Enterprising Latinas Inc.

Enterprising Latinas, Inc.'s mission is to create pathways of opportunity for women in Tampa Bay, particularly Latinas, by teaching new skills, creating networks of mutual support, and advocating for innovative solutions to promote economic mobility and equity.

ELI envisions Latinas being both contributors as well as beneficiaries of thriving communities. As a

Goal One: Economic Opportunity: Boost individual economic mobility through mentoring and adequate support to advance diverse goals, from family stability to health, personal finances and education goals.

Goal Two: Community Prosperity: Expand community assets, influence, and capacity to boost economic growth and inclusion by changing conditions that drive existing disparities in education, wages and wealth.

Goal Three: Capacity Building to achieve impact: Evolve as a high-performing, high-impact organization through stronger systems, staffing, technology, partnerships & policies that increase quality, depth & reach.

Over the past year, we have held six days of staff training and planning sessions where we have supported our team to understand ELI's origin story, program and strategic choices, branding and messaging, and key goals and targets. We have reflected upon the procedures and tools we use to perform our work and the adjustments we need to make to increase our impact. After recognizing we are at an inflection point in the trajectory of our organization, we have also engaged a consulting team to guide senior leaders, staff and board through a reflection about the next stage of growth for our organization. Finally, we are investing in our team's learning experiences and networking outside of our organization by facilitating their participation in external trainings and conferences that are relevant to their work.

ELI believes in turning community challenges into opportunities for promote prosperity for the women and the community we serve. At the start of the pandemic, ELI convened 30 organizations and agencies that serve our community of Wimauma every week to understand the local effects of the pandemic, share information and resources, and ultimately create a joint strategy to support our families through very uncertain times. The Wimauma Together Collaborative, led by 5 partner organizations, raised $100,000, established a hotline, procured and distributed supplies, offered financial assistance, and educated the community about ways to remain safe from COVID and where to get help. This effort still continues, but the focus of the partner organizations has now shifted to working jointly to disrupting entrenched poverty in Wimauma, which plainly played a role in exacerbating the effects of COVID in the community. In addition, ELI remained focused and consistent in its advocacy for public investments in Wimauma after decades of neglect that have left so many families without access to opportunities to thrive. We were successful in raising awareness about unacceptable community conditions and we put Wimauma on everyone's radar. Despite the challenges posed by the pandemic to sustain participation and advocacy in public hearings and meetings, as well as relationship building with county officials, ELI and its partners were able to lead proactively and assert community demands that have yielded commitments for public infrastructure investments.