The Detroit Regional Workforce Fund works to connect low-skilled, low-income workers to career pathways that lead to middle-skill jobs which require some postsecondary training beyond high school and generally pay family sustaining wages. Ten national and local, public and private funders have committed more than $3.5 million to the three-year collaborative, which promotes regional economic growth through the development of a skilled workforce. In addition to the Knight Foundation, which initiated the collaboration, funders include Kresge Foundation, W.K. Kellogg Foundation, National Fund for Workforce Solutions, U.S. Department of Labor, Workforce Development Agency – State of Michigan, United Way for Southeastern Michigan (which is also the Fund’s fiduciary body and administrative home), Skillman Foundation, Blue Cross-Blue Shield of Michigan Foundation, and the Ford Foundation.

The Detroit Regional Workforce Fund brings together funders and leaders from the private, public, and nonprofit sectors to spark and pilot opportunities that connect low- and moderate-income persons to emerging and growing career pathways. Through employer-engagement and educational partnerships, the DRWF supports innovation by convening stakeholders, identifying barriers, and creating solutions that lead to systemic changes in the public and private workforce ecosystem.