Leap Fund

Removing the Hidden Traps in Work

When Access Ventures launched the Reconstruct Challenge on Equitable Employment, we were looking for innovators who could untangle the invisible barriers that keep people from moving up the economic ladder.

That’s how we met Leap Fund.

The Problem: Benefit Cliffs

For millions of workers, getting a raise or taking a better job isn’t always a step forward. Because of how public benefits are structured, a small increase in wages can trigger a “benefits cliff” — a sudden and steep loss of supports like childcare, food assistance, or housing subsidies.

These cliffs trap families in cycles of poverty. Workers are forced to choose between long-term advancement and short-term survival. And too often, the rational choice is to turn down opportunity.

Leap Fund’s Solution

Leap Fund set out to change that. By combining policy expertise, financial technology, and community partnerships, they created tools to:

• Educate workers about when and how a cliff might occur.

• Model trade-offs so individuals can make informed career decisions.

• Design new safety nets that smooth the path past cliffs and allow families to thrive as their incomes grow.

Their vision is simple but powerful: no one should have to decline opportunity out of fear of losing essential benefits.

Image from our Story of Impact on LeapFund

Our Investment

Through the Reconstruct Challenge, Access Ventures supported Leap Fund in two phases:

• Phase 1: $100,000 to pilot their approach, refine their benefits cliff calculator, and test adoption with workers and employers.

• Phase 2: $100,000 to scale the model, deepen partnerships with local governments and workforce organizations, and lay the groundwork for policy change.

This early, risk-tolerant funding allowed Leap Fund to move quickly, validate their tools, and begin shaping the national conversation around benefit cliffs.

Impact to Date

Leap Fund’s work has:

• Built the first mobile benefits cliff calculator, now piloted with workers, career coaches, and workforce boards across the country.

• Partnered with cities and states to integrate benefits cliff awareness into workforce development programs.

• Provided thousands of individuals with personalized insights into how raises or promotions will impact their overall financial stability.

• Shifted employer and policymaker understanding of benefits cliffs, reframing them as solvable systems problems rather than unavoidable barriers.

Why This Matters

Employment is supposed to be the pathway out of poverty. But without addressing benefits cliffs, opportunities to advance can actually make families worse off.

Leap Fund is pioneering a model that ensures upward mobility is truly upward — and that workers aren’t punished for doing better.

Their journey reflects the very purpose of the Reconstruct Challenge: to take bold, unproven ideas and give them the resources to prove, refine, and scale into lasting systemic solutions.

Looking Ahead

Leap Fund continues to expand its partnerships with states and municipalities, working to embed benefits cliff tools into workforce development programs nationwide. Their policy work is shaping how governments design and reform benefits systems, while their technology equips families with the clarity they need to thrive.

At Access Ventures, we are proud to have been an early supporter of Leap Fund — first through the Reconstruct Challenge, and now as a partner committed to building an economy where work always pays.