Economic Mobility
Rich Futures
Building the infrastructure between
education and economic mobility
Rich Futures builds the infrastructure that moves young people from school into paid work, credentials, apprenticeships, college, and careers. We invest where pathways break down: navigation, readiness, work-based learning, employer access, transportation, matching, and shared data. The goal is to ensure that students can enter opportunity, persist, and move toward economic independence
Why This Matters
Richmond does not lack schools, employers, colleges, training providers, or opportunity. What it lacks is a reliable system that connects every young person to them. Rich Futures builds that connective infrastructure
What Success Looks like:
By 2031, increase the share of RPS graduates on a pathway to a living wage from X% to Y%.
That means not only helping students identify a next step, but supporting them to enter it, persist, build skills and relationships, and gain greater economic opportunity over time.
Our Economic Mobility Investments
RVA Builds: A pathway from exploration to opportunity:
RVA Builds is a citywide skilled-trades pathway that gives RPS students the chance to explore careers, build hands-on experience, and move into registered apprenticeship as their interests grow. In partnership with RPS and built alongside employers, unions, and training partners, the pathway progresses from Explore → Observe → Do → Earn, connecting students to paid experiences, industry relationships, and a clearer next step toward a living-wage career.
RVA Cares: Building Pathways into Healthcare
RVA Cares is REF's next workforce bet. We are testing which low-barrier credentials, employer commitments, and training models can create the strongest pathway from high school to high-demand healthcare careers with real wages and advancement potential.