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Community Coalition

Employ-Community Coaltion

Started in 2015, the Community Coalition, (formerly known as the Employ Buffalo Niagara Coalition) is an employer-led initiative that brings the private and public sectors, education and training partners, and workforce intermediaries together to share their employment challenges, and find solutions that address barriers to economic mobility for the under and unemployed in our region.

The Community Coalition is focused on three main areas:

  1. Access and transportation to solve public transportation barriers, ride-sharing for first/last-mile needs, and employer pooling costs of shared private transportation.
  2. Career awareness to better educate job seekers, reduce high turnover costs for employers and improve our Career Pathways initiative. 
  3. Public and private workforce resources to improve employment systems. We've developed two tools:
    1. The Benefits Cliff Calculator — a tool to provide employers with a full view of the impact their compensation and promotion practices are making.
    2. The HR Toolkit — an interactive tool with vetted HR policies that are designed to retain employees and help them advance in your company.
The Community Coalition includes: 
  • 716 Ministries
  • AFL-CIO
  • Bank of America
  • Basil Ford
  • Belmont Housing Resources for WNY, Inc.
  • BestSelf Behavioral Health, Inc.
  • Boys & Men of Color Initiative
  • Buffalo & Erie County Workforce Investment Board, Inc.
  • Buffalo Center for Arts and Technology
  • Buffalo City Mission
  • Buffalo Employment and Training Center
  • Buffalo Futures Hub
  • Buffalo Niagara Medical Campus, Inc.
  • Buffalo Niagara Partnership
  • Buffalo Sabres
  • Buffalo State, State University of New York
  • Buffalo Urban League
  • Canisius University
  • Catholic Charities of Buffalo
  • Center for Employment Opportunities
  • Charter Communications
  • Charter School for Applied Technologies
  • Cheektowaga Chamber of Commerce
  • Child Care Resource Network
  • Cicatelli Associated
  • City of Buffalo
  • City of Niagara Falls
  • City Year Buffalo
  • Clarence High School
  • Community Action Organization of Western New York
  • Community Foundation for Greater Buffalo
  • Community Health Center of Buffalo, Inc.
  • Community Services for Every1
  • Diversified Labor Solutions (a division of the Cantalician Center)
  • Dove Transportation
  • Dupont Niagara
  • Erie 1 BOCES
  • Erie Community College
  • Erie County
  • Erie County Executive
  • Erie County Industrial Development Agency
  • Erie Niagara AHEC
  • Evergreen Health
  • Explore and More Ralph C. Wilson Jr. Children's Museum
  • Frontier Central School District
  • Goodwill Industries of WNY, Inc.
  • Greater Buffalo Niagara Regional Transportation Council
  • Green Options Buffalo, Inc.
  • Transportation Council
  • Greater Rochester Chamber of Commerce
  • Horizon Health Services
  • Huber Electric Inc.
  • Independent Health Corporation
  • International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (Local 303)
  • International Institute of Buffalo
  • Invest Buffalo Niagara
  • Journey's End Refugee Services, Inc.
  • J.P. Morgan
  • Junior Achievement of Western New York, Inc.
  • Key Resource Group
  • Literacy Buffalo Niagara
  • M&T Bank
  • MENTOR New York
  • McGard LLC
  • National Grid
  • Niagara County Community College
  • Niagara Frontier Transportation Authority
  • Niagara University
  • Northland Workforce Training Center
  • Northwest Bank
  • NYS Assembly 140th District
  • NYS Assembly 141st District
  • NYS DEC Region 9
  • NYS Health Education Center
  • NYS Senate 60th District
  • NYS Senate 61st District
  • NYS Senate 63rd District
  • Personal Computers, Inc.
  • Prentice Office Environments
  • Ralph C. Wilson, Jr. Foundation
  • Remedy Intelligent Staffing
  • S&T Bank
  • Say Yes Buffalo
  • Scherer Electric
  • Sealing Devices Inc.
  • Shea's Performing Arts Center
  • SoPark Corporation
  • TAM Ceramics
  • Tapecon, Inc.
  • TechBuffalo
  • Tesla
  • The John R. Oishei Foundation
  • The Service Collaborative of WNY, Inc.
  • Trocaire College
  • Try-It Distributing Co., Inc.
  • Unite Us
  • United Way of Buffalo & Erie County
  • Univera Healthcare
  • University at Buffalo
  • USA Niagara Chamber
  • VIA (Pathways for the Visually Impaired)
  • Villa Maria College
  • Wegmans Food Markets, Inc.
  • WNY Women's Foundation
  • Zehnder Rittling

The Coalition is managed by our Executive Committee who meet quarterly to address the full group’s concerns and clear a path forward with solutions to Buffalo Niagara’s systemic issues.

If you’d like to receive information on advancing economic mobility, learn about our progress on local employment efforts, and stay informed about Coalition meetings or workshops, let’s get in touch.

From the Blog

Navigating Shifting Workplace Norms: Panel Discussion

By mcotter@thepartnership.org | October 12, 2023

The workplace landscape is evolving at an unprecedented pace, and staying ahead of the curve is crucial for businesses aiming to attract and retain top talent. In the final session of our 4-part Hidden Talent series, we brought together a panel of industry experts to shed light on these critical shifts and provide actionable insights for employers.

How the U.S. Is Closing the Door to Top Talent

By communications@thepartnership.org | August 17, 2023

The BNP organized a Capital Conversations event as part of our Government Affairs series to examine the workings of the H-1B program and explore potential reforms that could strengthen our regional economy.

Successfully Engaging Non-Traditional Talent

By mcotter@thepartnership.org | August 2, 2023

Uncovering and Cultivating Hidden Talent Series: Session 3 – Talent Hiding in Plain Sight

Keeping talent from moving on, by creating pathways to move up

By communications@thepartnership.org | May 31, 2023

Uncovering and Cultivating Hidden Talent Series: Session 2 – Talent on the Move

Keeping and growing talent is key to any high-performing organization. But what can you do to keep employees from walking out your door for new opportunities?