Poughkeepsie's Journey to Sustainable Funding: A National Model for Supporting Children and Youth

September 18, 2024 - The Poughkeepsie Children's Cabinet's innovative approach to funding children's services is gaining national recognition. The Children's Funding Project recently featured Poughkeepsie's strategic public financing work, highlighting how the community is transforming its investments in young people to create lasting pathways out of poverty.

Poughkeepsie youth participate in an exercise for youth voice planning.

Since partnering with the Children's Funding Project in 2022, Poughkeepsie has developed critical tools to understand and expand funding for youth programs. Through fiscal mapping, the city identified a baseline of $61 million in combined public and private investments serving children ages 0-19. This analysis revealed significant gaps in out-of-school time programming and youth development services—areas where children spend 80% of their time outside the classroom. Armed with this data, community leaders have secured millions in new funding, including a $2.5 million Full-Service Community Schools grant, AmeriCorps programming, and increased local government commitments. The City of Poughkeepsie more than doubled its Youth Activity Grant from $180,000 to $440,000, while creating a new Division of Youth Opportunity and Development.

Looking ahead, the Cabinet is hiring a children's funding coordinator—made possible through collaboration between the Children's Funding Project and StriveTogether—to sustain this progress and develop cost models for early childhood services. City, county, school district, and philanthropic leaders have formalized their commitment through a "Promise City" framework, ensuring coordinated investment in children and families for years to come.

Read the full story on the Children's Funding Project website.