Alliance For Opportunity Announces New Members

The Alliance for Opportunity (A4O), a coalition of state leaders dedicated to advancing a poverty relief agenda, is proud to announce new members: The Cardinal Institute for West Virginia Policy, Empower Mississippi, Illinois Policy Institute, Sutherland Institute, and the Archbridge Institute.

Every American deserves the chance to pursue happiness and escape poverty. We are united in the belief that the best way move from lives of poverty to opportunity is to foster pathways to work and empower local communities to support the needs of those struggling. The current safety net makes poverty survivable but not escapable, Randy Hicks, one A4O founding CEO, often says. A4O members will work to change policy at both the state and federal levels to change this status quo.

A4O looks forward to advancing policies that create One Door to work and opportunity, pilot ideas for individuals to be empowered to self-sufficiency, and provide solutions to the benefit cliff barriers to work this year.

“Washington responds when the states demand change, and our states are telling Washington that the safety net is entrapping too many people. We need flexibility to let states innovate and provide person-centered solutions. A4O’s new coalition members bring expertise, brain power, and valuable state experience to this effort,” Rachel Barkley, A4O Executive Director.

About the Alliance for Opportunity: The Alliance is a multi-state project to advance an antipoverty agenda. The Georgia Center for Opportunity (GCO), the Texas Public Policy Foundation (TPPF) and the Pelican Institute for Public Policy in Louisiana founded the Alliance in 2021.

This article was first published by the Alliance For Opportunity on February 12, 2025.