Easterseals produces measurable outcomes for individuals and families, strengthens local economies, and advances policy that protects essential services. The indicators below show how affiliation translates into results.
$2B in Direct Services Nationwide
Affiliation enables scale. While Easterseals Affiliates deliver services locally, the national network allows those efforts to aggregate into meaningful, nationwide impact.
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Across the network, program services spending exceeds $2 billion annually. At this scale, the figure reflects more than financial activity—it demonstrates the breadth and scope of services delivered nationwide. Spending at this level signals:
- Direct investment in people and communities who rely on Easterseals services
- Operational infrastructure capable of delivering services nationwide
- Sustained program capacity across a diverse Affiliate network
These investments reflect a network delivering services at a scale that few organizations can achieve independently. Easterseals’ national network enables collective scale.
Philanthropy: A Small but Strategic Share of Revenue
Philanthropic funding—gifts from individuals, foundations, and corporate partners—provides flexible capital that supports innovation, infrastructure, and strategic investments beyond the limits of government or fee-for-service funding.
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This funding plays a distinct role in nonprofit financial health. While public and earned revenue often support core service delivery, philanthropic dollars are typically less restricted, allowing organizations to:
- Invest in technology, workforce, and organizational capacity
- Pilot new program models
- Respond quickly to emerging community needs
- Stabilize operations during economic or policy shifts
- Seize opportunities as they arise to stay competitive
Philanthropic funding represents a small share of the Affiliate Network’s total revenue and has declined modestly in recent years—from 6% in 2022 to 4% in 2024.
This trend reflects the range of the network’s government partnerships and service reimbursement streams, which comprise the majority of revenue supporting program delivery. At the same time, a smaller philanthropic share can limit strategic flexibility, particularly for investments that fall outside reimbursable services.
For leadership across the network, this metric serves as a diversification indicator. A stronger philanthropic base reduces exposure to government funding volatility and provides the discretionary capital required to innovate and strengthen long-term capacity.
Compared with many nonprofits that rely more heavily on philanthropy, this trend highlights an opportunity to rebuild and diversify unrestricted funding streams while continuing to grow earned and public revenue.
Connecting Families to Essential Supports
Early Childhood Development (ECD) programs demonstrate how coordinated services can improve outcomes for both children and families. Across six Easterseals Affiliates —representing program models used broadly throughout the network—90% of participating children and families are connected to services that address key social determinants of health.
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By addressing these needs early, ECD programs move beyond short-term intervention. They strengthen the conditions that shape long-term outcomes, including:
- Child development and school readiness
- Family wellbeing and caregiver stability
- Household financial security
- Long-term health and economic opportunity
Early connections to services create compounding benefits over time, improving developmental trajectories while strengthening family stability. Shared program models across the Easterseals network allow replication and expansion of proven approaches, helping more children and families access coordinated supports that improve long-term outcomes.
Footnotes
1 Easterseals Affiliates included DC/MD/VA, Blake Foundation, Southern California, North Georgia, Chicagoland and Greater Rockford, and Washington.
Digital Skills for Economic Participation
Digital literacy has become a prerequisite for economic participation, shaping whether individuals can apply for jobs, complete coursework, access telehealth, manage finances, and interact with public services.
Affiliates are increasingly integrating digital skill‑building directly into workforce, youth, and veterans’ programs, ensuring participants gain practical skills better equipping them to participate in today’s digital economy.
Since 2022, the Comcast NBCUniversal Foundation has provided more than $2 million to expand digital literacy training across the network, strengthening workforce pathways, increasing training capacity, and expanding assistive technology instruction through initiatives such as BridgingApps.
In 2025, 14 Affiliates² participated in a digital learning community focused on strengthening digital literacy instruction and integration into employment programs. Collectively, these efforts trained 1,446 individuals, with 44% demonstrating measurable growth or proficiency in core digital skills.
