The Dale Caldwell Foundation believes every person deserves a pathway to prosperity. We connect young people with powerful role models, equip long-term unemployed individuals with trauma-informed job training, and build Entrepreneur Zones that lift entire communities.
"We believe poverty can be reduced — one education, one job, one entrepreneur at a time."
Every program we run is built on a single conviction: with the right support, every person can find a path forward. We work upstream — intervening before poverty becomes permanent.
We inspire young people by connecting them with influential role models — executives, athletes, artists, and leaders — through immersive, interactive classroom experiences that expand their vision of what's possible.
Learn about CPC →We provide the kind of job training that works — trauma-informed, human-centered, and built for people who have been unemployed for a long time. Our goal is living-wage employment that people can keep.
Learn about Job Training →We lead the national Entrepreneur Zone initiative — placing economic engines directly inside challenged communities to support business creation, job placement, and neighborhood revitalization.
Learn about EZone →The Classroom Press Conference (CPC) is an innovative educational program that brings influential leaders, executives, athletes, artists, and public servants directly into classrooms — giving students a front-row seat to success and a direct line to ask questions that matter to them.
By connecting young people with role models who reflect their backgrounds and communities, CPC expands what students believe is possible for themselves — a proven pathway to breaking generational poverty.
Created by Dr. Dale G. Caldwell, the Entrepreneur Zone — or EZone — is a national poverty-reduction initiative that places structured support for entrepreneurs and job seekers directly inside economically challenged neighborhoods.
Rather than asking communities to travel to opportunity, the EZone brings opportunity to the community. Each zone provides business support, job placement services, and economic resources that raise the quality of life for residents from the inside out.
Bring an EZone to Your CommunityStandard job training often fails long-term unemployed individuals because it doesn't address the whole person. Our approach is different — and it works.
We provide job training that accounts for the trauma, barriers, and lived experiences of people who have been out of the workforce for extended periods — equipping them not just with skills, but with the confidence, stability, and support systems to find and keep living-wage employment.
Partner With UsFrom New Jersey to a national model — the Dale Caldwell Foundation is growing because the need is growing.
"Society improves when neighbors take responsibility for neighbors — and when institutions provide the structure to make that possible at scale."
Dr. Dale G. Caldwell has spent his career at the intersection of economics, public service, faith, and community transformation. He is the 4th Lieutenant Governor and 35th Secretary of State of New Jersey, and the 67th Pastor of Covenant United Methodist Church in Plainfield, NJ.
His academic foundation — a BA in Economics from Princeton, an MBA in Finance from the Wharton School, and a Doctorate in Education Administration from Seton Hall — informs every program the Foundation runs. He believes deeply that poverty is not inevitable, and that the right combination of education, employment, and entrepreneurship can change the trajectory of any community.
Dr. Caldwell created the national Entrepreneur Zone (EZone) initiative and founded the Classroom Press Conference program to give young people the role models they deserve. The Dale Caldwell Foundation is the institutional home for that mission — expanding it, sustaining it, and bringing it to communities across America.
In 2026, as New Jersey hosts the FIFA World Cup Final and celebrates America's 250th anniversary, Dr. Caldwell is leading NJ's most ambitious year of public engagement — proving that a state can host the world while still caring for its most vulnerable residents.
Every contribution — of time, talent, or treasure — helps reduce poverty in New Jersey and beyond. Donations are fully tax-deductible.
Your gift directly funds the Classroom Press Conference, trauma-informed job training, and Entrepreneur Zone development. Every dollar reduces poverty.
🔒 The Dale Caldwell Foundation is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit. All donations are fully tax-deductible. EIN available upon request.
There are many ways to support the work of the Dale Caldwell Foundation.