Stable Incomes,
Stronger Communities

More than 600,000 families in metro Atlanta are not financially self-sufficient. That’s more than in comparable cities such as New York, Boston and Charlotte. And the number is growing.

They typically work, but often at low-wage jobs that don’t generate enough income to adequately meet the minimal basic needs – housing, food, child care, out-of-pocket medical expenses, transportation, and other necessary spending.

Communities see enormous benefits when people maintain adequate personal income. Our goal is to help families become economically independent by addressing the systemic barriers that stand in their path to self-sufficiency. Through the Metro Atlanta Financial Stability Partnership, we are providing families with the resources, tools and incentives they need to become self-reliant and break the cycle of poverty.

 

Jobs well done

Goodwill of North Georgia puts people to work. People who are challenged by physical, emotional or developmental disabilities, limited job skills, or poverty. People who want to work, but often don’t know how. Goodwill teaches them and connects them to jobs.

United Way of Metropolitan Atlanta invests in Goodwill and other workforce development programs because giving people the skills they need to take care of their families is one of the building blocks for a good quality of life.

“Putting people to work has never been more important for the metro Atlanta community,” Cornett-Earley says. “Fact is, when people don’t have employment options, it opens the door to larger problems.  When you can’t feed your family legally, you’ll consider doing it illegally. When the head of household can’t provide financially, domestic violence increases and children don’t get the nutrition and educational support they need at home. We know these things are all connected."

For that reason, Cornett-Earley sees Goodwill’s work as an important piece of the community goal of helping families become financially self-sufficient. “United Way isn’t just funding the work we’re doing. They’re pulling together the entire community for strategic problem solving to get at the bigger issues … together, and we have a seat at that table, collaborating and learning from each other. There’s no one else that can make that happen. And attacking the problem on multiple fronts, in a coordinated way, is the only way we’re ever going to move the needle.”

 

Advocating good measure

United Way of Metropolitan Atlanta has found, through our work as well as that of our partner nonprofits and other funders, that there are many living expenses that aren’t accounted for in the calculation of the federal poverty guidelines, such as housing, transportation to get to work or child care costs. Our work to increase a family’s financial stability requires assessing people’s ability to support themselves without public or private benefits. 

 

Lending a hand at tax time

Each year, hundreds of individuals get an opportunity to make a difference in the lives of metro Atlanta families. Through the Volunteer Income Tax Assistance Program, qualified working families receive free tax preparation services and much needed financial counseling.  

Learn how a United Way partnership in Cobb County – part of The Atlanta Prosperity Campaign – offers everyday people a chance to impact the lives of others and steer them toward better options for staying financially sound.