The Source: Economic Stability for All

CIELO is a 501(c)(3) non-profit based in Orange County, CA with a goal of helping career builders and entrepreneurs unleash their full potential. This year, we have launched The Source, an online platform that provides low-income, minority people with access to one-on-one mentorship with vetted advisors, business and career development video classes, career building events, and more. Our goal is to increase each client’s knowledge base and comfort level with managing their own career trajectory or launching their own business by accessing The Source’s video library and/or by connecting directly with key advisors relevant to their personal goals. These accessible online services are particularly beneficial to our target populations during the pandemic when many clients have lost their jobs or are struggling to keep their businesses profitable. If scaled, this solution has the potential to reduce income inequality across the country by empowering low-income people anywhere to stabilize their lives. 

Many low-income residents of Orange County, where CIELO is headquartered and which is the sixth most expensive urban area in the country (Council for Community and Economic Research’s Cost of Living Index, Quarter 2, 2016), struggle to meet their and their families’ basic needs. A low-income resident of Orange County looking to rent a two-bedroom apartment needs an hourly wage of $32.68, or the equivalent of three full-time, minimum-wage jobs (National Low Income Housing Coalition, 2018). Low-income workers around the country often have difficulty being approved for housing, obtaining loans or accessing financial assistance due to low credit scores and poor financial history. Generally, they do not have the social networks that would connect them to in-demand jobs or careers. Because of this, many low-income people are fighting an uphill battle to meet their basic needs and pursue economic self-sufficiency. Those who seek to launch a small business in hopes of stabilizing their economic future are at a particular disadvantage with 50% of all small businesses failing within the first five years (US Small Business Administration, 2014). 

The Source provides low-income people in any community with access to an experienced business/workforce coach and supplemental training services to help even the playing field in the workforce. The Source is housed on the online Firsthand software (firsthand.co), an alumni engagement and mentoring platform used by major universities including MIT, Rutgers, and Cornell. Rather than launch an entirely new online platform with all the added costs that go along with that, we are taking software that is already in use for this purpose and magnifying it to gain access to broader networks. Coaching sessions can happen by email or in real-time, in-app web meetings. Clients are matched with advisors and other resources by topic, region, industry, spoken language, and other demographics. 

The Source also includes an in-app video library with webinars covering topics such as “Succeeding as an Entrepreneur,” a discussion with a panel of successful founders; “Mastering the Case Interview;” and “Optimizing Your LinkedIn Profile.” 

With a focus on serving low-income individuals, The Source is unique in that it can serve anyone anywhere. This allows us to place an emphasis on reaching disadvantaged communities that do not have access to other job training programs. 

The idea for The Source came from more than five years of serving our local low-income community and learning from our clients what would benefit them most in their pursuit of economic self-sufficiency. Based on our evaluation, we found our clients were most successful when they received one-on-one mentorship from an expert in their field. A pilot version of The Source was launched in July 2020. We are currently gathering data from the pilot and in the next couple of months, plan to survey all participants to date so we can incorporate their feedback and suggestions into the operational phase.

A technology-based resource, The Source is a tool that can and will directly support low-income, minority people, beginning with our current client base in Orange County, CA and with the potential to reach any community in the United States. In alignment with the Reimagining Pathways to Employment Challenge, The Source connects users with training, education, and mentorship to help them pursue better paying jobs or launch their own small businesses. 

3 full-time staff

1 part-time staff

Additional volunteer instructors and mentors

CIELO targets low-income, minority communities, knowing that this population faces unique challenges when it comes to employment and entrepreneurship. Eighty percent of our clients are minorities, primarily Hispanic/Latino, and are representative of our community, where 46% of all residents speak a language other than English at home. We also have Hispanic/Latino Board members, volunteers, and staff to ensure the diversity of our clients is reflected in the organization’s leadership and workforce. We encourage diversity by offering our services in English and Spanish, with additional language support available as needed.  

Our solution is innovative because it leverages the expertise of successful businesspeople to inspire and guide low-income people through an easy-to-access connection point. This level and scope of individualized support is not available to our community from any other sources; because our solution is online and easily scalable, we will be able to expand access to this unique style of mentorship to any person with internet connection in the US. 

