Wake County nonprofit launches $7.5M campaign to scale whole-family model addressing root causes of poverty
StepUp Ministry expansion comes as demand for services rises 55%
MAY 1, 2026
RALEIGH, N.C. — In a region often ranked among the best for economic mobility, thousands of families in Wake County are still struggling to stay stable, not because they don’t want to work, but because the barriers around them are too complex to navigate alone.
StepUp Ministry is responding with a different kind of solution.
The Raleigh-based nonprofit has announced the launch of Rooted & Rising, a $7.5 million campaign to expand its whole-family model to help individuals and families move toward long-term economic mobility, reaching both parents and children with aligned programming designed to break the cycle of poverty at its source.
The campaign has already earned public-sector support. In November, Wake County approved a $550,000 Community Capital Grant for StepUp Ministry to replace its existing facility and help individuals rise out of poverty.
At the center of the campaign is a new 9,500-square-foot facility designed to scale that model, serve up to 1,000 individuals per week at full capacity, and help an estimated 1,000 Wake County residents move above the poverty line each year.
“This work has never been just about employment,” said Colisha C. Stanford, CEO of StepUp Ministry. “It’s about helping people build a stable life. A job is one step. What people really need is a clear path forward and the support to stay on it.”
StepUp’s approach is structured around that pathway.
Participants begin with employment training through the organization’s Employment Academy, but that’s only the starting point. From there, they move into a 48-week Life Skills Academy focused on financial literacy, emotional health, goal-setting, and relationships. Long after initial progress, participants continue through the Next Steps Academy, where they receive ongoing coaching, leadership development, and community support.
What sets StepUp apart is how that work extends to the entire family. While parents are learning how to build a budget, navigate employment, and create stability, their children, starting as young as six weeks old, are engaged in age-appropriate programming that reinforces those same concepts. Kids learn foundational skills such as needs versus wants, emotional regulation, and healthy routines, which create alignment at home and strengthen long-term outcomes.
It’s a model built for real life, not just resumes.
Through more than 30 community partners, StepUp also connects participants to wraparound support that can address barriers such as housing instability, transportation, childcare, justice system involvement, and recovery. Those factors often determine whether someone can keep a job, not just get one.
The results are consistent. In FY2025, participants earned an average of $16.79 per hour, above the local poverty wage, while nearly 750 individuals and families engaged in StepUp programs.
The organization has also seen a 55% increase in intakes, underscoring both the growing need for services and the strength of its approach.
The new facility is designed to meet that growth with greater intention. Seventy-two percent of the space will be dedicated to programming, including a Skills Lab, digital literacy hub, and family-centered environments where parents and children can grow together.
“This is about designing a space that reflects the journey people are actually on,” Stanford said. “When you support a parent, you support a child. When you support a family, you create stability that lasts.”
The Rooted & Rising campaign also includes a $1 million Strength & Stability Fund to help ensure the expanded model remains sustainable as it grows.
To learn more about Rooted & Rising or make a gift to support StepUp Ministry’s next chapter of impact, visit https://www.stepupministry.org/rooted.
About StepUp Ministry
StepUp Ministry is a Raleigh-based nonprofit that helps individuals and families move from instability to sustained economic mobility through employment training, life skills development, and ongoing support. Through a whole-family, wraparound model, StepUp equips participants with the tools, relationships, and confidence needed to build lasting stability. Since its founding nearly 40 years ago, the organization has served more than 10,000 individuals across Wake County.
