Building Pathways to Possibility

Across Southeastern Pennsylvania, a significant number of households are working yet unable to afford basic necessities. ALICE (Asset Limited, Income Constrained, Employed) households earn above the federal poverty level but below the cost of a basic survival budget that includes housing, childcare, food, transportation, and healthcare. In Bucks, Chester, Montgomery, Philadelphia, and Delaware Counties combined, an average of 40% of households fall below the ALICE Threshold (ALICE households or living in poverty.

GOAL: To move beyond awareness toward coordinated, cross­sector solutions that strengthen economic mobility and reduce structural barriers to financial stability.

Addressing this issue requires coordinated, cross-sector engagement. Employers, direct service providers, advocates, and policymakers all influence the systems that shape wages, benefits, and economic mobility. Without shared understanding and aligned action, financial insecurity will continue to undermine workforce participation and long­term economic stability in Southeastern Pennsylvania.

The Summit will educate participants on ALICE data as a measure of financial insecurity, examine benefit cliffs using real-world scenarios, and elevate lived experiences from community members navigating complex public benefit systems. Sessions will highlight promising practices from nonprofit organizations and employers innovating to support wealth-building and workforce stability, as well as policy solutions from other states. The series will educate participants on ALICE data as a measure of financial insecurity, examine benefit cliffs using real-world scenarios, and elevate lived experiences from community members navigating complex public benefit systems. Sessions will highlight promising practices from nonprofit organizations and employers innovating to support wealth-building and workforce stability, as well as policy solutions from other states.

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SUCCESS: This project represents an important opportunity to move beyond isolated conversations about poverty or workforce development and toward a coordinated strategy for advancing financial well-being in Southeastern Pennsylvania. By bringing together employers, community organizations, community members with lived experience, policymakers, and philanthropy around shared data and lived experience, we aim to create a durable framework for collaboration-one that recognizes both the economic contributions of ALICE workers and the structural barriers that limit financial stability. We see this effort not as a one-time convening series, but as the foundation for sustained cross-sector alignment. We have the opportunity to deepen employer engagement, strengthen data-informed policy conversations, and support practical solutions that improve economic mobility and workforce participation across the region, while centering and uplifting the voices of ALICE workers.