00 — Overview
We're closing the disability employment gap by building the economic mobility platform for Disabled people, transforming employer systems, and putting free, accessible tools in our community's hands.
Disabled professionals supported
Employment rate from our Ascend Fellowship
Manager confidence increase
Lifetime economic impact
— 01 — The Opportunity
1.3 billion Disabled people — roughly 16% of the global population — face employment outcomes that education alone cannot fix. In the U.S., labor force participation for Disabled adults sits at 22.5% versus 65.8% for non-Disabled peers.
Ascend sits at the transition point between education and employment — a partnership between The Valuable 500 (a global network of 500 companies committed to disability inclusion) and Making Space (a talent and learning platform supporting 50,000+ Disabled professionals).
Disabled people globally — the world's largest minority (WHO, 2023)
U.S. labor force participation for Disabled adults vs. 65.8% for non-Disabled (BLS, 2024)
More likely to be unemployed than non-Disabled peers, globally
Disabled young people supported per 12-month Ascend cycle
The Valuable 500 × Making Space
Each cycle supports 200 Disabled young people across two six-month cohorts. Delivered virtually with local employer integration, the model can be deployed region by region while holding a consistent programme structure. Philanthropic capital underwrites participant delivery and de-risks employer engagement — so corporate partners enter with confidence and build toward sustained, paid participation.
Disabled young people supported per cycle
Month cohorts — early & mid-career
Companies in The Valuable 500 network
Disabled professionals on the Making Space platform
Sources — WHO (2023) · U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (2024) · Making Space cohort data, GitLab Foundation close-out report
— 02 — Impact
Ascend set out to move 100 Disabled people from benefit dependence into sustainable employment. It did that — and built a repeatable systems-change model along the way.
Secured new employment, launched ventures, or advanced to late-stage interviews
Completed at least one Ascend course
Completed the full Ascend curriculum
ASCENDERS JOB RETENTION AT 6 MONTHS — FIRST COHORT
Remained actively engaged in community & peer support throughout
Increase in projected lifetime earnings across the cohort
Retention & hiring
Ascend placed Disabled talent into careers and built the conditions for them to remain, advance, and change the systems around them. One Coordinator advanced to Program Manager after completing the Lived Experience to Leadership course. Employer partners report Ascend hires as some of their most engaged new talent.
Of managers trained felt more confident hiring Disabled people after completing Making Space training
Hiring managers & talent leaders trained on the Making Space curriculum
Of employer partners (Microsoft, Salesforce, Walmart, Red Bull) converted to paid customers
Faster sales-cycle conversion for de-risked employer partners vs. cold outreach
From benefits to a living wage
Pre-program, no one in the cohort was on track to clear the U.S. living wage. After Ascend, four in five are.
Of the cohort projected to earn above living wage before the program
Now projected to earn above the U.S. living wage threshold ($41K+/yr)
Direct increase in Disabled workers positioned for a sustainable living wage
Avg SSDI starting income to post-program salary range
Employer & systems impact
Ascend converted Microsoft, Salesforce, Walmart, and Visa from prospects to paying customers in 2–4 months — deals that had been sitting in the pipeline for 8–16 months.
Strategic employer partnerships forged through the prototype
Months — sales cycle compression for Ascend-introduced partners
Now paying customers: Microsoft, Salesforce, Walmart, Visa
Hiring managers & talent leaders trained on the Making Space curriculum
What fellows reported
The skills-gap framing misses the real story. Confidence, identity, community, and cultural readiness are what move Disabled people into sustainable employment.
Reported increased confidence navigating job applications & interviews
Reported reduced social isolation & a deeper sense of belonging
Reported improved financial knowledge & benefits navigation (ABLE accounts)
Reported stronger advocacy skills for accommodations & boundaries
"This program increased lifetime earnings by over $111M, moved 80% of participants above the living wage threshold, and resulted in Microsoft, Salesforce, Walmart, and Visa adopting and scaling disability-inclusive hiring and retention practices across their organizations."
— 03 — Community Voices
Real outcomes from Disabled professionals in our community.
Fellow story
Game Operations Manager → Venue Manager · North American Hockey League
Through Making Space's leadership and professional development resources, Connor translated six years of operational expertise into broader management capabilities — strengthening confidence in communication, decision-making, and accessible event oversight.
30% salary increase
Fellow story
Landed her first full-time job in 3.5 years · Withdrew her disability claim
Making Space gave me confidence to pursue and obtain my first full time job in 3 and a half years. I applied in January and started in February. I had given up on hope of ever finding a job and filed for disability mid last year. I just withdrew my claim — which personally was a great feeling. The webinars have been so helpful, relevant and validating. I have the tools to manage this and to advocate for myself.
First full-time job in 3.5 years
Fellow story
Promoted, signed a major client · Applied to grad school in Disability Advocacy
Since starting Making Space, I was promoted at work, I signed on a huge client, I stopped doing unpaid work, and I focused my goals. I applied to a graduate program in Disability Advocacy. Ascend helped me see that there is a career in disability. I have a future, I just hadn't been encouraged to find it yet. I found pride. I set goals. And I am so grateful for it.
