Public Benefits Grant

The William Penn Foundation aims to connect 25,000 families with young children in Philadelphia to public benefits and tax credits worth at least $75 million by 2035. This initiative seeks to alleviate poverty, improve economic stability, and foster better parent-child relationships, which are essential for healthy child development. By addressing the significant gap in benefits access, the foundation supports direct services, policy work, and community initiatives that enhance families' ability to navigate available resources.

By 2035, Foundation-funded efforts will connect 25,000 families with young children with public benefits and tax credits worth at least $75 million.
When families are economically stable, household stress decreases and parent-child relationships improve, having a lasting impact on children’s healthy development and early learning.
Philadelphia is the poorest large city in America. In Philadelphia, 28.8% of children live in poverty, with a household income at $30,000 or less for a family of four [1]. The poverty rate for Black children is 42%, and for Hispanic children it is 48% [2]. Despite the availability of a wide range of public benefits and tax credits to boost family income, Philadelphians miss out on an estimated $450 million in federal and state benefits for which they are eligible [3].
Given these facts, we are seeking to help Philadelphia families connect to the public benefits and tax credits for which they are eligible.
In advancing this objective, we recognize that there are many ways that organizations and communities can help access these benefits. Possible efforts may include support for direct services that help individuals and families navigate and get connected to public benefits, social services, and resources; policy work to improve system responsiveness and operations to meet family needs; and initiatives that fill the critical information gap pertaining to program availability and eligibility. We are seeking to support projects and programs that organizations in Philadelphia believe will be most effective in making progress on the objective above.
We measure our progress for this objective through grantee reporting on number of families served, types of benefits and/or services received, and the annualized value of the benefits.