Talent is dispersed equally. Unfortunately, opportunity is not. Rapid technological, environmental and societal shifts are driving rising inequality in communities across the globe. Here in the United States, 1 in 6 Americans now live in a distressed community. The result is too many talented, hard working people do not have the opportunity to prosper and live the lives they want.
At Intuit, our mission is to power prosperity around the world. We are proud that people all around the world turn to our platform and use products like TurboTax and QuickBooks to run their financial lives. We also know there are important ways to power prosperity that go beyond our products — and that’s why we’re also committed to giving back to help solve some of the deeper economic issues affecting our communities.
We’ve learned that one of the most powerful ways to help people prosper is by connecting them with experts. When talented, hard working people are able to access the skills, insights and expert advice they need, it greatly increases their opportunity to prosper.
So we took a step back and looked at how we could use our unique resources and expertise to increase economic opportunity, especially for those who need it most.
Across the company, we are now pursuing exciting, innovative ways to make a difference. One of those ways is this week’s national launch of the Prosperity Hub program, an initiative designed to bring full-time jobs, vocational training, and education resources to communities in need.
The regional hubs work like this: we establish customer success centers with partners in a community that research shows is in need of an economic boost. Initially, the center creates new, well-paying jobs. For the longer term, the hub also provides education resources for youth, adults and small businesses to spark economic growth and resiliency for communities.
So far, we’re encouraged by what we’ve seen in the pilot hubs launched in Wise, West Virginia and Johnstown, Pennsylvania. Our initial investment of $60 million has contributed to more than 1,150 annual jobs created, over $32 million of annual wages and benefits earned, and almost $50 million of new business activity per year within these cities and their surrounding countries.
Now, with the national launch, we’ve committed to investing in over 3,000 jobs. This includes expanding to communities of people in need of job opportunities, such as people with families in the military or of varying abilities.
We know there is no silver bullet that will solve the big societal issues facing us. We also know that doing nothing is not an option. Investing in these communities is not an act of charity or corporate philanthropy. We do this because we believe it is the right thing to do and makes good business sense. Helping increase access to opportunity creates stronger communities, full of skilled workers and job-producing small businesses. When our communities thrive, we all thrive – and together we prosper.