A $100,000 grant from the WA Women’s Foundation in 1998 propelled FareStart’s job placement and training program for homeless men and women to unprecedented levels.

The nonprofit’s entrepreneurial approach to job and life-skills training for those in poverty has sparked so much interest that communities around the country continue to work to replicate its success.

“The Foundation took a chance on a new, innovative nonprofit,” says former CEO Megan Karch. “This grant gave us the push we needed to move forward.”

The money allowed FareStart to double both its budget and the number of people it served over the life of the three-year grant. It lent the organization much-needed recognition and credibility, which led to a succession of grants from other foundations and individuals. Karch sums up the impact of the WA Women’s Foundation grant quite simply: “It put us on the map.”