Colorado Equitable Economic Mobility Initiative (CEEMI)

The Colorado Equitable Economic Mobility Initiative (CEEMI) is a public, private, and philanthropic partnership to scale effective, rigorously evaluated higher education and workforce development programs, unlocking opportunity for Coloradans in or near poverty. CEEMI makes an energetic case for a more evidence-based and less siloed approach across the state’s workforce development ecosystem through public sector engagement, coalition and platform building, technical assistance, and innovation. We support programs that have rigorous impact evaluations; focus on low-income, rural, and/or BIPOC learners; and provide positive social return on investment (SROI). Over the past two decades, Colorado’s economy was one of the fastest growing in the country, but the percentage of Colorado children in poverty increased. Over 300,000 Coloradans of working age live in poverty; BIPOC Coloradans are more than twice as likely to be a part of this group. Despite new economic mobility pathways with strong evidence of effectiveness, the public sector has yet to scale these approaches.