LIVE AND LEARN PROGRAM
Hope...With an Action Plan
Programs and results
What we aim to solve
Arizona has the 5th highest poverty in the United States, and this poverty disproportionately affects Arizonan women and children. Almost 40% of employed women in the state live in extreme poverty, and 79% of households in poverty are headed by women. This environment is trapping Arizonans in a cycle of generational poverty, which is when a parent's poverty hinders the emotional, cognitive, and behavioral development, as well as the educational and professional attainment, of their children. Thankfully, there is a solution to generational poverty. Research shows that the cycle can be broken by providing women with the necessary tools to achieve economic self-sufficiency, including psycho-social support, pathways to education, job training, and life-skills. This research informed the development of Live & Learn's program.
Our programs
What are the organization's current programs, how do they measure success, and who do the programs serve?
Education Workforce Development Program
Live & Learn supports women in poverty as they pursue education and a career in child development, early childhood education, and STEM education.
Healthcare Workforce Development Program
Live & Learn supports women in poverty as they pursue certifications and degrees in the healthcare industry, and as they transition into a livable wage healthcare career.
Tech and Manufacturing Workforce Development Program
Live & Learn supports women in poverty as they complete career training programs and transition into careers in the high-demand fields of tech and manufacturing.
Financial Literacy Coaching
Every woman enrolled in one of Live & Learn's Workforce Development Programs receives one-on-one, monthly financial literacy coaching from certified staff members. The content of the coaching evolves as women progress towards stability and self-sufficiency. By the end of Live & Learn's two-year program, many women are making smart choices about savings, car purchases, and home-ownership.
Physical & Mental Healthcare Connection
Accessing healthcare is crucial to a woman's long-term stability, but often it is not prioritized in families stuck in the cycle of generational poverty. While in the Live & Learn program, every woman receives individualized coaching and pursues monthly health goals that include primary care check ups, vision, dental, and mental health care.
Life-Skills Development
As women progress through the two-year Live & Learn program, they participate in frequent life-skills workshops and one-on-one life-skills trainings. The goal of this is to overcome the skills divide between those who grew up in poverty and their more affluent peers. Topics are wide ranging: computer skills, professionalism, soft skills, nutrition, parenting, self-care, car maintenance, and more.
Step 1 Program
For women in poverty experiencing crises, such as homelessness, substance use, or domestic violence, this program provides intense, one-on-one coaching. The goal is to connect women with resources to address their crises, give them the confidence to realize their strengths and potential, and help women identify and understand their obstacles to success. By program completion, women have stabilized, been free of crisis for six months, and have stable employment.
Where we work
Awards
12 Who Care Honoree 2018
Arizona 12 News
Community Partner of the Year: Opportunity Champion 2019
Year Up AZ
Neighborhood Builders Recipient 2022
Bank of America
Affiliations & memberships
Arizona Department of Economic Security Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program 2018
Achieve 60 AZ 2020
AZ Housing Coalition 2021
Arizona Department of Economic Security Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program Outreach 2021
National Coalition Against Domestic Violence 2022
External reviews
Photos
Videos
Our results
How does this organization measure their results? It's a hard question but an important one.
Number of clients who complete job skills training
This metric is no longer tracked.Totals By Year
Population(s) Served
Women and girls, Economically disadvantaged people
Type of Metric
Output - describing our activities and reach
Direction of Success
Holding steady
Context Notes
Live & Learn clients participate in job skills training programs in a range of high-employment demand fields.
Number of clients who attain economic stability within two years of training
This metric is no longer tracked.Totals By Year
Population(s) Served
Women and girls, Economically disadvantaged people
Type of Metric
Output - describing our activities and reach
Direction of Success
Holding steady
Context Notes
Economic stability is achieved when a woman can meet her family's basic needs, no longer relies on Medicaid or government assistance, and is able to budget and save.
Number of participants who gain employment
This metric is no longer tracked.Totals By Year
Population(s) Served
Women and girls, Economically disadvantaged people
Type of Metric
Outcome - describing the effects on people or issues
Direction of Success
Increasing
Context Notes
100% of Live & Learn clients are unemployed or severely under-employed upon enrolling in the program. Live & Learn provides career and education planning to help women gain employment.
Number of clients still working after 12 months
This metric is no longer tracked.Totals By Year
Population(s) Served
Women and girls, Economically disadvantaged people
Type of Metric
Output - describing our activities and reach
Direction of Success
Increasing
Context Notes
Live & Learn's unique, ongoing programmatic approach provides support as women transition into careers, face new obstacles, and advance their educations. This is key to breaking the cycle of poverty.
