CCF First to Invest in Training Where Women Realize Their Dreams of Owning a Business, Getting a Better Job
When the Women’s Business Development Center (WBDC) of Stamford expanded its training programs to women in Greater Waterbury in 2008, the timing could not have been better.
“Since the economic downturn, we have focused our grant making on innovative programs that address issues that have been intensified by the economic crisis,” said Ingrid Manning, CEO of the Foundation. “WBDC’s programs help people in our region to keep working and to realize their professional goals in a tough job market.”
WBDC’s Entrepreneurial Training and Professional Development Programs fit the bill by helping clients who have low to moderate incomes to enter or re-enter the workforce, or to open a business of their own.
The Foundation was the first to invest in bringing WBDC’s programs to Greater Waterbury with a $12,500 grant. With the help of these funds, WBDC served more than 215 clients in our area, helped 15 people start new businesses, assisted 63 owners of existing businesses, and leveraged $287,500 from other funders including The Leever Foundation and Naugatuck Savings Bank Foundation.
With results like these, the Foundation increased its support in 2009 by awarding WBDC a three-year grant of close to $48,000.
