Asset Limited, Income Constrained, and Employed (ALICE) is a term used to describe individuals and families who are working, but do not have enough income to afford the basic necessities of life, such as housing, food, healthcare, and transportation. The ALICE threshold is a measure of the minimum income needed to afford these basic necessities, and it is often higher than the federal poverty level. In general, ALICE households are those that are above the poverty line but below the ALICE threshold. These households are often referred to as the “working poor” because they are employed, but their income is not sufficient to meet their basic needs.

The Fledge and the Fledge Foundation work bottom up and top down to help people get above this threshold for basic needs. This means the Fledge works to increase the prosperity of our community while the Foundation works to decrease the burden to acquire basic needs.

Housing is the foundation for everything. It is a basic need that help the other basic needs be met. Learn more about how the Fledge helps the unhoused and fights for affordable housing here.

A single mother in Lansing has a 50% chance of living in poverty. Sometimes a job is not worth it because the childcare is more expensive. Learn more about how the Fledge is working to help Children and Families here.

Food is a basic right and we all need to chip in to help. Learn more about how the Fledge fights food insecurity here.

Transportation is key to employment, appointments, and getting food and other needs. See how the Fledge is helping people get the transportation they need here.

Healthcare (bet we call it health and it does not always happen in the hospital). This is often the most sacrificed element of ALICE. See how the Fledge works to help our community get healthy here.

Technology is a necessity to keep up with everything. See how the Fledge provides technology and helps people utilize it here.

Asset Limited, Income Constrained, and Employed individuals make up 37% of our community. 25% of our community lives below the Poverty Line. 52% of our community members do not make enough money to cover their basic needs.

We recognize, through the direct action we do everyday, an entrepreneur who lives below these numbers have a disadvantage compared to entrepreneurs who live above the ALICE Threshold. They just do not have the income available, the capital available to support one more thing to do. 

The entrepreneurs whose basic needs are not met face a smaller bubble of opportunity, they:

• do not have the startup funds required;
• often work more hours a week trying to meet their basic needs; and
• are affected by not having a basic need met (e.g., lack of transportation, childcare, or a full stomach).

Their ability to see their vision and remain optimistic is often hampered by stress and trauma.

In response, we have created a unique ideation, maker space, incubator, and accelerator for our community. We created the Fledge to work on entrepreneurial efforts and work force development to help people be more prosperous and two meet the income requirements to provide their basic needs.

We also create the Fledge Foundation to work on the costs associated with ALICE.

This creates a top-down and bottom-up approach to helping people reach and surpass the ALICE threshold.