Promoted + grad school bound
Fellow story
Re-entered the workforce with new leadership skills · ABLE and SSDI pathways
The Ascend program taught me about ABLE accounts, gave me the confidence to re-enter the workforce with newly-acquired leadership and professional skills — and helped lead me to resources I will use to apply for SSDI benefits.
Re-entered the workforce
Fellow story
Landed a job that fits her access needs · Ascend Fellow
I really loved and appreciated the program and everything Making Space has to offer. I learned a lot about accommodations — the playbook is incredible — and I was even able to land a job that will work for my needs since joining the program.
Hired with access needs met
Fellow story
Walked into an accommodations meeting prepared · With a partner beside her
Ascend helped me through my accommodation meeting with my employer. I was so thankful to have an experienced partner by my side. With my previous employer, I was shocked and unprepared to advocate for myself.
Accommodations, with backup
Fellow story
1:1 support through a turning-point career decision · Ascend Fellow
The program manager gave me a level of compassion and engagement that I had desperately needed at one of the lowest points in my life. She helped me make a very tough job decision that would have been unimaginable to make alone. Without your hard work, passion, and care during an extremely low point in my life, it would have been a long and lonely road trying to rebuild myself.
Turning-point career support
Fellow story
Language to self-advocate at work · Ascend Fellow
Making Space gave me the exact language I needed to advocate for my needs at work.
Language to self-advocate
Recurring themes · across 100 fellows
Access to a genuine community of Disabled professionals was, for many, their first time connecting with peers who shared similar experiences. It provided belonging, mentorship, and shared knowledge that built confidence, expanded opportunity, and drove economic empowerment.
Benefits navigation and ABLE account support tailored to our specific needs changed everything. Many shared that they had felt stuck in the system for decades, and for the first time could see a path forward that offered financial independence and opportunity beyond benefit dependency.
Participants demonstrated significantly deeper interaction with additional resources and courses on the Making Space platform — spending over 100× more time learning and exploring than they likely would have without the fellowship.
— 04 — Benefits to Work & ABLE
SSI, SSDI, and Medicaid prevent destitution — but their rules also create the steepest disincentives to work in U.S. social policy. Recipients are forced to choose survival over mobility. Ascend's benefits curriculum closes that gap.
At the center: ABLE accounts — the statutory instrument that resolves the $2,000 SSI asset trap, sheltering up to $100K so wages, training stipends, and savings can grow without triggering benefit loss.
Help eligible Disabled adults access SSI, SSDI, Medicaid, and ABLE supports they're entitled to but often never reach.
Coach through the $2,000 asset limit, the $1,620/mo SGA cliff, and work incentives — so people can take jobs, raise wages, and save without losing healthcare.
Route into vetted employer roles where Disabled professionals are set up to succeed, not just hired.
The ABLE curriculum, in fellows' words
A free Making Space resource · built with Anthropic for Nonprofits & GitLab Foundation
Visit benefits-to-work.space →— 05 — The Fellowship
Ascend wraps each fellow in six layers of structural support — from disclosure coaching to benefits-cliff math to warm intros at partner employers. Nothing about the program is one-size-fits-all, and nothing assumes a non-Disabled default.
— 01
Fellows learn the exact skills employers are looking for. They also don't apply into the void. They're routed directly to hiring managers at partner companies who've been trained on inclusive hiring.
— 02
Most Disabled adults lose income the moment they earn — Ascend rewires that math so a job is actually sustainable.
— 03
Fellows learn the exact skills employers are looking for, and they don't apply into the void. They're routed directly to hiring managers at partner companies who've been trained on inclusive hiring.
— 04
Every fellow is matched with a Disabled mentor further along the path, plus a cohort that meets weekly for the full six months.
— 05
Burnout, masking, and ableist work cultures are the reason Disabled talent churns. We build the recovery infrastructure in from day one.
— 06
We treat disability as expertise. Fellows learn to translate lived experience into product insight, leadership voice, and organizational power.
For employers
From the classroom to C-suite.
— 01
60–90 min · virtual
Introduce your organization and hiring practices — build visibility with skilled Disabled talent.
— 02
2–4 hrs · async
Translate lived experience and non-linear paths into language that resonates with hiring teams.
— 03
~1 hr / month · 6 months
Match with a Fellow for the duration of a cohort. Provide industry insight and gain a direct line into lived realities.
Past Ascend partners
Funders — GitLab Foundation · Truist Foundation
— 06 — Who we serve
Disability economic mobility doesn't start at a first job. We work with Disabled people — and the institutions around them — from K-12 through mid-career and beyond.
— 01
Career-connected learning, employer micro-courses, and faculty training for schools serving Disabled students.
— 02
Disabled-led course content and inclusive hiring infrastructure for universities and their employer partners.
— 03
Ascend Early Career Track — interview prep, accommodations & disclosure, financial empowerment, and direct employer access.
— 04
Ascend Mid-Career Track plus leadership courses for experienced Disabled professionals seeking advancement.