Shifts can be scary. And shifts can create space for fantastic innovation.
Looking back to the time of NEW’s founding, we recall that a disconcerting political shift gave way to the birth of a new kind of non-profit. The catalyst? The Reagan administration’s implementation of “trickle-down” economic policies and elimination of safety net programs affecting low-income families and single moms (a growing demographic at the time).
A group of women activists began a conversation about why poverty exists, and why it was becoming generational in surrounding communities. These colleagues, NEW’s founding women, began to glare some very difficult truths in the face:
- America’s economic development initiatives did not measure the reduction of poverty.
- Some demographics were woefully unprepared to navigate the U.S. financial system.
- Sustainable generational change would require the economic empowerment of women.
From those conversations, NEW’s founders birthed a vision, a blueprint, to help women understand their roles and responsibilities to create prosperity for themselves, their families and their communities. Our vision also included building the economic bridges necessary for them to do so, through affordable housing and wealth-building programs.
However, first we helped them upgrade their mindsets. Then we became a conduit of opportunities for economic growth and generational change. More than 30 years, and tens of thousands of families later, the core of our vision is still the same:
Empower women. Empower families. Build communities. Create change.
Innovate with us. Give today to support our work and our families as we transform lives.
