A brief review of our work and  accomplishments:

  • Convening Leaders – organizing conferences each year in Oxford for those who are aligned with the center’s focus.

  • US and International – over the last 18 years we have worked in 37 states in the US and have focused our international efforts on India, China, Sri Lanka, Ghana, and Mexico. In total, these projects have influenced the lives of more than two million employees, plus their family members.

  • Tax Free Preparation – Since 2008, our free tax preparation programs, all in Wisconsin, have helped over 8,000 individuals and families receive over $15,000,000 in tax refunds.

  • Helped to Start and Grow Companies – assisted 50 small companies to start up and or grow in US inner cities and different parts of India, Ghana, and the United Kingdom, creating over 600 jobs.

  • Offering Online Financial Literacy Courses – helping leverage technology to improve financial well being through ongoing financial literacy training. We have assisted more than a million employees and others from over 850 employers and through several newspapers. Working with employers, more than 300,000 employees have completed in excess of 800,000 hours of training. The research shows up to a 70% improvement in financial knowledge, attitudes and behavior – creating fewer late fees paid related to their credit cards, decreased debt, and less stress.

  • Trained Managers – provided a process of training over 670 managers of employee-owned companies at universities in the US.

  • Helping Students – establishing internships and service opportunities for what now totals hundreds of students from various universities, helping them to learn and grow by writing and working on projects at large and small employers.

Looking to the next 10 years:

  • Our past work and future initiatives will continue to make the Center on Business and Poverty a leader in workplace financial literacy and employee stock ownership programs.

  • We will continue to address low-income worker’s financial wellness, access to profit sharing programs, and create sustainable work opportunities in low income communities

  • We have come to believe that our non-profit 501(c)(3) organization is one of the best at effectively producing positive change while spending relatively small amounts of resources. For instance, the Center on Business and Poverty creates 20 times more value for low-income individuals than is spent on all other parts of the organization combined.