The Source is housed on the online Firsthand software (firsthand.co), an alumni engagement and mentoring platform. Coaching sessions can happen by email or in real-time, in-app web meetings. Clients are matched with advisors and other resources by topic, region, industry, spoken language, and other demographics. Rather than launch an entirely new online platform with all the added costs that go along with that, we are taking software that is already in use for this purpose and magnifying it to gain access to broader networks. 

The Source helps to equip low-income people with the tools and resources they need to gain more equitable footing in the workforce. Although The Source is in its untested pilot phase, its model is based on CIELO’s highly successful programs. During our last fiscal year (July 1, 2019 to June 30, 2020), CIELO is proud to have accomplished the following: 

1. Outreached to over 1,000 primarily low-income Orange County community members. 
2. Directly served 434 primarily low-income Orange County residents.
3. Helped 80 workforce clients prepare for their job search.
4. Prepared 143 entrepreneurs to launch a small business. 
5. Helped 44 small businesses increase sales or keep their doors open. 
6. 10 participants successfully launched a small business within a year of completing the training program. 
7. 27 workforce clients are known to have been placed in new jobs.
8. 70% of participants indicated an increase in knowledge of basic business principles, including how to be a good employee and communication skills. 
9. 82% of participants indicated an increase in the entrepreneurial mindset, including self-reliance, leadership, and problem-solving skills.
10. 84% of participants demonstrated progress in achieving goals identified through coaching, such as creating a business plan, developing a resume, or obtaining a loan.

The COVID-19 pandemic drastically changed our programs at the end of our 2019-20 fiscal year. During the March to June 2020 time period, we were able to connect 454 people to companies that were hiring during the pandemic and serve 101 clients by providing assistance in searching for jobs online, applying for jobs online, applying for the PPP loan, preparing for job interviews, creating a resume for job opportunities, and addressing new business ideas.

We plan to track similar outcomes with The Source’s client base and will follow up with clients periodically to ensure our services helped guide them to economic success.

A pilot version of The Source was launched in July 2020. Our initial partner was the Avanza Network, which works to improve college and career outcomes in the Orange County Latinx community and has access to skilled businesspeople around the country. Together, CIELO and the Avanza Network have a network of over 300 potential mentors. Since July, we’ve added three additional partners and plan to launch the operational phase in 2021 with at least three more partners. 

Our long-term rollout plan is to expand into additional communities throughout the United States through partnerships with local agencies, who will help introduce CIELO to their clients and to the local business community. Once we have identified a potential partner in a new community, we will work with that partner to market our services to their audience, tailor our content to address any specific community needs, and help a new population of people in need gain access to the services that will help them successfully pursue economic self-sufficiency.

The success of our program hinges on collaboration and community support. CIELO has built up a strong group of partners and supporters to help advance our program to date. Our non-profit partners help to connect us to potential clients while also sharing resources and, in some cases, working space. Our financial supporters help to cover the costs of our programs and services. As we look ahead, we will need to continue reaching out to our community to gain additional support, particularly as we broaden our target audience beyond Orange County. Our team has built a strong network in Orange County; we will draw on this network to continue growing our partners. 

Once The Source is up an running, we plan to collect the following data: 

1. # of users and mentors
2. # of interactions
3. # of clients prepared for their job search
4. # of clients prepared to launch a small business
5. % of clients indicating an increase in knowledge of basic business principles, including how to be a good employee and communication skills 
6. % of clients indicating an increase in the entrepreneurial mindset, including self-reliance, leadership, and problem-solving skills 
7. % of clients demonstrating progress in achieving goals identified through coaching, such as creating a business plan, developing a resume, or obtaining a loan
8. # of small businesses empowered to increase sales or keep their doors open with CIELO’s support
9. # of clients successfully launching a small business 
10. # of clients securing new jobs
11. # of clients increasing income

John Hobson, CEO of CIELO has more than 20 years of experience in successful entrepreneurship and leading marketing efforts for large ecommerce retailers. He has expertise working with Fortune 500 firms, as well as early stage start-up companies. John has worked with and for numerous non-profit organizations, including running a local non-profit during a significant organizational transition. It was the opportunity to blend his passion for entrepreneurship with his experience with non-profits that led John to CIELO. His broad range of expertise makes him uniquely qualified to lead CIELO to ensure success for those who seek to earn their way out of poverty through workforce development and entrepreneurship, while simultaneously ensuring organizational stability and technological advancement.   

