughout the center network. In addition, a user-friendly online video demonstrating EarnBenefits will help encourage screenings.

“Our experience in the field has shown that parents of young children attending community college and child care workers are not accessing the full range of public and private benefits available to them,’ said Barbara Dwyer Gunn, President and CEO of Seedco. “Benefits like nutrition assistance and health insurance support families as they take positive steps to build a self-reliant future by going to school and working in the community. We are extremely grateful and pleased that the Blank Foundation recognizes the work we do in making our services accessible, professional and streamlined. This funding will enable us to expand our reach and assist more of those in need.”

“We salute parents who are furthering their education and those who are working as caregivers to the children of Atlanta,” said Blank Foundation President Penelope McPhee. “The Blank Foundation is proud to support Seedco’s work to increase the economic stability of these parents and provide their children with access to healthcare and nutritious food.”

This grant will enable Seedco to increase the number of low-income families accessing benefits; reach new clients who may doubt their benefits eligibility given their employment or enrollment status; and develop a sustainable, efficient and cost-effective model for completing benefits screening to targeted groups of residents.

If you are interested in making a matching gift to this project, please contact Michele Chivore at (404) 230-7131 or mchivore@www.seedco.org.

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About The Arthur M. Blank Family Foundation

Formed in 1995, The Arthur M. Blank Family Foundation promotes positive change in people’s lives and builds and enhances the communities in which they live. The Foundation has an especially strong interest in supporting innovative endeavors leading to better circumstances for low-income youth and their families. The Foundation invests in nonprofit organizations strengthening education, preserving green space, sustaining the arts and sparking collaboration among community partners.

About Seedco

Seedco is a national nonprofit organization that advances economic opportunity for people, businesses, and communities in need. Founded in 1987, Seedco designs innovative programs, partnerships and services to help workers, families and businesses foster vibrant community economic development. Seedco focuses on three lines of work: workforce development, work and family supports, and community finance and small business support. EarnBenefits is the centerpiece of Seedco’s approach to work and family supports. EarnBenefits uses technology and case management to connect workers and their families to a range of public and private benefits for which they are eligible, but often fail to seek. These benefits can help people in need attain long-term employment and financial stability. To date, EarnBenefits has helped more than 11,800 families in Atlanta access benefits totaling over $16.7 million in value.

Learn more at www.www.seedco.org.

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