Detroit Area Workforce Funders Collaborative joins network to drive racial equity in Metro Detroit’s workforce

WASHINGTON, Dec. 19, 2024 – The National Fund for Workforce Solutions welcomes the Detroit Area Workforce Funders Collaborative (DAWFC) as its newest Network Partner. This collaboration will strengthen efforts to advance racial equity in Metro Detroit’s workforce. The National Fund unites a dynamic network of workforce leaders who partner with us to test new ideas, learn from success and setbacks, and share what works with the field. Together, the National Fund’s network is creating bold, equity-focused solutions to help ensure that all workers have what they need to thrive, race does not dictate career success, and every job is a good job.

“We are incredibly excited to welcome the Detroit Area Workforce Funders Collaborative to our network,” said National Fund network director Hollie Marston. “Their efforts to advance racial and economic justice so that everyone thrives are in lockstep with the National Fund’s mission. They are aligning philanthropy around a people-centered workforce development agenda for the city of Detroit. We are eager to amplify their collective contribution and learnings as they operationalize their community-informed blueprint for workforce racial equity.”

The workforce landscape in Metro Detroit has evolved in recent years due to increased private and public investments and a shifting labor market. Despite big workforce development initiatives, Detroiters continue to face deep-rooted racial inequities in income and other measures of well-being. Black and brown Detroiters continue to be overrepresented in lower-paying jobs that are at higher risk of automation. They are too often being paid less and facing fewer wealth creating jobs, even when controlling for educational attainment. These and other structural inequities stunts everyone’s growth, at an estimated annual economic loss of $28 billion.

DAWFC acts to address racial inequities in Detroit’s labor market by centering workers and bringing balance to the area’s workforce systems. DAWFC partners with champion employers, community-based providers and organizers, and system leaders across sectors to understand past challenges and seize opportunities to build a racially equitable workforce ecosystem.

“We are thrilled to join the National Fund network and look forward to learning from other communities meeting labor market challenges by centering workers,” said Michael Shaw, vice president of programs at the Hudson-Webber Foundation and co-chair of DAWFC. “Our learning with the National Fund and local partners will further power the opportunity presented in 2025 and beyond to create lasting infrastructure that can mitigate job barriers facing Detroiters, increase job quality for our community’s hard-working people, and engage employers in shared problem solving for a racially equitable workforce ecosystem that benefits all.”

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About National Fund for Workforce Solutions

The National Fund for Workforce Solutions advances racial equity by reshaping workforce systems so that workers, employers and communities can thrive together. As a leading advocate for workforce equity, we amplify vital voices, activate new solutions and accelerate the change needed to shift toward a future where economic mobility is attainable for all. Learn more at www.NationalFund.org.

About Detroit Area Workforce Funders Collaborative

The Detroit Area Workforce Funders Collaborative intends to advance a racially equitable and just workforce ecosystem in metropolitan Detroit where all can thrive, with an emphasis on quality jobs for future and current Black workers through aligned philanthropic resources and influence. Learn more at https://detroitareaworkforcefunders.org/.