EOF 2026 Funder Learning Series Session 2: Investing in Emerging Strategies: Private Equity and Care
Join us June 23 for a discussion on the growing role of private equity in the care economy and its implications for care systems and workers.
Welcome to Economic Opportunity Funders (EOF)
Established in 1992, Economic Opportunity Funders (EOF), is a network of national, regional, and local level funders working to advance economic equity and opportunity in the United States. We believe in building an economy that works for all, regardless of race, ethnicity, immigration status, education, income, religion, gender identity, disability or age. We support a strong public sector and policies that create a healthy, fair and just economy where opportunity and prosperity are broadly shared.
2026 Budget and Tax Briefing
Economic Opportunity Funders and the Tax Equity Funders Network hosted the 2026 Budget and Tax Briefing on March 26-27, 2026, in Arlington, VA. Recaps + Resources now available!
2026 Funder Learning Series
Join us for 50-minute, interactive Zoom discussions to workshop challenges and align efforts. These sessions are member-led and unrecorded to ensure an honest, private space for exchange. Registration now open for May and June sessions!
2026 Law & Social Policy Legacy Award
We are thrilled to announce the Workers Defense Project as the 2026 recipient of our Law & Social Policy Legacy Award.
Focus Areas
More than 450 funders representing 275 philanthropic institutions participate in EOF.
Poverty and Opportunity
This country is built on the idea of opportunity for all, regardless of where you come from or what you look like. However, our economy is out of balance, with persistent income inequality across race and gender and more than 40 million people living in poverty and many more unable to afford the basics or care for their families. Too often systems and structures create barriers instead of opportunities and prevent people from fulfilling their potential, sharing in economic gains or fully contributing to our economy.
We need to protect and improve programs and policies that ensure all people have access to food, housing, education, employment, health care and other basic needs so they can move out of poverty and have a chance at a better future.
Protecting and Supporting Workers
Work is a shared American value, central to individual well-being, sense of purpose, and ability to provide for loved ones. Millions of Americans, especially women and people of color, are working in jobs with low pay, unpredictable schedules, few if any benefits, and limited opportunities for advancement or growth.
Strong supports are needed in this rapidly changing economy to help create jobs, boost wages, modernize benefits, and ensure safe, healthy, and fair conditions at work.
Tax and Budget Policies
Government services, structures and systems are an essential foundation for a healthy economy where opportunity and prosperity are broadly and equitably shared. Public budgets and the revenue systems that support them are some of the most important policy instruments of our government. They reflect our values and priorities through decisions on how to tax residents and businesses and spend these collective resources.
Supporting adequate public resources to meet the needs of struggling families, workers and communities is essential to ensure we build an economy that works for everyone.
What We Do
Platform for funders to share information, exchange ideas and best practice, and collaborate around identified areas of interest.
Convene
EOF brings funders to deepen their understanding of the cross cutting issues of poverty and economic opportunity, support for low-wage workers, and adequate public resources.
CONNECT
EOF staff make connections among funders pursuing similar objectives or working in similar regions through strategic outreach efforts.
CATALYZE
EOF supports the coordination and alignment of investments through funder networks and pooled funds.
COLLABORATE
EOF regularly partners with other philanthropy-infrastructure organizations to highlight the intersectionality of our work, improve our reach and impact, and reduce duplication of efforts.
Upcoming Events
Preparing for 2029: A Funder Briefing on Collaborative Efforts to Protect and Revamp Federal Governance
Join us May 13 for a funder briefing on collaborative efforts to push back against harmful attacks on basic governance and prepare to revamp core elements of the federal executive branch so that it can deliver for the American people.
COSPONSPORED WEBINAR: Immigrant Families at Risk: Public Charge Proposals, Data Sharing and How Funders Can Help
Join us May 11 for the latest updates on public charge proposals and personal data sharing, the impact on immigrant families and the organizations that serve them, and concrete ways foundations can respond now and in the months ahead.
EOF 2026 Funder Learning Series Session 1: Building a New Model for Increasing Access to Public Benefits in North Carolina
Join us May 6 to learn how philanthropy and field partners in North Carolina are working to develop a new model of public benefits access information exchange that works across issue silos and centers participant voice and experience.
Supporting Members
Voluntary grants and dues help finance meetings, events, and staff support. We are grateful for the generous support of our Supporting Members!
Join Us
Our network is free to join and much of our programming is made available at no cost. Join EOF and get connected!
- Participate in funder briefings and webinars.
- Share information, ideas, strategies and best practices.
- Collaborate with other funders on aligned areas of interest.
- Leverage philanthropic investments and advance effective grantmaking practices.
"I have attended lots of EOF offerings – learning from organizations on the frontlines, connecting with funders that support partners’ work, and keeping me updated on issues. I have broadened my network and increased my knowledge. It has been great to explore and grapple with issues and challenges together and collaborate.”
Denise Castillo Dell IsolaIrving Harris Foundation
"The EOF network helps to see the trends across places and issues, to see underlying currents, and to draw on experiences and practices to help us make more strategic choices, build on existing infrastructure and lessons, and create connections that facilitate better outcomes."
Katie WehrMcKnight Foundation
“I have the privilege of serving on the EOF Steering Committee and have attended EOF’s Annual Budget and Tax Briefing for the last two decades. What I have learned through EOF has prepared me and my organization for this moment, as the CARE Fund supports the care movement to fight for a tax system where everyone pays their fair share and where spending meets the needs of families and communities.
Anna Shireen WadiaCare for All with Respect and Equity (CARE) Fund
"We’re a health funder. At EOF, we benefit from the exposure to, and understanding of, economic issues, and ways of moving forward on an economic front. Being a member helps us push forward on our thinking and understanding and helps us to figure out how we can be additive to this work. The thought partnership makes us all better. It helps us advance our shared strategies in really positive ways."
Monica Hobbs VinluanRobert Wood Johnson Foundation