As we start 2025, we’re doing as most do, looking back at everything we accomplished in 2024, and looking ahead to what’s coming this year. Read on for more!
We helped elevate the field by sharing our work locally, statewide, and nationally. Highlights include presenting (on a statewide stage) to RAISE Texas members about our program linking Certified Financial Planners with Financial Opportunity Center participants and presenting (on a national stage) at the Credit Builders Alliance Annual Symposium about the importance of incorporating digital literacy into financial coaching. The CBA presentation included two staff from Wesley Community Center, showcasing not only innovative programming but strong relationships between LISC Houston, FOC partners, and the community we all serve.
Additionally, two sessions at the Annual Financial Opportunity Center® Convening in the fall featured speakers from Houston’s partners! Locally we promoted small business resources and supports at the Texas Association of African American Chamber of Commerce conference and the Greater Houston Black Chamber annual meeting.
A fantastic and inspirational LISC FOC National Convening in Phoenix in October was an excellent way for our FOC staff to gather, network, and share with other staff and LISC Program Officers from across the country. Two sessions featured speakers or panelists from Houston – we were well-represented in sharing our innovations and successes!
2024 started with LISC Houston’s Envision: State of Communities – Dialogue, which included a panel discussion with our Financial Opportunity Center® (FOC) partners and small business development partners discussing the importance of the bundled service delivery model, small business trends and economic growth opportunities, as well as trends in workforce and financial services.
In 2024, we also began exploring ways to expand workforce development opportunities – meeting with new coalitions such as Southwest Coalition, investigating apprenticeship models, and learning more about green jobs and especially the Hydrogen Hub coming to the Houston region. We also integrated entrepreneurship and small/microbusinesses into our FOC work, using the Verizon Small Business Digital Ready to supplement financial coaching for FOC participants eager to learn more about starting or running a business.
Through the Verizon Small Business Digital Ready platform, LISC Houston and its partners assisted nearly 1,400 small businesses in accessing learning content, coaching, peer guidance and support, and access to capital. 66% were minority owned/operated, 32% were women owned/operated, 38 business were LGBTQ owned and 40 owned by veterans. The top course topics attended focused on financial management, marketing and branding, digital readiness and cybersecurity, business operations, customer experience, and human resources and talent management.
Other economic development programming included a capacity building disaster preparedness pilot, bolstering the expertise of six local Houston organizations, expanding their toolbox of disaster solutions, and identifying the potential blind spots that can bring these critical organizations to a standstill when disaster strikes. LISC provided personalized technical assistance, training, and access to consultants and grant funding to strengthen core organizational functions. We delivered an assessment of the types of shocks and stresses that might create challenges within an organization, which caused local partners to realize that they might need to change and/or add on to their existing services (or partnerships) to address new-found needs. Examples of learnings included inadequate resources for staffing, staff being impacted by these events and unable to report to work, institutional knowledge not being available to others during disasters (e.g., need for standard operating procedures for certain key processes), planning only for historic events (e.g., hurricanes) and not for new and emerging hazards (e.g., derechos, deep freeze, extreme heat). Organizations can now leverage their efforts, reach more people, and combat climate change by forming partnerships, mobilizing resources, and being positioned to receive state and federal funds.
Our FOC partners served a total of over 2,300 people in 2024; 86% received all three coaching services offered. Almost 200 people completed a training program, with over 25% receiving an industry credential, and over half placed in jobs from training. Almost 200 people were placed in jobs whether they went through training or not. 231 people increased their earnings either through increased wages or increased hours. Nearly 1,000 people took advantage of digital literacy services offered at the FOC partner sites.
Unfortunately, in the summer The Alliance closed its doors, however, we have started making plans to expand our network by adding an additional partner. We’re excited to see what this new partnership brings while continuing to focus on and nurture our network as a whole, and look forward to sharing more details.
Throughout the year we presented, learned, made new connections, explored opportunities, and had some fun, too. Looking forward to more learning, growing, and serving as we progress in the new year! We'll continue to break down silos – both in our office’s work and with partners. Our strategic plan (coming in the spring) will set our goals and objectives.