From transportation to advanced manufacturing, solar energy, and electric vehicles, the United States is undergoing a massive economic transformation. Driven by significant public investment and amplified by private sector capital, this transition is projected to generate millions of jobs over the next decade.
Yet for many Americans, particularly those earning below a living wage or facing historical barriers, these opportunities remain out of reach.
To meet this moment, **GitLab Foundation and the Families and Workers Fund are proud to launch a $16 million, two-year initiative designed to propel individuals from working in below-living-wage jobs into high-quality careers** in renewable energy, infrastructure modernization, advanced manufacturing, and related sectors. This fund builds on the success of prior efforts—like GTLF’s Green Jobs for Economic Opportunity Fund and FWF’s Powering Climate & Infrastructure Careers Challenge—which have supported thousands of workers through employer-aligned training, systems change, and inclusive workforce development. Together, our joint fund will invest in training providers, workforce organizations, and local partnerships ready to drive employment pathways.
As part of this initiative, Gitlab Foundation is now accepting early-stage innovative concepts that aim to expand access to careers in renewable energy and related infrastructure and manufacturing industries across the United States.
The Powering Economic Opportunity Fund will deploy in two phases. The first phase, geared toward innovative ideas, will commence on April 23, 2025. The second phase is dedicated to scaling initiatives and will be conducted on a rolling basis by invitation.
During the first phase, the fund seeks early-stage ideas that seed funding will help catalyze. GitLab Foundation will assess each application based on how well initiatives increase beneficiaries' income. Investments that generate at least $100 in additional lifetime earnings for every $1 spent by the Foundation will be prioritized. We encourage partnerships between nonprofits, employers, the public sector, unions, academic institutions, startups, etc. to ensure projects have a lasting impact.
To garner the largest number of creative applications, we will have a low-friction, one- to two-page concept note submission process. As concepts are reviewed, we will request that a small number of applicants submit complete applications for final review and award decisions.
In the first phase, starting in April 2025, Gitlab Foundation will deploy a total of $4,000,000 in flexible grants focused on innovation:
What we will not fund, the following are not eligible to apply: