Rung for Women

Rung is driven by the belief that changing the trajectory of one woman’s life can improve opportunities for her children and create a ripple effect for future generations. 

We help women find their unique path to the middle class. For women stuck in low-opportunity jobs, it can be hard to find a fulfilling career with a family-sustaining wage.  Rung’s no-cost coaching-based program helps those women identify best-fit career pathways, overcome barriers to success, complete the training necessary, and then connect directly to employers who  can offer access to opportunity and growth.

We will launch our pilot next year in St. Louis.  We intend to scale the program first in the Midwest, building on the existing social infrastructure by finding synergies between existing organizations in each city and co-locating their services in one place.

As it grows, Rung will create a stronger middle class for women and help to meet the demands of the future workforce. 

Women need pathways to middle-skill careers with family-sustaining wages. 

While women serve as the primary or co-breadwinner in half of U.S. families, they are 8 times more likely to work for poverty-level wages and hold only 36% of middle skill occupations (Hess et al 2015). The situation is amplified for women of color (U.S. Department of Labor). In Missouri, 38% of the 292,204 female-led households live in poverty – for a total of 11,037 (US Census data).

COVID-19 has made an already challenging situation worse. According to IWPR, “women continue to be disproportionately affected by the pandemic as they remain 6.1 million jobs below pre-COVID levels.” With childcare centers and schools closed, women are juggling increased caregiving responsibilities.

Additional barriers that keep women from pursuing a career change or upgrade include: lack of time, resources, childcare or a clear sense of opportunities that meet their skills and interests; unresolved mental or physical health issues; affordability; and social capital (which are supportive professional and personal networks) (Ideas42, “Poverty Interrupted”).  

This has left many feeling stuck, uncertain of how to take their career and their life to the next level.

Rung empowers women to grow and achieve sustained independence through co-located and coordinated educational, professional, and economic resources. By bringing several organizations under one roof and sharing data through a proprietary platform, we create efficiencies, provide holistic support, and a one-stop space for career and personal growth – at no cost to our members.

Rung begins with a six-month, cohort-based program: Member Experience 101. Each woman (member) will work with a personal coach to identify their unique skills, talents and career goals, along with goals related to wealth-building and well-being.

Members then enter Rung’s Career Services, where they will gain access to professional skill-building and training/credential opportunities.

Through a labor market analysis and research on post-secondary credentialing options to meet the demands of our region’s strongest employers, Rung has identified “Priority Pathways” – high-demand, middle-skill jobs with a family-sustaining wage that do not require a four-year degree (currently customer service, technology and healthcare professions). Rung educates members on these opportunities and serves as an intermediary, connecting them with high-quality post-secondary options to achieve their goals.

To eliminate barriers, Rung offers childcare, grab-and-go meals and personal development opportunities coordinated with local partners (co-designers) including:

• Counseling
• Health Care
• Fitness/Nutrition 
• Yoga/Mindfulness
• Financial education

Our program is designed for a unique target population: women who are stuck in low-opportunity jobs, who are teetering on the edge of poverty, and who would describe themselves as “surviving but not thriving.” They may earn too much to qualify for public aid, but not enough to get ahead.

 Basic criteria include: 

• 21+ years of age
• Personal (not household) annual income of $50k or less
• English proficiency
• High school diploma or equivalent
• Employment history and stable housing for 6 months or longer
• Ability to access programming in person (or online as needed according to our COVID Safety Plan)

Rung has been informed by the community we will serve throughout the program design process.

2017-2018: Conducted stakeholder interviews with potential members and non-profits serving women, student parents, and other similar or adjacent populations.

2019: Conducted a social media survey to further understand our target users.

2020: Hosted focus group sessions with women in our target population

2021-beyond: Rung will convene a “Membership Council” comprised of current members that will meet monthly in order to provide feedback to Rung as part of our commitment to continuous quality improvement. Rung will also regularly solicit ongoing surveys and evaluations from members.

