From Cornerstone Connections
In Summary:
Cornerstone Connections will use a $100,000 Truist Foundation grant to strengthen its Connecting H.O.P.E. program, which serves unemployed and underemployed non-custodial parents in eight Central Florida counties, including Orange and Lake. The program provides employment assistance, career coaching, case management and family support services to help participants overcome barriers to stable employment. Since its launch, Connecting H.O.P.E. has served more than 1,000 participants and has exceeded its employment placement goals.
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Cornerstone Connections has been awarded a grant from Truist Foundation to expand and strengthen the Connecting H.O.P.E. (Healing, Opportunity, Perseverance, and Empowerment) model, an employment program for non-custodial parents that currently operates across eight Central Florida counties with goals to expand.
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Connecting H.O.P.E. engages non-custodial parents who are unemployed or underemployed and court-ordered to pay child support — many rebuilding their footing after a criminal record, a layoff, or a period without steady income. Participants get a full continuum of support, including career search assistance, resume writing, interview training, job referrals, and job-retention coaching, paired with personal development workshops and resource assistance covering food, clothing, housing, and child and youth welfare needs.
To date, Connecting H.O.P.E. has served more than 1,000 people working to build steadier futures for themselves and their children.
The program operates today across Orange, Osceola, Lake, Seminole, Sumter, Polk, Putnam and Volusia counties with support from the Florida Department of Commerce's "Non-Custodial Parent Employment Program." Truist Foundation's support adds specialized case managers and career coaches, who make sure participants don't just gain employment, they sustain work. Programs like Connecting H.O.P.E. reduce recidivism, prevent juvenile justice involvement and increase employment rates, among other outcomes.
In fiscal year 2024–2025, Connecting H.O.P.E. placed participants in verified employment at more than double its goal and is on track to do the same this year. Truist Foundation's grant is designed to make those gains last.
"Every person in this program is someone who wants to work and wants to provide for their child. Our job is to clear the way and stay by their side while they do it,” said Brandy Hannah, Founder and Executive Director at Cornerstone Connections. “We place case management into every program, and Truist Foundation's support lets us stay with parents through the setbacks that usually cost someone a new job — so placement becomes a career, child support gets paid and a child grows up in a healthier environment."
The $100,000 grant reflects Truist Foundation's national focus on Building Career Pathways to Economic Mobility — career coaching, wraparound service and the removal of barriers like transportation and childcare, building on the Foundation's sustained investments in Central Florida's economic mobility.
“Cornerstone Connections is helping parents do more than find a job, it’s helping them build stability for themselves and their families,” said Erich Maschhoff, Truist market president in Orlando. “That work reflects Truist’s purpose to inspire and build better lives and communities. Through Connecting H.O.P.E., parents receive the coaching, case management and support they need to keep moving forward. We’re proud to support a model that can help more Florida families and communities thrive.”
Cornerstone Connections invites employers, workforce boards and county and state leaders to learn how Connecting H.O.P.E. can be adapted to their communities.
To learn more or get connected, visit Cornerstoneconnections.org.
Key Points:
- Cornerstone Connections received a $100,000 grant from the Truist Foundation to expand its Connecting H.O.P.E. employment program.
- The program serves unemployed and underemployed non-custodial parents across eight Central Florida counties, including Orange, Lake, Osceola and Seminole.
- Participants receive job search assistance, career coaching, resume support, interview preparation and wraparound services addressing housing, food, transportation and family needs.
- Connecting H.O.P.E. has served more than 1,000 participants and exceeded its employment placement goals during the 2024-25 fiscal year.
- The new funding will add specialized case managers and career coaches to help participants retain employment and improve long-term family stability.
About Cornerstone Connections: Founded in 2020, Cornerstone Connections is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization that connects individuals and families with quality resources, services, training, and support that help them lead viable lives. The organization serves families and individuals each year across eight counties in Central Florida and the surrounding region through programs spanning employment, case management, and family support. Learn more at Cornerstoneconnections.org.
About Truist Foundation: Truist Foundation is committed to Truist Financial Corporation's (NYSE: TFC) purpose to inspire and build better lives and communities. The Foundation, an endowed private foundation established in 2020 whose operating budget is independent of Truist Financial Corporation, makes strategic investments in a wide variety of nonprofit organizations centered around two focus areas: building career pathways to economic mobility and strengthening small businesses to ensure all communities have an opportunity to thrive. Embodying these focus areas are the Foundation’s leading initiatives – the Inspire Awards and Where It Starts. Learn more at Truistfoundation.org.
