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Working in partnership with selected CDFIs, Shared Success aims to improve job quality at small businesses while helping to drive business success.
Good jobs and strong businesses are vital to the well-being of communities across the country. In today’s economy, however, millions of workers struggle in poor-quality jobs, while small business owners face challenges finding and retaining the employees they need to thrive.
Shared Success, a project of the Aspen Institute Economic Opportunities Program (EOP), is grounded in the understanding that building better jobs and building stronger businesses go hand in hand. Supported by a $12 million investment from the Gates Foundation, EOP partnered with 11 community lenders to integrate job quality programming into their small business support services. These lenders — each working in distinct communities across the US — demonstrate that there is no single model, but rather many ways organizations can help small businesses thrive through a job quality approach.
This toolkit provides practical insights that community development financial institutions (CDFIs) can use to expand their impact and support small business job quality and growth.
This webinar, which EOP hosted on June 26, 2025, features highlights from the guide, as well as insights from CDFI leaders about their approaches to building job quality advising into their work. It features opening remarks from the Aspen Institute’s Maureen Conway and Bryn Morgan, followed by a panel discussion with Amanda Blondeau (Northern Initiatives), Cynthia Murphy (Coastal Enterprises, Inc.), and Delphine Ntegeye (African Development Center).
The Aspen Institute Economic Opportunities Program advances strategies, policies, and ideas to help low- and moderate-income people thrive in a changing economy.
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