Summary
- Invited to apply: 57
- Completed our Round 1 application: 19
- Applied in other causes: 8
- Did not apply at all: 30
- Finalists: 7
More information
Four of these submissions – The HOPE program, the Vocational Foundation, Catholic Charities Community Services, and Covenant House – provided not only a clear description of their program, but clear documentation of outcomes well after the program had ended, using data not only on job placement (the proportion of their graduates who were placed in jobs) but also on job retention (the proportion of their clients who remained in the jobs they had been placed in, several months after being placed). The goal of this cause is to change applicants' lives for the long-term, and we find retention data essential for getting a sense of whether an organization has done this. All four of these organizations were named finalists.
Three submissions were named finalists despite not submitting retention data with their Round 1 application. Highbridge Community Life Center submitted a very detailed report on placements in its Nurse Aide Training program, as well as a clear description of how a Nurse Aide degree could be expected to change clients' lives. St. Nick's submitted detailed information on the likely pay and career paths for the certifications and job skills it aims to help with. Year Up's submission included data (though the source was unclear) on the wages its graduates earned. All three of these applicants gave us enough information about wages and career paths that we had some sense of how they were affecting their clients' lives; we were also drawn to St. Nick's and Year Up because of the unusually high wages they claimed their clients earn.
We did not proceed with any of the other applications. It's possible that they have the information we want, and didn't send it due to misinterpretations of our Round 1 application, time constraints, or other reasons. But due to time constraints of our own, we opted to focus on the applicants that seemed most promising.
