The goal
Raise the incomes of 10,000 households by 10% by 2022 in targeted Ohio communities.
We're casting a broad net to find innovative, bold ideas that bolster the middle class and ensure families have equal access and opportunity to thrive. Online and through community events, we'll collect ideas that emphasize two pathways to growing the middle class:
Raise the incomes of 10,000 households by 10% by 2022 in targeted Ohio communities.
Greater upward mobility of lower-income people who are without the economic securities of the middle class.
Greater stability for those middle-class individuals who are economically vulnerable and are at risk of falling out of the middle class.
From the many ideas submitted, five will be selected for development.
Ohio State is dedicated to improving the well-being of our communities. Learn more about the university leaders driving our work in the Alliance for the American Dream.
Schmidt Futures’ Alliance for the American Dream challenge aims to help new homebuyers on the edge of the middle class increase the value of their properties. In 2018, philanthropic initiative Schmidt Futures challenged U.S. communities anchored by public research universities to dream up big ideas that would bolster the middle class — specifically, by increasing the incomes of 10,000 local households by 10 percent by 2020.
The middle class is the backbone of America’s economy. It’s where hard-working families can cement an economically secure life for themselves. And the promise is that anyone who strives for the middle class can attain it. But across Ohio, and across our country, the middle class is fading away.
You. Anyone. If you have an idea to help bolster the middle class, we want to hear it.
Glad you asked. Check out the 2018 list of ideas and winners.
Schmidt Futures is a philanthropic initiative, founded by Eric and Wendy Schmidt, that seeks to improve societal outcomes through the thoughtful development of emerging science and technologies that can benefit humanity.
Please contact Beth Frey at frey.215@osu.edu with questions.
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