About Philadelphia Works
Philadelphia Works Inc. channels federally supported workforce funding into local job training, youth services, and employer-linked employment programs across Philadelphia County and the surrounding southeastern Pennsylvania region. Its role is not limited to making awards: it administers TANF-funded programs, WIOA-funded programs, and discretionary grants, while also posting procurement and partnership opportunities for service providers that deliver career services, training, and employment support. Recent grants show a consistent emphasis on large operating awards to established local providers. Philadelphia Youth Network received $7,273,403 in 2024 and $6,228,575 in 2023 for job training, while Jevs Human Services received $5,958,339 in 2023 and $5,872,994 in 2024 for the same purpose. The pattern extends to workforce intermediaries and training operators such as Impact Services Corporation, Eastern North Pwdc, and Congreso De Latinos. The foundation’s public profile is closely tied to workforce system administration: it funds service delivery, partner networks, and training pathways aimed at jobseekers, unemployed adults, underemployed workers, and adult learners. It also participates in the Good Jobs Challenge in southeastern Pennsylvania, connecting training and placement efforts to employer demand in sectors including healthcare, energy, and infrastructure.
What Philadelphia Works Funds
A central thread in Philadelphia Works Inc.’s grantmaking is job training. The largest recent awards include $7,334,730 to Educational Data Systems Inc in 2023 and $7,273,403 to Philadelphia Youth Network in 2024, both listed for job-training work. Youth workforce services also appear in grants to Youthbuild Philadelphia Charter School, which received $1,237,172 in 2023 and $1,176,604 in 2024. For adult employment support, the foundation gave $5,260,015 to Impact Services Corporation in 2024 and $4,723,522 to Eastern North Pwdc in 2024, each tied to job-training activity. Equity-oriented workforce work is visible in the Good Jobs Challenge, which the foundation administers in southeastern Pennsylvania to expand training and placement connected to quality employment.
How Philadelphia Works Gives
Typical awards are sizable: the grant-size distribution runs from a 25th percentile of $21,788 to a median of $70,894 and a 75th percentile of $298,184. The recent-grants list shows repeated awards to the same organizations across multiple years, including Philadelphia Youth Network, Jevs Human Services, Impact Services Corporation, Eastern North Pwdc, Congreso De Latinos, Youthbuild Philadelphia Charter School, District 1199c Training, Educationworks, New Options More Opportunities, and Welcoming Center. Philadelphia Works Inc. is classified as a regular funder rather than a donor-advised fund, and the program descriptions show a mix of pass-through funding, contracts, and procurement opportunities. Unsolicited applications are accepted in some procurement and challenge-related programs, but not in the TANF-funded and WIOA-funded programs.