In addition to John’s experience in start-ups and tech, our team has worked with our target population for several years and is familiar with their strengths and needs, as well as the unique challenges they face. We also recruit experts in entrepreneurship and various workforce sectors to serve as mentors for our clients, utilizing their expertise and background to guide our clients to a place of economic success.

CIELO’s model is partnership-based – we collaborate with many other organizations in Orange County to share resources, provide a full spectrum of employment support, and reach more people in need. In addition to the Avanza Network, a few of our current partners include Jamboree Housing Corporation, Innovative Housing Opportunities, the California Endowment’s Santa Ana Building Healthy Communities project, El Viento Foundation, Boys & Girls Clubs, and Community Resource Center. We work with micro-loan organization Opportunity Fund to connect our participants to micro-loans. We connect participants seeking to grow in a machining or automotive career to trainings offered by Urban Workshop. Additionally, local bank employees provide financial preparedness trainings and coaching for our clients. These banks have included Wells Fargo, Bank of America, US Bank, and Opus Bank. 

CIELO’s mission is to launch successful entrepreneurs by unleashing innovation, creativity, and passion. By surrounding entrepreneurial-minded individuals with a support system of experts dedicated to helping cultivate their skills and creativity, CIELO empowers hardworking, low-income Orange County residents to pursue economic self-sufficiency through starting a small business or seeking new or better paying jobs. We target low-income and underserved individuals, helping to reduce opportunity inequality by providing them with the resources or connections they wouldn’t otherwise have, but which are needed to successfully launch a career or small business. Our programs include introductory workshops, an entrepreneurship training program, CIELO Co-Labs, computer skills training, and one-on-one coaching services.

Our programs empower low-income people from all walks of life to pursue economic self-sufficiency. We believe there are two keys to accomplishing this: equipping our participants with an entrepreneurial mindset and helping them learn business fundamentals. We work to equip participants with an entrepreneurial mindset, knowing that passion, resourcefulness, and hard work will give our participants an advantage as they launch small businesses and/or pursue career opportunities. Business fundamentals are essential to succeeding as an entrepreneur or in the workplace.

For every dollar invested in CIELO, we put $10 back into the community by helping to drive economic growth on an individual and community level. CIELO does the hard work in helping to address not only business challenges, but life challenges that impact personal financial health as well.

We plan to open up paid access to our video library, which will help The Source becoming financially self-sufficient in the coming years (The Source will always be available at no cost to low-income participants). Until that happens, CIELO operates a comprehensive grants program to secure funding to sustain our programs from local private and corporate foundations, as well as some government entities. We are currently working to grow our fee for service model by partnering with more agencies in need of workforce development support for their audiences. We anticipate this will become a more significant component of our funding model in the years to come, helping to ensure that our organization is self-sustaining. 

Private and corporate foundation grants - $59,300; received Q3 2020

CIELO is using its established grant program to seek funding specifically designated for The Source. We’ve applied for grants from several local and national entities and continue to seek additional grant opportunities. 

The Source Budget 2021

Personnel - $107,000

Curriculum development - $118,000

Marketing - $5,000

Technology & fees - $20,000

Total - $250,000

We are seeking opportunities for expansion and partners who can help new communities of people in need around the U.S. become aware of the support available to them on The Source. This challenge represents the opportunity to get The Source in front of more people, through the collaboration of the Challenge partners. 

We are seeking partners to help distribute The Source to more communities around the U.S., diversify our funding model, and help us gain more exposure beyond Southern California.

Workforce development, housing, and other direct services non-profits seeking to supplement the services available to their clients.