UWGC Community Impact March 2026 RFI Overview & Questions

United Way of Greater Cleveland (UWGC) is sharpening its strategic focus on upward economic mobility for individuals and families who are working yet struggling to make ends meet—known as ALICE households (Asset-Limited, Income-Constrained, Employed). These households earn above the federal poverty level but below the cost of basic survival in our region, and they represent a significant and growing share of our community.

ALICE workers are the backbone of Cuyahoga and Geauga Counties: caregivers, service workers, health aides, retail employees, trades workers, and others who support the daily functioning of our regional economy. Recent 211 data indicate ALICE families are facing an increase in unmet basic needs and often encounter persistent barriers that limit their ability to secure stable employment, increase income, and build long-term financial security. Among the most significant barriers are childcare access, housing stability, and income pathways aligned to high-quality work. This is further complicated by the income prerequisites of safety net programs, from which they are precluded based on their current household income – which is still not enough to make ends meet.

Our Strategic Commitment
In response to these realities, UWGC has refined its investment strategy to advance economic mobility for ALICE households by supporting solutions that:

• Remove barriers that prevent ALICE workers from entering, sustaining, or advancing in employment
• Increase stability through reliable and affordable access to childcare and housing
• Strengthen pathways to higher earnings through connections to quality jobs, credentials, and skill development
• Align workforce, childcare, and housing systems so resources work together rather than in isolation
• Support financial resilience, enabling households to meet basic needs, build savings, improve credit, and manage unexpected expenses

This strategy builds on national research, local ALICE data, and insights from frontline partners and community members. The evidence is clear: advancing economic mobility requires coordinated solutions that address multiple barriers at once.

Purpose of this RFI
This Request for Information (RFI) is the first phase of a two-step grant opportunity for the 2026–2027 funding cycle. It is designed as a learning opportunity for UWGC to:

• Understand the range of innovative and collaborative solutions emerging across the community
• Identify organizations well positioned to advance economic mobility for ALICE households
• Invite a subset of respondents to Phase 2, where full proposals will be developed and reviewed

We welcome ideas that meet ALICE families where they are, reduce tradeoffs between work and caregiving, provide stabilizing supports, and create pathways to higher wages and greater financial resilience. Concepts may represent new approaches or the expansion of proven models and should demonstrate the potential to improve both short-term stability and long-term opportunity for ALICE workers.

What We Aim to Fund
UWGC seeks to invest in solutions aligned with three key impact areas that support economic mobility for ALICE households:

Childcare Access
• Expand access to childcare and improve care stability or affordability
• Reduce work disruptions related to childcare availability and/or cost

Housing Stability
• Reduce housing cost burden and prevent eviction
• Support stable housing that enables consistent employment and income growth

Workforce & Income Pathways
• Support job quality, wage growth, and employment retention
• Strengthen pathways to higher earnings through skill development and credentials

Across these areas, UWGC prioritizes approaches that demonstrate innovation, leverage public resources, align systems, or scale effective models that improve stability and opportunity for working households.

Awards will range from $50,000 to $150,000 per year for up to two years.

Our Shared Goal
Ultimately, our goal is to advance economic mobility for ALICE households—supporting individuals and families as they move from crisis toward stability and long-term financial security. Through this RFI, United Way of Greater Cleveland seeks partners whose work helps reduce barriers to employment, housing stability, and financial resilience for working households. We invite organizations to share ideas that contribute to this shared effort to strengthen opportunity and stability across our community.

2026 Grant Timeline
Thank you for your interest in partnering with United Way of Greater Cleveland in our efforts to make lasting impact. Below is a high-level timeline of our investment decisioning process:

Phase	Dates
RFI Application Opens	March 24
RFI Information Session (Optional)	April 1
Applicant Office Hours	RFI April 15
Application Closes	RFI April 21
Invitation to Apply & Applicant Updates	RFP May 13
RFP Open Application	May 13–June 5
Funding Announcements	August 2026
Funding Begins	September 2026