Financially Struggling Families

Grants to Allegheny County, Pennsylvania nonprofit health and human services organizations to assist individuals and families who are struggling financially. Initial applications are due January 11. This program seeks to help one or more of the following three target populations: low-income working individuals and families, first-time financially struggling families, and veterans and their families. The goal of this program is to help these individuals and families avoid poverty, overcome financial hardships, recover from crises, and move toward financial stability.

This 2018 Financially Struggling Families Request for Proposal (RFP) seeks collaborative, innovative, systems-changing efforts to reduce and prevent hunger and homelessness for financially struggling families in Allegheny County. The chief criteria for all funding proposals will be how closely they align to the core goals of United Way's Financially Struggling Families action plan to prevent and reduce hunger and homelessness by:

-Ensuring that families meet their basic needs and avoid hunger, homelessness, and financial crises
-Increasing household income and stability through employment and community resources
-Connecting people in need by phone, chat, text, and web to health and human service assistance in their communities through PA 2-1-1 Southwest and keep them connected.

Projects should use strategies that leverage United Way’s unique strengths and abilities, such as:
-Dynamically convening and mobilizing volunteers and leadership from throughout the community to problem solve and own existing and emerging human problems;
-Engaging business leaders;
-Developing and implementing community change campaigns, including public policy initiatives;
-Capitalizing on the strength of United Way's regional partnerships and footprint;
-Promoting and supporting meaningful agency collaborations to increase efficiency and effectiveness;
-Piloting innovative ideas and programs that have the potential to achieve larger scale; and
-Maintaining a positive and prevention-oriented focus.

The United Way will implement a coordinated strategy across funded projects and initiatives to reduce the number of individuals and families in Allegheny County facing housing or food insecurity. Understanding that many people are facing financial challenges that affect multiple aspects of their quality of life, the United Way aims to better connect people to resources through a coordinated model and holistic approach. Projects selected through this RFP will work closely with PA 2-1-1 Southwest to connect people to short-term assistance to meet basic needs, as well as longer-term resources.

United Way encourages exemplary human service agencies to submit collaborative proposals that will align strongly with the goals of the Financially Struggling Families action plan and leverage United Way’s unique strengths and abilities to meaningfully reduce and prevent hunger and homelessness in Allegheny County.

Assistance provided should demonstrate successful results and/ or innovative approaches to assist individuals to:
-Meet basic needs, by avoiding a crisis due to basic needs assistance for food and transportation
-Increase income, by obtaining a job or improving employment or accessing community resources; and
-Maintain or acquire assets, such as safe and stable housing, reliable transportation, or savings.

Community Outcomes Strategies:

In addition to achieving community level impact through comprehensive services and strong collaborations between agencies and other entities aligned toward a common goal, proposed projects must also address one of the following:

-Policy or systems level change: Identify and describe your public policy and systems change activities. Outline critical milestones and timeframe in which you hope to achieve them (e.g. legislation being passed; a new policy/procedure being adopted, etc.)
-Volunteers are mobilized on a large scale: Engage members of the community as volunteers, leaders, and partners in efforts that improve outcomes for the target populations.
-Public awareness of issues is increased: Employ strategies to positively change the conditions surrounding financially struggling families and describe the impact you expect to have.

Long-Term Outcomes:

Proposals chosen for funding will focus on achieving and providing a comprehensive plan for measuring at least one of the following long-term outcomes for the target populations:

1. Increase individual or household incomes.

Potential strategies may include, but are not limited to:
-Innovative, effective systems-focused approaches to connecting people with employment or advancing towards improved employment;
-Partnerships that work across disciplines to connect people in need with existing community resources and benefits.

2. Increase the ability of individuals or households to maintain or acquire assets to increase financial stability.

Potential strategies may include, but are not limited to:
-Innovative, effective systems-focused approaches to preventing eviction or foreclosure; Strategies to promote savings and credit repair.

3. Meet basic needs.

Potential strategies may include, but are not limited to:
-Innovative, effective systems-focused approaches to providing people with reliable transportation or access to public transportation;
-Strategies to reduce and prevent hunger for target population.