For most of my career, I have helped nonprofits move families from crisis to stability to success. More recently, for reasons beyond my control, I found myself doing what many nonprofits are doing now: finding another way to make the numbers work. I began driving for Uber from 5 to 9 a.m.

What I expected was a side-hustle. Instead, I found a rolling focus group on the economy, institutional trust and low-wage work. My riders included home health aides, warehouse workers, airport employees and caregivers juggling work, family and fragile finances.

The pattern was clear. Many working families are doing everything asked of them and still cannot get ahead. Most are employed and resilient, but transportation, housing, wages, child care, health care and public trust are not supporting them in reaching their definition of self-sufficiency.

The economy looks different from the back seat

From Atlanta, just south of I-20, my riders often seem to live in two economies. Some are affluent travelers moving between homes, hotels, restaurants and the airport. Others are low-wage workers in a K-shaped economy, where those with assets rise while those with fewer resources absorb more instability.

Many are ALICE households: Asset Limited, Income Constrained, Employed. They earn above the poverty line but not enough to cover basic local costs.

Transportation makes this visible. I have met riders spending more than $300 a week on Uber to reach jobs paying less than $20 an hour. They are not buying convenience; they are buying access to work, let alone being able to move toward their definition of success.

Listening as infrastructure

One lesson surprised me: people want to talk. The car became a place where riders shared frustrations they did not expect anyone in power to hear — cut shifts, unpaid bills, family obligations and a sense that no one has their back, including business, government, politicians and sometimes nonprofits.

Nonprofits, community leaders and policymakers should pay attention. Listening is more than a design tool or engagement tactic; for low-wage workers, it can be civic infrastructure and a first step toward rebuilding trust.

Trust is stable, but not guaranteed

According to Independent Sector’s report nonprofits remain a rare point of common ground. Americans continue to trust nonprofit organizations more than government institutions, corporations, the media, and philanthropy — and increasingly see nonprofits as institutions that can bring people together and improve their communities.’  However, from my interviews,  this trust in nonprofits have decreased more than Independent Sector’s research.   That strength should not lead to complacency. Riders’ mistrust of government and elected officials was high, and some of it is spreading to institutions seen as distant, well-funded, or self-protective.

The sector has lost a little public confidence, so it must re-earn it through proximity, transparency, and visible results. Riders were not making a partisan point; they wanted institutions to understand real costs, reduce barriers, and be honest about what works. And, “blaming the other side” is not a solution for them.

What nonprofits and funders should do now

First, strengthen collective advocacy without making it partisan. Nonprofits need a clearer, coordinated message about current realities, needed policy changes, and practical solutions for working families.

Second, reduce the barriers in low-income workers’ lives. Many ALICE households do not need motivation; they need child care, transportation, benefits navigation and support that helps them withstand ordinary setbacks, and supports their progress to their definition of success.

Third, fund what works at the scale of the problem. Innovation matters, but proven organizations also need capital to expand, replicate, partner and absorb effective programs.

Fourth, invest in shared services and strategic partnerships. Back-office partnerships, fiscal sponsorships and program integration can preserve mission impact while both supporting larger, sustainable platforms and newer organizations testing new innovation.

Fifth, treat transportation as an economic mobility intervention. Community foundations, United Ways, employers, and rideshare companies should test targeted support for low-wage workers where public transit falls short.

Now the challenge is to act on what working people are already telling us. Nonprofits, funders, employers, and civic leaders should more often leave the conference room, listen where people actually live and work, and fund practical solutions that lower daily barriers. If we want to rebuild trust, we must prove — through action, not language — that institutions are willing to meet working families where they are.