Spotlight On

Mission:
The mission of Dress for Success is to promote low-income women's economic and social development through career development, employment retention, and the promotion of self-sufficiency. Dress for Success responds to the needs of our communities by providing programs that help economically disadvantaged women to acquire jobs, retain their new positions, and succeed in the mainstream workplace.

Dress for Success stems the underlying cause of cyclical poverty by addressing the crisis via grassroots programs that produce systemic change; we aim to permanently improve women's quality of life and help them realize their full potential as productive, responsible citizens. Our community-driven programs and services provide long-term solutions to impoverishment through our vital programs and services.

By addressing such issues as workforce development, financial literacy, and economic and social self-sufficiency, Dress for Success offers guidance and support to women who are learning how to achieve a better quality of life for themselves and their families.

Background:
Dress for Success is the only international organization that addresses and fulfills the needs of low-income women who have left welfare and are met with the challenge of entering the workforce. Founded in 1996 in New York City, Dress for Success answered a vital need for career-building initiatives after welfare reform was instituted. The welfare overhaul in 1996 set time restrictions for Public Assistance recipients, which in turn forced heads of households into low-wage jobs. Because of the rapid increase in the number of poor, working women, they had become a very underserved segment of society. Through our programs and services, Dress for Success was able to answer the needs of a growing, poverty-stricken workforce. Having expanded our programs and services, Dress for Success now reaches out to over 45,000 low-income women in 74 cities every year.

Dress for Success' founding mission - to supply low-income women with the necessary business clothing to reenter the job market - has expanded tremendously. While we recognize the vital role that appropriate attire plays in acquiring a job, with our current mission, Dress for Success has been able to help women gain confidence in themselves and actualize their professional goals.

Current Programs:

THE SUITING PROGRAM

Through the Suiting Program, Dress for Success assists low-income women on the path to self-sufficiency by helping them to look and feel dressed for success as they face the job market. Clients arrive at Dress for Success by referral from over 200 not-for-profit partner programs in the New York City area alone, including homeless shelters, domestic violence shelters, and welfare-to-work job training centers.

Along with an interview suit, our clients will receive a one-on-one overview of how to handle themselves during an interview, how to communicate with a prospective employer, how to present themselves professionally, and more. By laying the groundwork for interview planning and preparation, the Suiting Program is designed to encourage self-confidence, professional poise, and dignity.

THE PROFESSIONAL WOMEN'S GROUP (PWG)

The Professional Women's Group educates newly employed women about employment retention and career development. Through the PWG, Dress for Success provides a safe environment in which to network with other women, build professional skills, and learn how to advance in their jobs.

Each regularly scheduled meeting consists of two key elements: an expert speaker leading a discussion, and a networking period. Through continuing education, the Professional Women's Group teaches women preventative measures on how to secure their jobs and maximize their earning potential through employment stability. Our educational programming covers four basics: workplace communication and culture, financial literacy/wealth building, creating a balance between work and family, and the written - and unwritten - rules of the workplace.

CAREER CORNER

Career Corner promotes confidence and professionalism by providing clients with career guidance, technology skills, and job-seeking support. Career Corner offers one-on-one resume building and cover-letter writing lessons, free access to computers which includes an Internet-accessible computer lab with cutting edge job-placement software, faxes, telephones, a lending library of continuing educational information and studying materials, interview preparation, and general office support, assisting clients with their job searches and encouraging their career development.

In order to successfully obtain a job, clients must learn how best to navigate the job-search process. By teaching our clients how to create superior resumes and cover letters, as well as how to hone their interview and technology skills, we can ensure that they feel confident and capable when applying for employment.

THE 'WOMEN 2 WOMEN' MENTORING PROGRAM

Our Women 2 Women Mentoring Program offers guidance, advice and support to women emerging from a low-income background from compassionate, experienced professional women who have been working in a professional environment for at least five years. Our mentors offer guidance, advice and support in our clients' professional lives. Clients get personal career coaching from professional role models who help them learn how to achieve their goals and dreams.

Women 2 Women mentors are flexible, tolerant of cultural differences, and approach life with an attitude that embraces new challenges and growth opportunities. Through observation and direction, clients in our mentoring program learn vital leadership skills and professional management techniques in order to carry themselves to a more fruitful and satisfactory career and higher level of economic capability. Our mentoring program is a dynamic group of women helping women to take charge of their own lives by making significant, positive changes in their daily routines.

Funding Needs:
Funding enables Dress for Success to continue to offer our comprehensive programs and services to low-income women seeking to make a permanent transition from poverty to self-sufficiency. Dress for Success needs funding in all aspects of our organization: support for our career development programs will assist Dress for Success in helping women to retain their employment and to develop successful careers. Funding will help to strengthen our capacity and will help us to guide women on their path to independence and economic sustainability. Dress for Success would not be able to provide these programs and services without your support. Give a woman the gift of a better quality of life today. Give to Dress for Success! Please visit our website to learn more about how you can help: http://www.dressforsuccess.org.

Every month, the "Spotlight On" highlights the activities of a different 501(c)3 nonprofit organization located in the tri-state region (NY, NJ, or CT). The selection of organizations for the "Spotlight On" is based on criteria such as programmatic interests, geographic focus, and size, to ensure the broadest possible representation of the region's nonprofit sector. While the Foundation Center strives to showcase the diverse range of organizations in the area, selection for "Spotlight On" does not constitute an endorsement by the Foundation Center.

If you'd like to see your NPO in the "Spotlight," please use this submission form to send us a profile of your organization. Or e-mail a description of your organization, following the above format, to nyweb@foundationcenter.org with "Spotlight Submission" in the subject line.