The Women’s Bean Project

OUR MISSION: We are a Colorado 501(c)(3) non-profit organization with the mission to change women’s lives by providing stepping stones to self-sufficiency through social enterprise. OUR VISION: We believe that all women have the power to transform their lives through employment. So we hire women who are chronically unemployed and we teach them to work by making nourishing products. They learn to stand tall, find their purpose and break the cycle of poverty. Because when you change a woman’s life, you change her family’s life. OUR VALUES: As we grow and prosper, we promise to hold to the following guiding principles: OPPORTUNITY: We help women help themselves. We provide opportunities for our participants to discover their talents and develop skills to join the workforce and build a better life. SERVICE: We strive to “do well by doing good.” We are a social enterprise that believes it is a basic human right to live a stable, healthy life. We serve our supporters, partners, participants and communities by delivering quality products with innovation and efficiency. TRANSFORMATION: Our efforts transform more than the individual woman. The seeds of hope in one-woman weave threads of success that expand to families and communities with a reach that touches individuals worldwide. From participants and customers to vendors, donors and volunteers, their transformations make a difference. EMPOWERMENT: Using the tools we provide, women are empowered to change their lives. Our supporters are empowered with the knowledge that they have contributed, not only to the self-worth and self-sufficiency of disadvantaged women, but also to the broad-reaching benefits our communities reap. SUSTAINABILITY: Instead of a one-time handout, women acquire the tools needed to sustain themselves and their families for a lifetime. We believe in nurturing economic sustainability for our program participants and partners, being ever-mindful of our impact on the environment. OUR HISTORY: Back in 1989, our founder, Jossy Eyre, was volunteering at a daytime women’s shelter in Denver, CO. She realized that while the shelter kept the women safe, it could not help them make lasting changes in their lives. To help the women achieve independence and self-sufficiency, she needed to provide an opportunity to experience the dignity of work by learning how to get – and keep – a job. She invested $500 of her own money and put two women to work; the start of the social enterprise we are today. Now our revenue is more than $2M per year and our products are sold in nearly 1,000 stores nationwide, including King Soopers, Whole Foods, Safeway, Meijer and H.E.B., as well as small specialty retailers. You can also shop our products online on our website, Amazon.com and Walmart.com. We are a proud member organization of Social Enterprise Alliance.