Strategic Initiatives
Burst for Prosperity focuses on testing innovative poverty reduction solutions that move low-income individuals and families out of poverty and toward financial independence.
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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
Methodology
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Community Partners & Institutional Leaders
Burst for Prosperity staff works with the community to learn and research the systemic barriers of the low-income population.
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Pilot Programs
We strategically allocate resources to conduct scalable or replicable pilot programs in order to demonstrate effective solutions that assist individuals with building both personal and financial assets that promote long term sustainable financial independence.
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Policy Advocacy
After successful demonstrations through pilot projects, Burst for Prosperity works to advocate and educate community partners and government leaders.
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Systems Change
Our end goal is sustain and embed systems change that directly reflects the needs and desires of the communities being served.
