Women's Bean Project

Jossy Eyre founded Women’s Bean Project (WBP) in 1989 as a result of her volunteer work at a day shelter for homeless women. Eyre saw that while the shelter kept women safe, it couldn’t help them make lasting changes in their lives. Eyre bought $500 worth of beans and put two homeless women to work - the first step in building the social enterprise we are today. She believed that paying women a wage was critical for self-respect and long-term success, and that chronically unemployed women needed a job training program with a longer duration and more intensive services that those generally available.

Over the years, WBP has grown into a well-defined transitional employment program that operates within a manufacturing operation and is unusual programs due to its paid, practical job skills training provided in the context of an operating business environment over an extended period. Nearly a thousand disadvantaged women have earned their futures at WBP, training opportunities and annual product sales have grown dramatically, and the organization’s reach has expanded to include a sales presence in 1,000 stores across U.S.

Women’s Bean Project is financially healthy with a diversified funding base. One-half of operating revenue is generated from product sales, enabling WBP to be more self-sustaining and growth-oriented than programs solely dependent on philanthropic and government support.

Since 1995, WBP has owned former Firehouse #10, located in the Curtis Park/Five Points neighborhood, which was purchased from the City and County of Denver. This location has served us well, but we have outgrown the space and we are actively seeking a larger building that will allow us to increase capacity.

As we celebrate our 30th year of using a market-driven approach to address unmet social needs, we are proud that our overarching purpose – to provide a transitional job as a stepping stone to self-sufficiency – has remained constant.

Women’s Bean Project (WBP) is a mission-driven social enterprise that generates 50% of its revenue through product sales which are reinvested in the business to provide people with jobs and preparation so they can join the mainstream workforce. Research shows that social enterprises offer a sustainable and cost-effective approach to address chronic unemployment, recidivism, and reliance on public benefits.

The Bean Project offers women from backgrounds of chronic unemployment and poverty a transitional job designed to provide immediate income, overcome barriers to employment, and teach the work and interpersonal skills needed to get and keep a job. We believe that the best way to learn how to work is through a paying job so during the 7- month program period, women "earn while they learn”, an approach that sets WBP apart from many workforce programs.

Two-thirds of each woman’s paid time is spent in structured job readiness training in on-site business owned and managed by WBP: the production of gourmet soups and other dry food products. The business is self-sustaining, and the earned revenue supports women’s salaries. The remainder of each woman’s paid time is spent in life skills classes, workshops, mentoring sessions and working with a case manager. Charitable contributions help support these non-revenue generating activities that are critical for long-term success.