About the Rise Together Blueprint

The most basic purpose and responsibility of any government is to create the conditions necessary for its residents to thrive. Given equal opportunity, an individual’s success in life should be determined by her work ethic and the strength of her ideas, but we know that opportunity isn’t equal. Many of our residents are struggling financially for reasons that have nothing to do with how clever they are or how hard they’re willing to work.

The unemployment rate in Franklin County is under 4 percent, but the poverty rate is 16 percent. Clearly, people are working but just can’t get ahead, and immigrants, women, and people of color are disproportionately affected. Nearly a quarter of Central Ohio’s children are living in poverty. This is unacceptable in our community.

The Franklin County Board of Commissioners started the process of developing the collaborative Rise Together Blueprint by asking community leaders to join a steering committee to lead this project, and they consulted with people who are themselves living in poverty.

The blueprint is made up of two parts:
A set of recommendations from the Rise Together Blueprint Steering Committee, and a plan of action to which the county is committed. This is the people’s plan - the commissioners and collaborative partners want you to know about it, and we welcome your feedback and ideas as we work together to reduce poverty in Franklin County.

History

On June 11, 2019, the Board of Commissioners and the Steering Committee released Rise Together: A Blueprint to Reduce Poverty in Franklin County. While Central Ohio is generally experiencing growth and prosperity, there are many people experiencing poverty, which has spread throughout the region. As Franklin County is responsible for significant portions of the social safety net, the county commissioners convened stakeholders, including residents experiencing poverty, in the fall of 2018 to consider the urgent need to mitigate local poverty and propose solutions. This steering committee identified ways for the county to more effectively identify and support pathways to prosperity.

With the goals of improving economic mobility, family stability, and equitable access to opportunities across Franklin County, the coalition of local partners met and created a series of recommendations for future action. These recommendations form the basis of the work ahead in the county and are combined in the Rise Together Blueprint with immediate actions that the commissioners and the Rise Together Innovation Center are taking to propel the Steering Committee’s recommendations and to consider big, transformative ideas.

Steering Committee

Appointed by the Franklin County Board of Commissioners, a cross-sector team of leaders guided the effort to mitigate poverty and propose solutions. The Rise Together Blueprint Steering Committee's charge was to identify ways for the county to more effectively identify and support pathways to prosperity.

The Steering Committee for the Rise Together Blueprint Successfully: