Greater Des Moines has been on the rise.  Publication after publication continues to rank the metro area as one of the preeminent up and coming cities in America. Unfortunately, for those in the urban core of Des Moines, the experience is significantly different including:

• High rate of crime and incarceration
• Low rate of high school graduation
• High rate of fatherless homes
• Low rate of financial literacy
• High rate of poverty

Pillars of Promise (POP) is a nonprofit organization based in Des Moines with a mission to fight intergenerational poverty in radically new ways. Revolving around a central theme of, “we are better together” POP is focused first on a disadvantaged area of north Des Moines impacting five neighborhoods. Its hope is to develop a template that may be replicated in other neighborhoods in greater Des Moines, other cities in the state, and around the nation.

Pillars of Promise is not a provider of services, but instead organizes and recruits public, private and nonprofit (including faith-based) organizations to come together to meet the economic, educational, social and character needs of cities’ urban core.

POP is committed to:

• Working with not for the community
• Being excellent in all we do
• Instilling dignity not dependence, choice not charity
• Complimenting not competing with service providers