ENVISION is a cross-sector initiative of UWGC that builds upon our organization’s primary impact areas—Financial Resiliency, School Readiness, and Connected Communities—to leverage the power and expertise across Charlottesville’s social impact sector in a coordinated approach to address generational poverty.

UWGC’s focus on poverty and equity derives from a strategic planning process in 2019 with broad input from community stakeholders. This new era of innovation was furthered by our emergency response work during Covid-19. ENVISION’s goals were developed thereafter to affect systems-level change among economically-disadvantaged individuals and families through partner-driven collaboration with area nonprofits.

Some experience deep poverty – lacking housing, employment, or reliable food access – while many work for an income that simply does not cover the costs of living in our community.

A single parent with 1 child earning $30,000 is estimated to spend an average of 97% of its financial resources on housing, childcare, and transportation. This leaves less than $1,000 per year for food, taxes, clothing, medical bills, etc. Local jobs in this salary range include Certified Nurse Assistant ($30,042), Receptionist ($30,050), and Groundskeeper ($30,980).

Of the nearly 11,000 families living this reality in our region, 35% are Black, a significant overrepresentation as Black individuals comprise only 1% of the total population.