Rung is aligned with two dimensions:

• Enable learners to make informed decisions about which pathways and jobs best suit them
• Match current and future employer and industry needs

Alignment:

• Through coaching, Rung will work with each member to identify her skills/talents and make informed decisions about best-fit pathways that are in high demand in the market.
• Rung is connecting the dots between employer needs and training/credential offerings and is working with post-secondary partners to design what is missing.
• Rung's Employer Advisory Council, comprised of the area’s largest employers who are seeking diverse talent, is a continuous feedback loop on offerings. 

Rung will launch in 2021 at our pilot site in St. Louis, Missouri.  We plan to operate for two years in St. Louis before entering into an exploration phase  for our expansion site, which will likely be one of the following communities: Indianapolis, IN; Minneapolis, MN; Kansas City, MO; or Milwaukee, WI. We will conduct a feasibility study and labor market analysis before finalizing our expansion site. 

The Rung for Women team includes staff from our Rung team as well as staff from our co-designer agencies working together seamlessly and in one location to offer a coordinated experience for our members.  The team includes:

• 15 full-time Rung staff
• 4 full-time staff from co-designer agencies who work on site
• 5 part-time staff from co-designer agencies who work on site

“Striving for Equity" is a core value and informs every decision we make. Some examples:

• We intentionally recruit people who identify as women and who represent diverse communities to serve in leadership/staff roles with the organization, and we do the same with the businesses and vendors. Of our current staff of 15, 15 identify as women and 40% are women of color.
• Our intentionally diverse cohort model reflects the demographics of the region with an intentional increase in the proportion of women of color. In our pilot region, 70% of Rung's members will be women of color.
• Rung is open people who identify as women, regardless of their assigned gender.
• To include the voices of the people we serve in program improvement, Rung will convene a “Membership Council” of current members to provide ongoing feedback as a part of our commitment to continuous quality improvement.  

• Unique target population
  • There are many programs out there for women in crisis.  Rung is different.  By focusing on women who are working but not yet earning a family-sustaining wage (as defined by MIT’s Living Wage Calculator), Rung is working toward lasting and generational change, building a stronger middle class for women.
• Co-located, coordinated services with single-entry data tracking:
  • Rung leverages existing resources, bringing together best-in-class providers under one roof.
  • All agencies use the same data tracking and evaluation system, working toward shared goals together.
• Coaching, not case management:
  • Members work with a certified coach to define personal goals. Coaches serve as an accountability partner, supporting members in navigating their own path to success.
• Holistic approach:
  • Members receive counseling to address unresolved trauma, medical services, and wellness opportunities to support physical health, alongside childcare and grab-and-go meals to make participation accessible.
• Responsive career program:
  • Curated credential-to-career pathways with a range of partners to ensure training opportunities are cost and time efficient with an emphasis on careers that have family-sustaining wages and flexible and/or work from home options.
  • Intentional network-building opportunities offered through a social capital program connect women who have found career success to members. 

As a highly collaborative, collective impact model, Rung needed a technology solution that would offer a "one-stop shop" for data collection and sharing, communications, scheduling and, ultimately, tracking outcomes about the journey our members are on to achieve their highest quality of life. We have been working with consultants at Slalom to develop a proprietary system built upon a Salesforce platform that will be customized for four distinct users:  members, Rung staff, co-designers, and volunteers. 

Through a functionality called “Communities,” the platform will offer each distinct user group their own community for collaboration, problem solving, and communication through discussion boards and one on one chats.  This feature will also allow volunteers to self-navigate through volunteer events that are based on the level of training they have completed.  Additionally, volunteers who will be a part of our network-building (or "social capital") programming, will have access to the member community and can go there to chat and connect with members they are interfacing with in the mentor program or career circles, facilitating connections outside of the programming.  

Rung's unique service delivery model facilitates self-determination, and is different than traditional "case management" often used by non-profit organizations. Our technology supports this by putting members in the driver’s seat, allowing them requesting appointments, monitor their unique goals, track action steps, and monitor their own schedules. Users will be able to access the platform via the web or an app, making it convenient, accessible and easy to use.

Rung selected Salesforce due to its international acceptance as a top-notch CRM.  Additionally, Salesforce has been adapting its model to serve non-profits and educational entities. We needed a technology solution that would be able to scale and adapt with us as an organization as we learn about our model and continue to refine it over time.  

