Background: In 2012, we teamed up with Columbia University for a long-term, in-depth study of poverty in our city, closely following 4,000 families so we can better understand the intricacies and nuances of poverty. After all, you can’t create solutions for problems you don’t understand.

New Ground: In November we launched the Early Childhood Poverty Tracker which closely monitors more than 1,500 families and focuses its study on young children. We significantly ramped the use of Poverty Tracker data to inform the policy work of our new policy teams. We provided testimony to the New York City Council on evictions and made two public comments to the Federal government on the impact of potential changes in policy for benefits eligibility. And at the 2019 No City Limits Conference, we released a report on New Yorkers’ perceptions of economic mobility and opportunity.

Lived Experience Matters: Those who are closest to the problem of poverty are closest to the solutions to solving it so we seek to elevate the often-excluded voices of those experiencing hardship and trust that they are most equipped to know what solutions work. Mobility LABs empowers communities to develop innovative programs to tackle poverty and promote economic mobility, while exploring how power, autonomy, dignity and belonging are contributors to overcoming poverty.

The Source is the Solution: Mobility LABs identified nine diverse communities across five states in which to launch an innovative pilot program to measurably and sustainably lift families out of poverty. The Mobility LABs board committee approved grants of $125,000 each to local nonprofits to anchor the planning process in each community. At the end of the planning process, each community will submit a written proposal for their program to be implemented over the next three years with additional funding from Mobility LABs.

Double the Impact:  In 2019, we piloted a new strategy for mission investing and set the bar high to find opportunities to recoup investment while continuing to meet high impact goals.

Yes, It Was a Good Year: We invested $425,000 with New York Immigrant Freedom Fund, an initiative of Brooklyn Community Bail Fund, which works to provide bail to immigrants awaiting deportation hearings. The fund has already supported hundreds of immigrants and we expect to recoup the full investment within five to eight years.

We invested $200,000 in Hebrew Free Loan Society for the creation of an emergency loan program to enable employers to provide low income employees with no interest loans. Loans are to be repaid in 18 month and if successful, it’s a unique opportunity to encourage other employers to establish similar programs.

Finally, we invested $600,000 with longstanding community partner, Breaking Ground, a leader in affordable housing. This investment will help to preserve 167 affordable housing units and will be fully repaid from the sale of air rights received under the V.I.H. Program.

Tech Solutions: Blue Ridge Labs connects low-income community members with technologists to tackle economic inequality. We provide the space, funding, and resources to develop life-changing products and services.

In 2019, 4.3 million people were served by a BRL portfolio organization. The app FreshEBT saved users $28 million on groceries and helped 80,000 people apply for jobs. Other BRL ventures led the way for New Yorkers to claim $13.5 million in additional income, facilitated the donation of 1.5 million meals, and helped 170,000 people access legal assistance.

We added five start-ups to the BRL portfolio this year, bringing the total to 25. The 23 still in operation have raised $47.8 million non-Robin Hood funds over the past five years, all from an initial investment of just $3.3 million from Robin Hood.

Finally, this year saw the launch of the advisory board for DIG, the Design Insight Group, a community of over 1,400 low-income New Yorkers who provide guidance and feedback to the technology teams.