Making Space, a talent acquisition and learning platform dedicated to closing the disability employment gap, has received a $500,000 grant from the GitLab Foundation. The funding will support the expansion of its Ascend Fellowship and accelerate the development of its responsible AI tools, aimed at improving employment access and long-term economic mobility for Disabled professionals.
The grant will enable a hybrid initiative that combines fellowship programming, systemic change within employers, and national deployment of Making Space’s AI tools. These tools include skill translation, benefits continuity support, and guidance for navigating ABLE accounts.
Disabled individuals continue to face significant disparities, being twice as likely to be unemployed and twice as likely to live in poverty due to systemic obstacles such as inaccessible workplaces, hiring bias, and fear of losing critical benefits like Medicaid or housing support. Making Space addresses these challenges holistically by providing a safe community, accessible learning, benefits navigation, and preparing employers to be more inclusive.
This new funding builds on the success of the Ascend Fellowship in partnership with the GitLab Foundation, which produced measurable economic mobility results for participants. In its first cohort, the program generated $111 million in projected lifetime earnings for 100 participants, achieving a 123:1 ROI and training roughly 5,000 hiring managers within partner companies.
With the grant, Making Space will scale its fellowship and pilot the next generation of AI tools with participants before a broader platform rollout. Once fully deployed, these tools and the accompanying curriculum are expected to benefit Disabled adults nationwide by supporting job placement, wage growth, and pathways to earn safely without risking essential benefits.
“Most platforms focus on placement. Making Space focuses on sustainability, which transforms the experience for Disabled workers navigating a system often designed to hold them back,” said Matt Zieger, Chief Programs and Partnerships Officer at GitLab Foundation. “This initiative builds employer partnerships that open doors—and keep them open.”
Reflecting on the program, Cat Contillo, a Making Space Ascend Fellow, shared, “Ascend taught me that my lived experience as a disabled person is a form of expertise, not a limitation. Over the past year, Making Space connected disabled, chronically ill, and neurodivergent professionals through webinars, hands-on projects exploring accessible work, and individualized guidance that truly met me where I am. The emphasis on peer connection over hierarchy was invaluable—some of the most meaningful moments came from learning alongside other disabled professionals and creating career paths that fit our lives.”
The project will also expand Making Space’s employer-focused efforts, integrating disability inclusion training into corporate systems, enhancing accessible hiring practices, and ensuring that Disabled professionals are supported to thrive and advance in their careers.
The GitLab Foundation’s mission is to boost lifetime earnings through access to opportunity, prioritizing initiatives that deliver measurable economic mobility outcomes.
“Disabled professionals represent an untapped pool of talent—qualified, capable, and ready for the next generation of work. What needs to evolve is the system around them. With the support of the GitLab Foundation, we’re helping employers rethink hiring, dismantle systemic barriers, and create opportunity at scale,” said Keely Cat-Wells, CEO & Founder of Making Space.
The grant will enable a hybrid initiative that combines fellowship programming, systemic change within employers, and national deployment of Making Space’s AI tools. These tools include skill translation, benefits continuity support, and guidance for navigating ABLE accounts.
Disabled individuals continue to face significant disparities, being twice as likely to be unemployed and twice as likely to live in poverty due to systemic obstacles such as inaccessible workplaces, hiring bias, and fear of losing critical benefits like Medicaid or housing support. Making Space addresses these challenges holistically by providing a safe community, accessible learning, benefits navigation, and preparing employers to be more inclusive.
This new funding builds on the success of the Ascend Fellowship in partnership with the GitLab Foundation, which produced measurable economic mobility results for participants. In its first cohort, the program generated $111 million in projected lifetime earnings for 100 participants, achieving a 123:1 ROI and training roughly 5,000 hiring managers within partner companies.
With the grant, Making Space will scale its fellowship and pilot the next generation of AI tools with participants before a broader platform rollout. Once fully deployed, these tools and the accompanying curriculum are expected to benefit Disabled adults nationwide by supporting job placement, wage growth, and pathways to earn safely without risking essential benefits.
“Most platforms focus on placement. Making Space focuses on sustainability, which transforms the experience for Disabled workers navigating a system often designed to hold them back,” said Matt Zieger, Chief Programs and Partnerships Officer at GitLab Foundation. “This initiative builds employer partnerships that open doors—and keep them open.”
Reflecting on the program, Cat Contillo, a Making Space Ascend Fellow, shared, “Ascend taught me that my lived experience as a disabled person is a form of expertise, not a limitation. Over the past year, Making Space connected disabled, chronically ill, and neurodivergent professionals through webinars, hands-on projects exploring accessible work, and individualized guidance that truly met me where I am. The emphasis on peer connection over hierarchy was invaluable—some of the most meaningful moments came from learning alongside other disabled professionals and creating career paths that fit our lives.”
The project will also expand Making Space’s employer-focused efforts, integrating disability inclusion training into corporate systems, enhancing accessible hiring practices, and ensuring that Disabled professionals are supported to thrive and advance in their careers.
The GitLab Foundation’s mission is to boost lifetime earnings through access to opportunity, prioritizing initiatives that deliver measurable economic mobility outcomes.
“Disabled professionals represent an untapped pool of talent—qualified, capable, and ready for the next generation of work. What needs to evolve is the system around them. With the support of the GitLab Foundation, we’re helping employers rethink hiring, dismantle systemic barriers, and create opportunity at scale,” said Keely Cat-Wells, CEO & Founder of Making Space.
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