We first learned of the power of Salesforce to support collective impact through CityLink Center in Ohio.  We saw how it was able to integrate with multiple service providers for data entry combined with robust analytics and data visualization options.  It also had the social network component through its ‘communities’ feature.  Through a  pilot of our coaching program this summer, we learned that our participants used Facebook to engage with each other outside of their coaching sessions and leveraged it to build relationships.  We knew that our technology solution needed to have a social network component while also allowing her to view her goals, events, and ability to navigate all our service offerings.  

Given how COVID-19 has radically transformed how we connect to each other, having a virtual space to engage is even more critical to our model.  While our building is a space for members to gather, we know that not every member will be comfortable engaging in-person and due to capacity restrictions, we must ensure that the connections between members, and eventually volunteers, must be intentionally made available.  

Women are 8x more likely to work in occupations with poverty-level wages. Rung uses a trauma-informed and strengths-based approach. Rung’s service delivery model includes: member support, physical and mental wellbeing, wealth-building, and employment and career development that includes soft skills. Services are provided by multiple partner organizations with expertise in their area, in a co-located, coordinated, holistic and integrated manner, delivered within a culture of transformation with methods that encourage self-efficacy, self-determination and promote economic mobility. Barriers for accessing, engaging and completing the program will be minimized. Members will develop and attain goals to support their economic aspirations, increase social capital, and increase quality of life. Members will have meaningful careers and make a family-sustaining wage. Long-term the median income of women in Rung’s geographic locations will increase.  

Evidence-based approach 

A “work-first” approach is insufficient to alleviate poverty. Placing individuals in jobs-the hallmark of US poverty alleviation efforts for decades-does not guarantee sustainability [Long; Hawkins]. 

Experts have broadened poverty’s definition to include human, social, and health capital [Daminger]. To escape poverty, individuals must build all forms of capital. Further, research has documented that stress – caused by lack of resources, social biases, and trauma – causes negative impacts on one’s sense of self, identity, self-efficacy and motivation and on one’s ability to regulate thoughts, emotions, and behavior [DeLuzuriaga; Babcock].  Ultimately, the features of poverty interact with normal human psychology to create challenges in problem-solving, decision-making, and self-control [Daminger; Babcock]. This brain science approach finds consistent impacts of scarcity on brain development and executive functioning across socioeconomic classes [Daminger].

More holistic definitions of success are emerging: true self-sufficiency encompasses elements of choice, control, and future outlook.  Holistic, integrated, and long-term service delivery should be used [MACP; Hawkins; Babcock; LISC]. Services should be delivered within a culture of empowerment, with methods that reduce the cognitive and practical costs of climbing out of poverty [Daminger; Hawkins; Babcock; DeLuzuriaga].

Rung’s model is based on the above and fashioned upon: EMPath’s evidence-based Bridges to Self-Sufficiency and the Casey Foundation Center for Working Families and CityLink Center model. We've also consulted with YearUp and Entangled Solutions.

Rung will have a transformational effect on thousands of lives within the next five years through a deep and highly individualized model focused on long-term self-sufficiency and financial independence. We expect to serve at least 2,800 women at our launch site in St. Louis, Mo., plus our first scale-up site in the Midwest (location TBD.)

In 2021, Rung will launch in our pilot location with a March and September cohort, serving 200 women total. As we go, we will evaluate and refine to ensure we are meeting our intended impact with our partners at Washington University’s Evaluation Institute.

After the pilot year, we will increase to 4 cohorts a year, with 400 women entering the St. Louis program annually.

In 2022, Rung will lay the groundwork for a second site by completing a labor market analysis, selecting next site city, selecting local partner agencies, hiring local Rung staff and selecting program location/facility.

In 2023, we will launch at the second site with two cohorts, serving 200 women.  In 2024, we will increase to four cohorts at the second site, for a total of 400 women.

We will know that our program is successful in the long-term through measuring the following outcomes: 

• 90% of members who complete the initial 6-month program (“ME 101”) will meet their career goal within 5 years. 
• Of those members who enter into and complete a Priority Career Pathway, 80% will earn a family-sustaining wage (as defined by MIT’s Living Wage Calculator) within 5 years.

