In fact, the number of Americans living in distressed communities is astounding – one in about six do. So it’s not surprising that many Intuit customers also live in these communities located in more than 10,000 distressed zip codes. These customers often will face a myriad of socio-economic hurdles, which is reflected in fewer residents completing their high school education, driving higher unemployment with more living below the poverty line.
Guided by our mission to power prosperity, Intuit set out to make positive change in these communities. In 2016, a team of Intuit leaders launched a program called Mission of Hope to fuel the hopes of these communities by creating jobs and helping small businesses thrive and prosper.
From this early work, Intuit’s Prosperity Hub Program was born, starting with a call center in Wise, Virginia, a town just shy of 3,000 residents located high on the Appalachian Plateau in the far southwest corner of the state. We have since extended our reach to eight communities across the United States, United Kingdom and Canada, creating both physical and virtual call centers, educational programs and small business success centers.
The results are nothing less than amazing. Since building our first Prosperity Hub in Wise, our investments have yielded incredible results. All in, we have created 19.6K jobs, enabled $196 million in economic impact, and helped prepare 1.2 million students for jobs of the future. Instead of people leaving these communities, we’ve heard feedback from local Chamber of Commerce members that they are now seeing residents choosing to stay, buying cars and homes, furthering their education, and raising families. Because local restaurants, dress shops, and childcare centers are now thriving, the businesses of their suppliers are also benefiting…so it’s truly a virtuous cycle.
The impact Intuit is making is truly inspirational and regularly praised by community leaders, small business owners, and employees alike. Every time I visit one of our Prosperity Hubs, I am reminded why I took this job in the first place; the opportunity to make a difference in the lives of others. I get to meet people with incredible, heartfelt stories of change and transformation. They openly share their gratitude, their pride, and their hopefulness for a better future.
I can think of no other company that role-models its mission more powerfully than Intuit has done through our Prosperity Hub program. And we are just getting started. The best is truly yet to come, because everyone in every community deserves to prosper.
I invite you to learn more about all the amazing work Intuit does to power prosperity in underserved communities and also hear first-hand from our Intuit experts how Intuit is changing lives below.