Stop Giving People Ladders. Start Building Scaffolding.

The idea of economic mobility as a "ladder" is a common myth. A ladder suggests a single, linear climb, but life and the economy are far more complex. This limited perspective often leads to programs that create dependency instead of empowerment. A better model is scaffolding.

Imagine an aspiring baker named Janet. A "ladder" program gives her a single microloan, leaving her on her own. If her oven breaks or she faces a family emergency, the whole project collapses. A "scaffolding" program, however, gives Janet the loan, but also connects her to a shared kitchen, mentorship, and business support. It's a temporary structure that gives her the flexibility to grow her business safely.

The Scaffolding Difference

This distinction is crucial because it highlights what true economic mobility requires:

• Agency and Adaptability: Unlike a ladder's one-way path, scaffolding provides a stable platform to rest, learn new skills, and make lateral moves. It's a flexible framework for a world that requires constant learning and adaptation. Our job isn't to be a permanent fixture, but to be the temporary support that helps people become self-sufficient.

• Collective Impact: In the ladder model, Janet's success is a solitary win. In the scaffolding model, her success directly benefits the next person. When she's stable, her mentorship and kitchen space are freed up for the next aspiring entrepreneur. Her success strengthens the entire system.

This isn't a new idea. Evidence suggests scaffolding was used over 17,000 years ago for the Paleolithic cave paintings at Lascaux. It's a system whose value is multiplied with each successive use, passing on both knowledge and physical resources.

So, for funders and nonprofit leaders: Are we giving people single-use tools, or are we building the shared infrastructure that gives them the agency to build their own lives and lift others up in the process?