One of the greatest strengths of our incredible national network is the constant reminder that collaboration isn’t just a value, it is a strategy that makes all of our work more impactful. Every day, we see how relationships across communities, sectors, and partners create opportunities that no single organization could achieve on its own. At the same time, we know that progress in workforce development is rarely linear. It’s a long game, marked by both breakthroughs and setbacks. It takes persistence to create lasting systemic change.
The National Fund’s first ever network-led Community Visit, hosted by our friends at the Chicagoland Workforce Funder Alliance (CWFA) was a powerful example of how we team up. CWFA has a gift for bringing partners together in inspiring ways, rooted in trust, mutual support, and a shared commitment for lifting one another up. Their work fuels momentum that’s impossible to ignore.
For two days, representatives from 17 of our Network Partners came together for cross-site learning, relationship building, and a chance to see how Chicago’s workforce ecosystem is evolving through collaboration. From the start, it was clear that something special was happening here. Participants stepped into work that has been built over many years, with challenges still to overcome, but also with inspiring progress and lessons to share.
We began at of Hire360, a local workforce organization, where the energy in the room reflected just how much was at stake for workers and employers alike. Throughout the day, we heard from so many incredible voices that helped provide us an in-depth look into how the workforce development spaghetti (or Chicago-style deep-dish pizza) sauce is made. Though the conversations were wide-ranging, they all pointed back to one theme: collaboration is the key to change in the complexity of the local workforce ecosystem.
Philanthropy partners that form CWFA emphasized that funding alone isn’t enough. Listening, learning, and aligning with community partners is what drives real progress. In construction, leaders from Hire360, Chicago Women in Trades, and Revolution Workshop were candid about the persistent barriers faced by women and Black workers. The takeaway was clear, expanding opportunity will require unions, employers, funders, and training providers to pull together.
The same truth echoed in discussions about clean energy and data. Illinois’ ambitious climate goals are only achievable if workforce, policy, and community groups move in sync, as was exemplified by the work of the Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity and Current. And researchers from the Inclusive Economy Lab at the University of Chicago showed how data can tell more powerful stories when shared across sectors, informing smarter strategies and more equitable outcomes.
Our second day took us to the offices of the Chicago Community Trust, where we dove into the role employers play in all of this. We explored the various models Network Partners and Chicago organizations like Cara Collective and the Corporate Coalition of Chicago use to effectively engage employers in job design conversations. Through small group discussions and fishbowl sessions, participants shared strategies, sparked new ideas, and surfaced opportunities to collectively advance job quality.
There is so much happening in Chicago, and it’s no accident. The conversations reflected years of effort and are real examples of how the National Fund’s network turns ideas into action. Bringing together funders, employers, policymakers, researchers and workforce organizations creates the collaborative conditions needed for change. When these partners all work together, toward the same goals, their work becomes more impactful.
We left Chicago reminded that advancing workforce equity is hard work. It takes time and there is no simple, direct solution to big, structural problems. But we also left with proof that our network is equipped to take on these challenges together. Each time we gather, we deepen relationships, strengthen strategies, and move one step closer to an equitable workforce where every worker can thrive.
Thank you so much to the team at the Chicagoland Workforce Funder Alliance, their partners, and everyone from our network who made this Community Visit such a powerful example of collaboration in action.
