For Every $1 Invested, $30 is Returned to the Local Economy… and Lives are Changed Forever

Economic Security.
In the first year after training, clients nearly double their average annual individual income, from less than $13,000 before training to more than $25,000 one year after training. The percentage of clients who own a home also doubles two years after training. In the first two years after training, clients grow their average net household assets more than fourteen fold, from less than $3,000 before training to nearly $43,000 two years after training.

Business Growth.
Nationally, nearly all business growth in the past decades can be attributed to the increase in women-owned and immigrant-owned businesses. Five years after training 70% of Women’s Initiative clients are self-employed, far exceeding the national average business survival rate. These clients average nearly $150,000 in annual sales.

Job Creation.
One in four self-employed clients provides jobs for others through her business. On average, clients pay those who work for them nearly $22 per hour, more than twice the minimum wage. Including the jobs clients created for themselves, this amounted to a total of 5,317 jobs created and retained by clients in 2012.

A sense of community.
Nearly two-thirds of clients surveyed (65%) made donations to charitable organizations. These clients donated an average of $1,345 annually ($685 in cash and $660 in-kind). More than half of clients volunteer on a regular basis. On average these clients donate of 175 hours of their time annually.

Return on Investment.
For every $1 invested in our program, $30 is returned to the local economy as a result of clients' increased sales, increased income, job creation, and increased sales tax revenues spent locally.