Number of clients who have access to insurance
This metric is no longer tracked.Totals By Year
Population(s) Served
Women and girls, Economically disadvantaged people
Type of Metric
Outcome - describing the effects on people or issues
Direction of Success
Increasing
Context Notes
100% of Live & Learn clients rely on Medicaid for health insurance upon enrolling in the program. Through career advancement, women gain access to employer-provided health insurance and benefits.
Number of clients who pursue post-secondary education.
This metric is no longer tracked.Totals By Year
Population(s) Served
Women and girls, Economically disadvantaged people
Type of Metric
Output - describing our activities and reach
Direction of Success
Increasing
Context Notes
Live & Learn's Workforce Development Programs guide women through pursuing post-secondary certifications, credentials, and degrees. Education is critical to long-term self-sufficiency.
Number of seniors who pursue Post-secondary Educational opportunities
This metric is no longer tracked.Totals By Year
Population(s) Served
Women and girls, Economically disadvantaged people
Type of Metric
Outcome - describing the effects on people or issues
Direction of Success
Increasing
Context Notes
Live & Learn's Workforce Development Programs guide women through pursuing post-secondary certifications, credentials, and degrees. Education is critical to long-term self-sufficiency.
Our Sustainable Development Goals
Learn more about Sustainable Development Goals.
Goals & Strategy
Learn about the organization's key goals, strategies, capabilities, and progress.
Charting impact
Four powerful questions that require reflection about what really matters - results.
What is the organization aiming to accomplish?
Live & Learn's goal is for women to reach stability, secure and retain employment, and become financially self-sufficient. Through Live & Learn's program, women rise off of government assistance and earn post-secondary certifications in fields with high local employment demand. When women thrive, they strengthen their families and the community.
What are the organization's key strategies for making this happen?
Live & Learn provides a structured pathway out of poverty for adult women in Maricopa County. Through intense, one-on-one coaching for two-years, women pursue their educations, begin a professional career, become financially literate, develop life-skills, and access healthcare. By building trust with the women in the program and by holding them accountable to weekly and monthly action plans, Live & Learn staff are able to guide women along their journey out of poverty and are able to identify and overcome any new barrier that may arise. The women who enroll in the Live & Learn program are deeply motivated to change their own lives, but they require guidance and support along the way.
What are the organization's capabilities for doing this?
Live & Learn was founded in 2012, and the program was developed with a unique understanding of generational poverty. Generational poverty is an often misunderstood and overlooked issue. Live & Learn has become a national leader on the topic. Indeed, over 50 nonprofit, educational, and government agencies in Maricopa County refer hundreds of women to Live & Learn each year, with recognition of Live & Learn's unique ability to help those facing generational poverty.
With the help of numerous education and employment partners, Live & Learn offers women streamlined paths to success in careers including:
• Education – Child Development Associate (CDA), Teacher (Preschool), Family Support Specialist
• Healthcare/Medical – including CNA/Patient Care Technician (PCT), LPN (Licensed Practical Nurse), Dental Assistant (DA), Medical Assistant (MA), and many others.
• Business Administration and Management
• Cyber-Security
Live & Learn program staff are themselves Live & Learn alumni and/or come from the community Live & Learn serves; they have relevant lived-experiences and deep understanding of the issues facing Live & Learn's client population.
What have they accomplished so far and what's next?
Since 2012, Live & Learn has continued to grow each year to serve more women, and the organization has continued to deepen its reputation as the leader in generational poverty alleviation. In 2019, Live & Learn helped over 260 women reach stability and self-sufficiency.
Live & Learn's program has been perfected and proven since its founding, and now it is time to grow in order to meet the overwhelming need for the program. In 2019, Live & Learn also received over 1,000 women referred to the program from over 20 local nonprofit, educational, and government institutions. Additionally, Live & Learn receives inquiries from states across the country. Live & Learn's Board of Directors is currently developing strategic plans for expansion.
How we listen
Seeking feedback from people served makes programs more responsive and effective. Here’s how this organization is listening.
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How is your organization using feedback from the people you serve?
To identify and remedy poor client service experiences, To identify bright spots and enhance positive service experiences, To make fundamental changes to our programs and/or operations, To inform the development of new programs/projects, To identify where we are less inclusive or equitable across demographic groups, To strengthen relationships with the people we serve, To understand people's needs and how we can help them achieve their goals
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Which of the following feedback practices does your organization routinely carry out?