1. Launching during a pandemic: We have been thoughtfully designing our evidence-based program for more than three years, and initially envisioned all programming to be offered in person, in one facility, to support our members in building the supportive community and social capital that will empower our members to take their life to the next level. As we ramp up for our March 2021 launch, we are being forced to pivot.

2. Long-term financial sustainability: Rung has a very generous founder who has provided seed funding for program development, our facility and our pilot phase.  However, in the long term, Rung will need to diversify funding, particularly as we scale to new geographies.

3. Scaling to a new geography: In scaling the model to a new market, we anticipate the challenge of learning a new local landscape, identifying and partnering with existing best in class regional non-profit providers, and understanding any unique challenges to women of that region.

1. Pandemic: We are developing a plan a hybrid in-person/virtual model to ensure that our program is accessible during these challenging times.

We are also modifying our programming based on the impact of COVID on local labor markets - for example, shifting away from retail and hospitality pathways and focusing more on careers in allied health and supply chain management.

Many  have lost their jobs during the pandemic and need a “fast track”  to get into a job simultaneous to working through the initial 6-month program and toward their bigger vision for their career and life. We are working on these options.

2. Financial stability: Rung hired a a Vice President, Institutional Advancement, in March 2020 who has begun laying the groundwork for local and national fundraising.  We will seek funding from local and national individual, corporate and foundation donors, as well as government grants and contracts.  We are also looking at opportunities for fee-for-service relationships with employers seeing diverse talent that are prepared to step into high-demand jobs.  Rung has also developed a robust evaluation plan, and after the first two years of program implementation and evaluation, we believe that we will have solid local outcomes and a compelling story to tell that will support our fundraising efforts.

3. Scaling up: Rung will leverage existing programs in the community to build key relationships and better understand how to overcome obstacles outlined above.  Rung will hire a local team to manage the day-to-day operations at our satellite locations. 

Rung has partnered with Washington University’s Evaluation Center to develop a nested logic model and robust evaluation system. We will track data in a proprietary single-entry software solution, built upon a Salesforce platform, that shared among all service providers. We have done our best to anticipate the outcomes data that will show meaningful progress for our members.  Because we are in a pre-launch phase, it is difficult to predict what additional outcomes data we will want to collect before testing the system that we have developed, which includes a variety of  short-, medium- and long-term indicators in four macro areas  (financial stability, self-sufficiency, quality of life, and health) to measure progress along the way. 

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Leslie K. Gill, President:

• Previously CEO of Annie Malone Children and Family Services, a 130-year-old child welfare agency
• Served as Executive Director of College Summit, a college access and success program
• Served in executive roles at Girl Scouts in St. Louis and Atlanta
• Holds a Master of International Business from Saint Louis University
• Single mom to 9-year-old daughter

Christina Holmes, MEd, LPC, Vice President, Programs

• Previously Program Director for MERS Goodwill, leading employment services for domestic violence survivors
• More than 20 years of experience in social services and as a leader at the state and local levels on various boards related to ending violence against women and human trafficking
• Private practice LPC
• Grew up in St. Louis’ urban core, first-in-family to go to college and went on to earn two master’s degrees

Melinda McAliney, VP, Administration

• Previously a Vice President with Vario, an agency offer strategy, creative and philanthropy consulting
• More than 25 years’ experience in strategic philanthropy and administration for organizations such as United Way of Greater St. Louis, the St. Louis Blues and the Lutheran Foundation of St. Louis and more.
• Earned a Master of Social Work from Washington University in St. Louis
• Mother of two high-school aged children

Lisa Weingarth, VP, Institutional Advancement

• Previously Executive Director of the Women’s Foundation of Greater St. Louis
• Served as Development Director of College Bound, a college access and success program based in St. Louis
• More than 15 years’ experience in marketing, communications, and fundraising
• Single mom of two young children

Rung's model is built upon collaboration. In 2018, we selected nine organizations with demonstrated expertise in their unique service area to serve as "co-designers" for our model. These organizations have been fully involved in the process, serving on work groups and providing feedback and guidance on all aspects of Rung.

