What We Fund 

CWE supports organizations and programs that help people move along a pathway of opportunity and advancement. These investments may include: 

•  Workforce training and career pathways 

• Apprenticeship and pre-apprenticeship programs 

• Adult education and literacy initiatives 

• English language learning programs 

• Industry-recognized credential and certification programs 

• Citizenship and civic engagement programs 

• Worker leadership and worker rights initiatives 

• Cooperative and entrepreneurship development 

• Digital literacy and technology training 

• Community-based programs that expand access to opportunity and economic mobility  

Because our portfolio includes many different types of organizations, we use a common framework that allows us to evaluate diverse programs while recognizing that meaningful impact can take many forms.   

Our Theory of Impact and Change 

CWE's funding philosophy is grounded in a simple idea: 

Access → Skills → Credentials → Economic Agency + Civic Agency → Stronger Workers and Stronger Communities 

We recognize that education, workforce development, citizenship, leadership, and community engagement are interconnected. A person who gains new skills, earns credentials, becomes economically secure, develops leadership capacity, or becomes more engaged in civic life is better positioned to contribute to both their family and community.  

How We Evaluate Funding Opportunities 

CWE uses a four-part Impact Model to assess potential and current investments. Each area reflects a core component of our mission and is weighed equally.  

• Economic Agency. We assess whether a program improves participants' ability to participate and advance in the economy. Programs may demonstrate impact through employment outcomes, wage growth, career advancement, entrepreneurship, or long-term economic stability. We want to understand whether participants are better positioned economically after engaging with a program than they were before.  

• Human Capital and Lifelong Learning. We assess whether a program increases knowledge, skills, credentials, and capacity for future advancement. Many programs create value long before an individual obtains a new job or promotion. Skills development, educational attainment, industry-recognized credentials, literacy gains, and lifelong learning all contribute to future opportunities and success.  

• Equity and Access. We assess whether a program expands opportunities for individuals and communities facing obstacles to advancement. We are particularly interested in programs that effectively serve populations that have historically faced challenges to economic and civic participation and that demonstrate strong outcomes for those populations.  

• Civic Engagement and Community Power. We assess whether a program strengthens workers as civic actors, leaders, and contributors to community well-being. This may include civic participation, citizenship attainment, leadership development, worker empowerment, worker voice, cooperative ownership, community engagement, and efforts that strengthen local institutions and community life.

Measuring Impact 

To ensure consistent and transparent decision-making, CWE evaluates organizations across all four impact areas using a standardized scoring process. This allows us to assess both the quality of outcomes and the extent to which an organization advances our mission.  

Programs are evaluated on factors such as:

•  Employment and income outcomes 

• Career advancement 

• Skill development 

• Credential attainment 

• Educational progression 

• Success among priority populations 

• Reduction of obstacles to participation 

• Civic leadership and participation 

• Worker empowerment 

• Community impact and partnerships

Measuring Social Return 

In addition to assessing impact, CWE also examines how effectively investments generate results. Through the CWE Social Return Index (CSRI), we consider the relationship between program impact, participant outcomes, and the resources invested. The CSRI helps us understand how much mission-aligned impact is being generated for each dollar invested while recognizing that advancement can occur through economic, educational, or civic outcomes.  

Meaningful outcomes may include:

• Employment and career advancement 

• Industry-recognized credentials 

• Educational progression 

• Citizenship attainment 

• Worker leadership development 

• Community engagement 

• Cooperative ownership 

• Other measurable forms of economic and civic advancement

What Guides Our Decisions 

Ultimately, CWE seeks to invest in organizations that create meaningful and measurable improvements in people's lives. When making funding decisions, we ask: 

• Does this program create opportunities? 

• Does it help people gain new skills and credentials? 

• Does it improve economic mobility? 

• Does it expand access for those facing obstacles? 

• Does it strengthen civic participation and community power? 

• Does it create lasting value for workers and communities?  

Our goal is to build a portfolio that advances economic security, educational opportunities, civic engagement, and community well-being throughout New York City.

For every dollar CWE invests, how much economic agency, civic agency, and community impact are we creating? 

This question sits at the heart of how we approach funding, evaluate impact, and advance our mission.