Everyone knows that having kids is expensive — diapers, formula, daycare — it adds up quickly! And parents with young children aren't the only ones navigating caregiving costs and responsibilities. Many on our team help support their own parents, siblings, and grandparents.

According to a 2020 study by Bank of America, an estimated 45 percent of the workforce are caregivers, including providing care to children, aging parents, or an ill partner, while also juggling their full-time careers. The study also discovered that these employees spend an average of $6,500 annually for children and $3,200 for other family members, and miss about 12 hours of work a month because of caregiving responsibilities.

The financial, emotional, and physical costs of caregiving can be daunting, and often they can keep caregivers out of the workforce (especially mothers, many of whom left the workforce to care for their kids during the pandemic). Hologram sees the weight that these caregivers carry and has stepped in to help by offering the Family Support Fund. The goal of the fund is to offset caregiving costs and help foster an environment of understanding and support for caregivers and their families.

Enter the Family Support Fund

The Family Support Fund offers $3,000 per year for every family member who directly relies on the employee's income. The benefit is quite broad — if you have kids, an aging grandparent, a sibling who you're helping financially, or a partner who is out of work while they attend school —this benefit covers them all. Hologrammers can claim the benefit and receive a monthly payout per dependent in their regular paycheck.

Aside from the breadth of this fund, the best part may be the simplicity. With the Family Support Fund, there are no strings, and no special forms. We really value ownership and transparency at Hologram, and with those values comes a lot of trust. We trust our teammates to participate in this fund however it fits their family — whether you add six dependents or one, there are no questions asked. Our intent is to help our teammates feel like they can take advantage of this benefit with freedom and flexibility, as a gift from Hologram to shows how much we appreciate both their work and their devotion to caregiving.

Research shows that companies with family benefits experience higher retention rates and greater buy-in from their employees. We also offer a 16-week parental leave, fully paid with continuation of equity vesting. We'll soon be rolling out extended leave and bereavement policies to provide additional support for our teammates who are going through challenging experiences.

Other ways we support our team to do their life's best work

In addition to our Flex Fridays and monthly Mental Health Days, Hologram continues to reiterate the high value we have placed on self-care and family. If you need a break, take a mental health day. If your parent has a doctor's appointment, you have the space to take them. These benefits also reflect how we value diversity —because expanding our benefits that support caregivers opens our candidate pool to folks who would otherwise would not have been able to consider Hologram because of their family commitments.