Deaconess Foundation Blog

Takeaways from the 2026 Workers Perspectives Project and Report from Fed Communities
Merissa Piazza from the Cleveland Federal Reserve’s research team participated with colleagues from the Atlanta and Chicago Feds (all of whom are members of the 12 Feds in the Fed Communities collaboration) to write a report issued this summer: “When Every Dollar…

Recent Grants of the Deaconess Foundation
Recent Grants of the Deaconess Foundation The Board of Trustees recently approved a series of grants to organizations which help the Deaconess Foundation fulfill its mission to help people impacted by poverty build a career which sustains themselves and their…

A New Framework and Approach for Preparing Learners and Workers for an AI-Driven Workforce
One of the biggest questions facing workforce development programs is how to integrate the AI skills all workers will need to have to be successful in the coming years and decades, when it is so unclear which job skills will be completed by AI and which ones will…

Our Approach to AI
As a workforce funder, we know AI is already dramatically changing work and will continue to do so for the foreseeable future. We also know that workforce practitioners will be evolving all aspects of their efforts to prepare people for careers. Providers will help…

What I Experienced in the Re-Entry Simulation
April is Re-Entry Month, a month dedicated to building awareness regarding the many barriers and roadblocks affecting the 5,000 justice impacted adults returning to society each year in Cuyahoga County. To bring Re-Entry month to life, one of the programs held was a 2…

Highlights from 2026 Cuyahoga County Workforce Funding Report
Our new report from The Center for Community Solutions regarding workforce development funding levels in Cuyahoga County is available! An update from the last report, from 2021, reflects the changing funding levels for workforce development activities since that time….

What are the Wage Gains from Workforce Programs?
Visual from “Long-Term Effects of a Sectoral Advancement Strategy”, March 2020, MDRC (Kelsey Schaberg and David Greenberg) I believe that workforce development programs enable people to make more money as a result of completing the program. The WorkAdvance study, a…

Our Favorite Podcasts, and other Media, for 2026
It’s time to regroup on ways we are keeping abreast of the world of workforce in 2026. Here are some of the sources we use! Podcasts: (available on your favorite podcast app) The Jobs Podcast. This podcast is from earlier in 2025 and features people talking about…

5 Takeaways from the American Job Quality Study from JFF
5 Takeaways from the American Job Quality Study from JFF Jobs for the Future released the first ever American Quality Job Study earlier this fall. This national study, subtitled the 2025 State of the U.S. Labor Force and launched in partnership with heavyweights…

5 Takeaways from the 2025 Reality Check report
Ohio Excels recently released its 2025 Reality Check report, one of those annual reports I eagerly wait upon and inhale as soon as it’s available. (If you are just learning about Ohio Excels, it’s a non-profit founded in 2018 by Ohio business leaders to help improve…
Reach Us
For questions on our grants and services contact us at your convenience.
P.O. Box 5787
Cleveland, OH 44101
Phone: (216) 503-9351
info@deaconessfdn.org
