Burst for Prosperity Programs
With an emphasis on wealth creation, Burst for Prosperity is working in three strategic areas to examine innovative ways people can pursue family-wage employment, build long-term wealth building behaviors, and realize asset development through self-employment. To realize success in this work, staff depend heavily on partnerships that are strategic as well as highly collaborative for the model to effectively move people out of poverty.
Career Pathways Strategy
Burst for Prosperity’s Career Pathways strategy focuses on testing ideas designed to enhance existing systems that support low-income individuals in obtaining education and training that leads to family-wage careers in regionally strong industry sectors.
In addition, Burst for Prosperity is working to create systems change that makes it possible for employers, employees, and the community to collaborate in ways that transform practices, ensures cultural understanding, and leverages individual and community assets to ensure the success of individuals by removing obstacles for them to be successful.
Asset Development Strategy
Burst for Prosperity seeks to support the development of a statewide asset-building strategy that moves low-income individuals toward financial independence by decreasing the number of families trapped in a cycle of generational poverty.
The goal is to generate for low-income individuals the perspective often associated with middle-class families who use wealth to leverage and seize opportunities that improve their lives both in the short and long term.
Microenterprise Strategy
Burst for Prosperity is partnering with regional and statewide organizations to build social and human capital through entrepreneurship. The emphasis of this strategic area is based on the premise that simply offering micro loans is not enough to ensure success and that building on existing personal assets in an individual will lead to more successful economic outcomes.
Along with leveraging financial resources and providing technical assistance, Burst for Prosperity encourages the development of microenterprise programs that focus on appropriately designed entrepreneurial skills training, leadership development, and the building and utilizing of social capital to move individuals permanently out of poverty.
Recent Successes and Current Challenges
In 2013 Burst for Prosperity will reach our ten year anniversary having established innovative research and policy projects relevant to identified needs in the community. We have built an inspiring mission, strong board, expert staff and projects that have created and continue to create positive systems change. Since our inception we have received financial support from the Northwest Areas Foundation and have received grants from other foundations as well. We are currently engaged to an effort to widen our community of supporters especially related to our asset building work to ensure the completion of the Building Financial Assets Study through 2014.