We are a group of organizations who have seen what happens when neighbors, schools, nonprofits, businesses and local leaders stop working in isolation and start working together with purpose. From coast to coast — in cities, suburbs, and rural places across America — we've watched communities create new pathways to opportunity through place-based partnerships.
We are a group of organizations who have seen what happens when neighbors, schools, nonprofits, businesses and local leaders stop working in isolation and start working together with purpose. From coast to coast — in cities, suburbs, and rural places across America — we've watched communities create new pathways to opportunity through place-based partnerships.
We are a group of organizations who have seen what happens when neighbors, schools, nonprofits, businesses and local leaders stop working in isolation and start working together with purpose. From coast to coast — in cities, suburbs, and rural places across America — we've watched communities create new pathways to opportunity through place-based partnerships.
StriveTogether is a national network of community partnerships that join together neighbors, including youth and families, nonprofits, businesses, schools and more, to work toward a future where youth can thrive in their shared communities.
Cradle to Career Network members change the way their communities work together by building connections, sharing resources and using data to put more young people on a path to economic mobility.
Our work helps young people meet seven key life milestones so that they have the opportunities they need to reach their goals, and, ultimately, thrive.
Empowering place-based leaders and data leaders with data, AI, and technology so communities everywhere can shape equitable and prosperous futures.
Catalyst Exchange (formerly Catalyst:Ed) is a national nonprofit that helps mission-driven organizations across education, public, and social sectors build capacity and deepen their impact by connecting them to the expertise, tools, and hands-on support they need to drive transformational outcomes for the communities they serve.
Through its catalytic model, Catalyst Exchange empowers organizations to solve their challenges, build internal capacity, and lead sustainable change – while contributing to a broader ecosystem of learning, innovation, and collective progress.
Harlem Children’s Zone started with one purpose that was the most ambitious and audacious in U.S. history: end intergenerational poverty in Central Harlem and lead the way for other long-distressed communities nationwide and around the world to do the same. HCZ breaks the cycle of intergenerational poverty with on-the-ground, all-around programming that builds up opportunities for children, families, and communities to thrive in school, work and life.
William Julius Wilson Institute at Harlem Children’s Zone is a national resource for place-based, people-focused solutions that open pathways to social and economic mobility. William Julius Wilson Institute works with on-the-ground collaborators and national partners to deliver comprehensive strategies, support services, and tools that systematically root out poverty and close opportunity gaps in neighborhoods across America.
William Julius Wilson Institute is a central hub for place-based services and programs, and for backbone organizations to access the supports they need to be successful.
Partners for Rural Impact is a national organization focused on accelerating outcomes for rural youth, from cradle to career.
- We increase access to high-quality programs and supports to improve outcomes for children and youth in rural America.
- We strengthen civic infrastructure in rural places so that residents and local organizations have the systems and structures to come together to move outcomes.
- We drive resources and investment in rural communities by convening rural stakeholders to shape a shared narrative and advocating for policy changes at the state and federal levels.
Purpose Built Communities® is the national leader in strengthening neighborhoods to put more people on a pathway to prosperity and opportunity in the places they call home.
We offer pro bono support and partner long-term with Community Quarterback Organizations—hyperlocal nonprofits that bring residents and local partners together around a shared neighborhood vision. Guided by their insight and leadership, and supported by Purpose Built’s expertise, resources and advocacy, the essential building blocks of thriving neighborhoods become deeply rooted.
Our proven model integrates:
● High-quality, mixed-income housing that promotes accessibility, stability and choice.
● Neighborhood-serving cradle-to-college education ecosystems that prepare every child for success.
● Inclusive spaces for physical and mental well-being.
● Vibrant commercial cores that fuel economic opportunity for neighbors.
Anchored in resident voice and strategic local leadership, this holistic approach delivers sustainable neighborhood transformation, helping children and families reach their full potential and neighborhoods thrive for generations.
Today, Purpose Built Communities supports more than 60 Community Quarterback Organizations nationwide — half of which have achieved Network Member status. Together with our strategic partners, we are proving that when neighborhoods are inclusive, vibrant and strong, prosperity and opportunity for all is no longer the exception. Prosperity Starts with Place™.
Blue Meridian Partners is a pioneering philanthropic model for finding and funding scalable solutions to the problems that limit economic and social mobility for America’s young people and families in poverty. We know solutions exist, but even the most promising strategies cannot reach far enough, fast enough without significant resources. Hence, we bring philanthropists together to pool capital and scale solutions that target drivers of poverty from cradle to career.
We operate with an investor mindset but measure success in terms of social impact. Viewing our grants as “investments,” we provide the flexible, transformative capital that visionary social sector leaders need to dream bigger and pursue long-term change. Beyond dollars, we provide critical capacity- and evidence-building support as well as strategic advice. Understanding economic mobility and racial equity are inextricably linked, we invest in strategies that work to dismantle structural inequities that have long excluded Black, Indigenous, Latinx, and other people of color from power and opportunity.
We remain responsive to evolving challenges, while constantly exploring new collaborations. Ultimately, we want to transform the philanthropic marketplace and improve the life trajectories of millions of young people and families across America.
Ballmer Group is committed to improving economic mobility for children and families in the United States, funding leaders and organizations that have demonstrated the ability to reshape opportunity and reduce systemic inequities.
We focus on multiple impact areas and systems that can impact economic mobility - such as early learning, K-12 education, college and career pathways, housing, health, and criminal justice –and we support leaders and organizations that focus on undoing systemic racism and the barriers it has created.
Ballmer Group is both a national and regional funder – we have a presence and invest deeply in southeast Michigan, Washington state, and Los Angeles County. Ballmer Group was co-founded by philanthropist Connie Ballmer and her husband Steve Ballmer, former CEO of Microsoft, founder of USAFacts, and chairman of the Los Angeles Clippers.
We also know that transforming outcomes isn't easy, doesn’t happen in a vacuum and takes a community in and of itself. We built this site to build that community and connect local leaders with the tools, resources and supports they need to create and sustain effective place-based partnerships — because we’ve seen them work.
If you cherish a place that is ready to embrace or advance the PBP approach, PlaceBasedPartnerships.org can help connect you with the information and resources to help you accelerate success.
This effort is ongoing. Get notified when we post new resources, or reach out if you have questions, feedback or resources to recommend!
