This spring, Workforce Matters partnered with Listen4Good to launch our second survey of field partners, including Fund for Workforce Equity applicants and grantees, in order to collect and respond to field partner feedback.
Who responded
We received complete surveys from 118 individuals representing a range of community-based organizations, community colleges, intermediaries, and policy advocacy organizations. Most respondents (72%) worked for an organization that applied for a grant from the Fund for Workforce Equity in 2024. More than 60 percent of respondent organizations identified as being led by people of color.
What we asked
Our survey included three groups of questions:
- Questions about how organizations have been affected by recent funding and policy changes, and the most pressing issues facing their organization’s workforce programs.
- Questions about the Fund for Workforce Equity application portal and process: What worked, what didn’t work, and what can we do better?
- Questions about field partners’ programming interests and what they would like funders to know and share.
Impacts of recent funding and policy changes
Of the 101 respondents that answered the open-ended question about impacts of recent funding and policy changes, one-third responded that their organization had lost funding. 36% responded that their organization faced funding uncertainty. More than 20% noted that they were concerned about negative impacts to their organizations due to attacks on diversity, equity, and inclusion programs. Smaller organizations (those with budgets of under $1M) were over-represented among those that experienced funding loss. Medium and larger organizations (those with budgets of over $1M) were over-represented among those that experienced funding uncertainty. BIPOC-led organizations were over-represented among organizations that experienced funding loss and funding uncertainty.
When asked what they most wanted funders to know, respondents said:
- We need funders to lean in, continue to support DEI work, and provide cover to field partners doing the work.
- We need flexible, general operating support, and more of it.
- We need funders to adopt trust-based philanthropy principles.
- We need support for our staff, many of whom are really struggling.
Feedback about the Fund for Workforce Equity
In our survey following Round 1 of the Fund, we received feedback that the application process was too long and complicated, especially given the number of awards that we were able to make. Based on this feedback, Workforce Matters moved to a two-stage process and a new platform, JustFund, to simplify the application for most organizations and help organizations connect to other funding opportunities. We also committed to providing individual feedback to organizations that submitted full proposals but were not funded. We also committed to providing general feedback about our priorities to all applicants who submitted LOIs.
Overall, applicants to this round appreciated the applicant webinar, website, and FAQs for being informative and helpful. They also appreciated the timely and helpful communications from Workforce Matters staff. Most applicants appreciated the more streamlined LOI process and called it “easy” and “simple”, but some still felt the process was burdensome, especially for smaller organizations. And while some organizations noted that JustFund had helped them identify more funding opportunities, most were not sure that they had seen this happen for them, and this is a clear area of opportunity.
Programming Interests
Field partners’ top programming interests were apprenticeships, CTE, and work-based learning (51%); employment and training for youth/young adults (46%); workforce policy and funding (46%); and equitable workforce policies and practices (43%). They also want Workforce Matters to share more about how workforce funders are supporting work that advances justice, equity, diversity, inclusion, and accessibility, and they want more opportunities for field partners to inform funders about the work that their organizations are doing in this sphere.
Our response
Here are some of the ways we are working to respond to your feedback:
- We will explore ways to help field partners leverage the JustFund platform to identify funding opportunities.
- We will develop shared learning opportunities at the intersection of funder and field interests, specifically: apprenticeship, CTE and work-based learning; youth workforce strategies; and workforce policy and funding.
- We will continue to iterate on our Fund for Workforce Equity proposal process to clarify terms, reduce applicant burden, and create opportunities for feedback.
- We will amplify field partner needs, sharing findings with funders and policymakers.
- We will find ways to share more about how funders are meeting the moment in terms of strategies that advance justice, equity, diversity, inclusion, and accessibility.
We remain committed to continuing to seek and respond to your feedback. We welcome open communication with field partners and members. Please share concerns, ideas, and feedback at any time. We will continue the practice of regular surveys and will use the information you share to fuel change and improvements.
