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Richmond ranks 49th out of 50 major metro areas for economic mobility, making it one of the hardest places in the country for people to get ahead. And it's getting worse. Young adults from low-income families are earning 8% less today than those born just 15 years earlier, at nearly double the national rate of decline. These are our neighbors - teachers, bus drivers, public safety workers - who keep our region running but struggle to afford basic needs. No single organization can reverse this trend on its own. That's why we're focused on taking coordinated, sustained action across the region.

Economic mobility is the ability for individuals and families to build financial stability, shape their own future, and experience dignity throughout in their lifetime and across generations. Access to opportunity is not consistent across our region, and it depends on many factors. This effort focuses collective action around five drivers most closely tied to whether people can get ahead:

Opportunity-Rich and Inclusive Neighborhoods: safe, affordable communities with equitable access to local resources

Rewarding Work: preparation for and access to quality jobs that provide reliable income and a path for advancement

Quality Education: opportunities from cradle to career that build skills, networks, and belonging

Health Environment and Access to Good Health Care: stable health and safety that help people succeed in school, at work, and in their community

Just and Responsive Governance: local government that engages residents and allocates resources equitably

No single organization or individual can close these opportunity gaps alone. RVA Rising helps connect and strengthen existing efforts and initiatives to advance economic mobility in our region - bringing together business leaders, nonprofits, philanthropy, local government, and community members so everyone is moving in the same direction. If you are already working toward economic mobility, you are already part of this work.

Rather than creating new programs or duplicating efforts, RVA Rising connects and strengthens work already happening across our nine localities. To do that, it's building four kinds of support available to partners in the work: shared data and metrics, narrative and storytelling, convening and engagement, and coordinated strategy. This gives partners better visibility into how their work fits together, where progress is being made, and where concentrated effort is still needed.

RVA Rising covers nine localities served by PlanRVA: the Town of Ashland, Charles City County, Chesterfield County, Goochland County, Hanover County, New Kent County, Powhatan County, and the City of Richmond.

This is collective work - no single organization is in charge. However, five anchor organizations have committed to provide shared infrastructure over the next decade: ChamberRVA, Community Foundation for a greater Richmond, Plan RVA, Richmond Memorial Health Foundation, and United Way of Greater Richmond & Petersburg. Their role is to build and steward shared data and metrics, narrative and storytelling, convening, and strategy support, not to direct the work of nonprofits, business, local government or community members who are actually doing it. Rather, these cross-cutting supports are designed to help economic mobility partners across the region achieve greater efficiency, alignment, and coordination.

If this work resonates, there is a place for you - as an individual bringing lived experience and local knowledge, or as an organization bringing resources, influence, or a seat at the table. The first question worth asking is what you, or your organization, might bring to this effort. Start by filling out our Contact Us form, or learn more at rvarising.org.