When we launch in 2021, our co-designers will offer services that are fully integrated onsite. They include:

• Family Care Health Center – primary care services for members and their children
• LaunchCode – education opportunities leading to jobs in the tech sector
• Prosperity Connection – financial education and coaching
• Provident Behavioral Health – individual and group counseling
• The Fit and Food Connection – wellness education, fitness classes
• Women’s Foundation of Greater St. Louis – support for volunteer recruitment and network building/mentor program
• Urban Harvest STL – onsite vegetable garden and orchard, education, food production
• Safe Connections – individual and group counseling, support for survivors of domestic and sexual violence
• The Collective STL – culturally inclusive yoga and mindfulness education

Rung is also working with a wide range of post-secondary partners to ensure training opportunities are cost and time efficient with an emphasis on careers that have flexible and/or work from home options. When necessary, Rung is working with post-secondary partners to develop credentialing options that fit the needs of employers. For example, Rung is working with Maryville University to develop a credentialing program for customer service, a field in which there is a significant talent gap in the St. Louis region.

Rung empowers women to grow and achieve sustained independence through co-located and coordinated educational, professional, and economic resources. 

Our key customers/beneficiaries include:

1. Women who want to grown in their career, wealth and well-being (basic membership criteria here)

2. Employers seeking diverse talent

Rung offers women (members) coaching and professional and personal growth opportunities in one location, along with a supportive community, network-building (social capital), and offerings to mitigate the barriers to success (childcare, grab-and-go meals, health care and mental health services) -- all at no cost to members.

Rung offers employers a pool of diverse talent that are well-prepared to meet the demands of the workforce of the future. Rung has conducted a labor market analysis to determine career pathways that are in high-demand, offer a family-sustaining wage and do not require a four-year degree (called "Priority Pathways.) Rung educates members about these opportunities, and provides our highest level of support to those choosing one of these paths.  Rung has curated training and credentialing programs for Priority Pathways, and is working with employers to hire members that successfully complete these programs. In addition, Rung provides a variety of interactive soft-skills training experiences that benefit women at all levels of the career ladder. 

Our program will not only transform the individual lives of women, but ensure that the regions we serve have a robust pipeline of female talent to meet the demands of the workforce of the future.

Rung for Women is fortunate to have a very generous founder who considers Rung her legacy and who has provided a significant start-up investment that has allowed us to build an innovative model that will have a lasting impact in the lives of women and their children. As we prepare to launch, we actively seeking opportunities to diversify our revenue through individual, corporate, foundation, and government (including the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act) opportunities. We are also exploring opportunities to develop fee-for-service opportunities with corporate partners who are seeking well-prepared and qualified women as future employees.  The Rung program will always be no cost to members.

Our founder has made a significant initial investment in our facility as well as the program development/pilot phase (the total amount is private.) In the past 3 months as we near our St. Louis launch, Rung has also begun to gain the attention and attract the generosity of other funders, raising an additional $105,000 in foundation and corporate gifts.

Over the next five years, Rung will seek to raise $25M to maintain program operations at our pilot site in St. Louis and to launch at a second site.  Rung will seek gifts from foundation, corporate, and individual donors, as well as government grants and contracts. Rung will also explore fee-for-service revenue opportunities. 

We are applying for the Challenge because our work aligns with two of the Challenge's dimensions and because we are seeking partners as we launch and look to scale our program to a new geography.  We believe the Challenge partners could offer invaluable support at this critical point in our growth and development. 

The three barriers we outlined previously were: launching during a pandemic; funding; and scaling to a new geography.

Launching during a pandemic: Rung would benefit from technology and virtual learning consulting to support our team in best translating our program model to an online or hybrid model.  

Scaling to a new geography: A partnership with a Workforce Development Board would provide critical connections and insight into community needs and would help us to identify key employer and post-secondary partners in a new community. 

Funding: Rung would use the Challenge funds to begin the research, exploration and co-design phase in our next geography.  Our model will be customized for each community, depending upon a labor market analysis, the population, and existing resources and service providers. Through the process, we will spend a significant amount of time seeking best-in-class service partners, building relationships with employers, and adapting to meet community need.