United For ALICE

What if you had to choose between paying an electric bill or paying for insulin? What would you decide?

When we think of who struggles to pay rent and put food on the table, we often talk about the Federal Poverty Level (FPL). In the U.S., 13% of families live below the FPL and have difficulty making ends meet.

But they aren’t alone.

Another 38 million families in communities across the country live above the Federal Poverty Level and still can’t afford the basics: rent, food, healthcare and more.

Often, they have jobs that are essential to the community—cashier, waitress, childcare worker. Yet, inflation and high cost of living prevent them from achieving financial stability. They end up making impossible choices, like keeping the lights on vs. paying for medication.

These families are ALICE®: Asset Limited, Income Constrained, Employed, according to United For ALICE—a U.S. research organization whose work is backed by more than 300 experts nationwide. Founded and led by United Way of Northern New Jersey since 2009, it has since sparked a groundbreaking national movement.

That movement now spans more than 30 states (as well as the District of Columbia) that use ALICE data for policy decisions and to determine eligibility for assistance programs like child care subsidies. Even private companies, like Coca-Cola Bottling Company UNITED, Inc., have used ALICE data to implement changes designed to lift up their ALICE workers – including salary adjustments, child care supports, and flexible benefit plans.

United For ALICE provides a wealth of data insights for partners to help pinpoint the local barriers that are keeping ALICE families from financial stability. In addition, the research engine provides national data on how many households fall below the ALICE Threshold, which combines ALICE plus households in poverty. Nationally, that is 2 in 5 households (42%), or 55 million families.

We really think about ALICE, the child, the parent, the worker and the movement

“We really think about ALICE, the child, the parent, the worker and the movement,” said Kiran Handa Gaudioso, United For ALICE president. Gaudioso also leads United Way of Northern New Jersey, where the grassroots movement began 16 years ago.

ALICE doesn’t just provide tools to businesses, nonprofits, foundations and lawmakers. It gives a name and a way to quantify the many U.S. families that struggle in simply getting by.

At the heart of the movement, United Way of Northern New Jersey continues to create programs that uplift ALICE families. Thanks to their leadership, United Ways across the country have the tools they need to do the same.