Get Involved

To be eligible for a direct investment from the Quality Jobs Fund, organizations and investment funds must qualify as an intermediary. Intermediaries will be chosen based on innovative new programs and longstanding ventures with a proven track record in either a) providing expansion capital to underserved segments of the small business market or b) successfully implementing skill development and training programs that result in higher quality jobs.

While the evaluation criteria will vary some depending on the mission of the intermediary, it will include many of the below categories:

  • Capability (experience and business structure) needed to build a tailored portfolio to address our cross-cutting insights and intervene where skill-building and capital access gaps exist.
  • Track record of improving wages of lower income workers.
  • Ability to leverage a Quality Jobs Fund investment to harness additional resources.
  • Minimum asset base and minimum track record in middle-skilled job sector.
  • Demonstrated linkages with employers in region.
  • Senior staff experience and capacity.
  • Experience incorporating policy, training, and technical assistance into programs.
  • Commitment to recruiting and training women and minorities.
  • Track record of investing in businesses that increase quality jobs.
  • Track record of providing capital to small, medium-sized, minority-owned, or employee-owned businesses.

FAQs

  • What is the Quality Jobs Fund, and how does it work?

    The Quality Jobs Fund is a major initiative to enhance and increase opportunities and wealth building for working families by seeding sustainable, long-term, well-paid jobs and skill upgrading for working people. The initiative will fund intermediaries that operate primarily in Arizona, California, and Nevada, along with several other communities across the country.

    • Organizations that provide debt or equity financing to small businesses to support business expansion and job creation;
    • Organizations that prepare individuals for higher paying, quality jobs through job training and upskilling.
  • Why did FHLBank San Francisco launch this initiative?

    The FHLBank San Francisco recognizes that good jobs and homeownership are the mainstays of wealth in working and middle class  communities. The Bank also recognizes the rise of long-term underemployment and decline in the homeownership rate are related to the growing income inequality gap. These conditions have led the Bank to engage in a research and planning process, through which, it has determined how it can best catalyze opportunities for upward mobility for working class families and communities.

    This 12-month process included five roundtable meetings with community leaders, business leaders, labor leaders, academics, job training professionals, national trade associations and regional thought leaders who consulted with the Bank and the Aspen Institute on best methods to address the issue of closing the wealth gap. Based on information gathered and best practices examined, Bank management, at the direction of the Board, developed a one-time initiative to help address some of the problems preventing upward mobility of working class families.

  • What role does the New World Foundation play?

    The New World Foundation, the FHLBank San Francisco’s donor-advised fund (DAF) partner, is responsible for surveying the field, due diligence for grantmaking purposes, and spearheading monitoring and evaluation for investment and grants made.

  • How do you define a “quality job”?

    Based upon research and experts that participated in the FHLBank San Francisco’s 5 Roundtable discussions, the following are key components of what a quality job provides:

    1. A living wage that supports a decent standard of living.
    2. A safe workplace.
    3. A benefits package, including health insurance, paid time off (i.e. sick time and paid vacation time), and a retirement savings plan.
    4. Access to training and professional development.
    5. Potential for upward mobility and wealth-building, so the employee can save to buy a home, send children to college, and retire with security.
    6. Dignity, respect, and agency.

  • What regions will be eligible to receive investments under this initiative?

    The Quality Jobs Fund will primarily focus on intermediaries and organizations active in underserved communities in the FHLBank San Francisco’s three-state district of Arizona, California, and Nevada, but will also seek opportunities to invest in innovative programs at intermediaries in other parts of the country as well.

  • Is this an ongoing initiative?

    The Quality Jobs Fund will distribute the donated funds over the course of several years beginning in 2017. Qualifying intermediaries will meet the criteria for innovative new programs, or a proven track record of providing debt or equity financing to small businesses to support business expansion and job creation, and preparing individuals for higher paying, quality jobs through job training and upskilling. Some investments will be recycled on a continuous basis for reinvestment.

  • How can my organization apply to become an intermediary?

    The Quality Jobs Fund is designed for organizations and intermediaries such as: investment funds, nonprofits, and social impact venture funds focused on skill upgrading and business-focused economic development – to receive investments to expand their existing operations or create new programs. Click here to submit an inquiry.