We collect feedback from the people we serve at least annually, We aim to collect feedback from as many people we serve as possible, We take steps to ensure people feel comfortable being honest with us, We look for patterns in feedback based on demographics (e.g., race, age, gender, etc.), We look for patterns in feedback based on people’s interactions with us (e.g., site, frequency of service, etc.), We engage the people who provide feedback in looking for ways we can improve in response, We act on the feedback we receive, We tell the people who gave us feedback how we acted on their feedback, We ask the people who gave us feedback how well they think we responded
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What challenges does the organization face when collecting feedback?
We don't have any major challenges to collecting feedback
Financials
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Operations
The people, governance practices, and partners that make the organization tick.
Connect with nonprofit leaders
SubscribeBuild relationships with key people who manage and lead nonprofit organizations with GuideStar Pro. Try a low commitment monthly plan today.
- Analyze a variety of pre-calculated financial metrics
- Access beautifully interactive analysis and comparison tools
- Compare nonprofit financials to similar organizations
Want to see how you can enhance your nonprofit research and unlock more insights? Learn More about GuideStar Pro.
Connect with nonprofit leaders
SubscribeBuild relationships with key people who manage and lead nonprofit organizations with GuideStar Pro. Try a low commitment monthly plan today.
- Analyze a variety of pre-calculated financial metrics
- Access beautifully interactive analysis and comparison tools
- Compare nonprofit financials to similar organizations
Want to see how you can enhance your nonprofit research and unlock more insights? Learn More about GuideStar Pro.
LIVE AND LEARN PROGRAM
Board of directorsas of 02/11/2022
Susanne Johnson
Verbena Sky, LLC
Term: 2020 - 2023
Casey Sanders
Bank of America
Alverta McKenzie
Phoenix College
Allison Mullady
Arizona State University
Brittany Dunn
Southwest Network
Ruby Cervantes
La Fronterra Empact
Leane' Kok
Carefree Consulting
Chandima Vithana
CPA for higher education institutions
Rosario Espinoza
Cartright School District
Susanne Johnson
Verbena Sky, LLC
Board leadership practices
GuideStar worked with BoardSource, the national leader in nonprofit board leadership and governance, to create this section.
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Board orientation and education
Does the board conduct a formal orientation for new board members and require all board members to sign a written agreement regarding their roles, responsibilities, and expectations? Yes -
CEO oversight
Has the board conducted a formal, written assessment of the chief executive within the past year ? Yes -
Ethics and transparency
Have the board and senior staff reviewed the conflict-of-interest policy and completed and signed disclosure statements in the past year? Yes -
Board composition
Does the board ensure an inclusive board member recruitment process that results in diversity of thought and leadership? Yes -
Board performance
Has the board conducted a formal, written self-assessment of its performance within the past three years? Yes
Organizational demographics
Who works and leads organizations that serve our diverse communities? Candid partnered with CHANGE Philanthropy on this demographic section.
Leadership
The organization's leader identifies as:
Race & ethnicity
Gender identity
Transgender Identity
Sexual orientation
Disability
We do not display disability information for organizations with fewer than 15 staff.
Equity strategies
Last updated: 01/25/2022GuideStar partnered with Equity in the Center - an organization that works to shift mindsets, practices, and systems to increase racial equity - to create this section. Learn more
- We review compensation data across the organization (and by staff levels) to identify disparities by race.
- We ask team members to identify racial disparities in their programs and / or portfolios.
- We analyze disaggregated data and root causes of race disparities that impact the organization's programs, portfolios, and the populations served.
- We disaggregate data to adjust programming goals to keep pace with changing needs of the communities we support.
- We employ non-traditional ways of gathering feedback on programs and trainings, which may include interviews, roundtables, and external reviews with/by community stakeholders.
- We disaggregate data by demographics, including race, in every policy and program measured.
- We have long-term strategic plans and measurable goals for creating a culture such that one’s race identity has no influence on how they fare within the organization.
- We use a vetting process to identify vendors and partners that share our commitment to race equity.
- We have a promotion process that anticipates and mitigates implicit and explicit biases about people of color serving in leadership positions.
- We seek individuals from various race backgrounds for board and executive director/CEO positions within our organization.
- We have community representation at the board level, either on the board itself or through a community advisory board.
- We help senior leadership understand how to be inclusive leaders with learning approaches that emphasize reflection, iteration, and adaptability.
- We measure and then disaggregate job satisfaction and retention data by race, function, level, and/or team.
- We engage everyone, from the board to staff levels of the organization, in race equity work and ensure that individuals understand their roles in creating culture such that one’s race identity has no influence on how they fare within the organization.