People can and do work their way out of poverty. Robin Hood’s job programs have helped thousands of people get jobs, despite such barriers to employment as histories of substance abuse, incarceration, and homelessness. Most importantly, the people who we help get jobs, keep those jobs, often getting promoted and earning higher salaries as a result of the ongoing counseling and support they receive.

But creating economic security for New York’s poor isn’t always about getting someone a job. We also support organizations that provide loans and grants to entrepreneurs, small business owners, and credit-worthy individuals experiencing temporary financial setbacks; provide financial literacy and free banking services to low-income families; and assist low-income individuals in starting their own businesses.

Robin Hood also helps poor working families gain access to public benefits and tax credits through our Earned Income Tax Credit (E.I.T.C.) and Single Stop Initiatives. Single Stop, operating in 40 sites throughout the city, offers poor families free, one-on-one confidential counseling about public benefits, financial decisions, legal problems, jobs and family services.

Our E.I.T.C. Initiative educates poor working New Yorkers about the money they're owed and helps them file for the credits at no cost. In 2004 alone, Robin Hood-supported E.I.T.C. tax-sites filed more than 27,000 tax returns. The total refund amount exceeded $50 million, making it the most successful program of its kind in the country.

Learn more about Robin Hood’s Jobs & Economic Security programs and our E.I.T.C. or Single Stop Initiatives.