Merit America - GuideStar Profile (2024)

MERIT AMERICA IS A NATIONAL CAREER DEVELOPMENT NONPROFIT DEDICATED TO CREATING PATHWAYS TO FAMILY-SUSTAINING CAREERS FOR AMERICANS WHO ARE STUCK IN LOW-WAGE WORK. THROUGH FAST AND FLEXIBLE SOLUTIONS, MERIT AMERICA EMPOWERS WORKING ADULTS BY PROVIDING THEM WITH THE SKILLS AND SUPPORT NECESSARY TO PURSUE IN-DEMAND, HIGH-PAYING CAREERS. THE ORGANIZATION COLLABORATES WITH INDUSTRY PARTNERS AND EMPLOYERS TO ENSURE SUCCESSFUL PLACEMENTS INTO UPWARDLY MOBILE CAREERS. BY THE END OF THE YEAR 2025, MERIT AMERICA SEEKS TO DRIVE $1 BILLION IN PROJECTED CUMULATIVE WAGE GAINS, CONNECTING TALENTED LEARNERS TO IN-DEMAND CAREER PATHS AT SCALE.IN 2022, MERIT AMERICA MADE TREMENDOUS PROGRESS TOWARD ITS ORGANIZATIONAL GOALS. THROUGH COMPREHENSIVE MEASUREMENT AND EVALUATION PRACTICES, MERIT AMERICA COLLECTS DATA ON VARIOUS METRICS TO GAUGE THE SUCCESS OF ITS PROGRAM. THIS INCLUDES TRACKING LEARNERS SERVED, COMPLETION RATES, CAREER PLACEMENTS, AVERAGE WAGE GAINS, AND OTHER RELEVANT METRICS TO VERIFY THE PROGRAM'S ONGOING SUCCESS. THE FOLLOWING IS AN OVERVIEW OF MERIT AMERICA'S 2022 PROGRAM ACCOMPLISHMENTS, SHOWCASING ITS GROWTH, IMPACT, AND COMMITMENT TO ITS MISSION.MERIT AMERICA HAS EXPERIENCED SUBSTANTIAL GROWTH IN THE NUMBER OF LEARNERS SERVED. IN 2022, THE ORGANIZATION AIMED TO LAUNCH COHORTS WITH 2,500 LEARNERS, DOUBLING THE PREVIOUS YEAR'S REACH. HOWEVER, THIS GOAL WAS SURPASSED WITH A TOTAL OF 3,600 LEARNERS SERVED IN 2022, REPRESENTING THREEFOLD ANNUAL GROWTH AND REACHING 146% OF THE TARGET.A THIRD-PARTY ANALYSIS CONDUCTED IN 2022 BY DR. BEN CASTLEMAN AT THE UNIVERSITY OF VIRGINIA (UVA) FOUND THAT MERIT AMERICA ALUMNI EXPERIENCED AN AVERAGE ANNUAL WAGE GAIN OF $18.7K THREE OR MORE MONTHS AFTER COMPLETING THE PROGRAM. IN ADDITION, MORE THAN 80% OF ALUMS REPORTED POSITIVE WAGE GAINS AT LEAST THREE MONTHS AFTER COMPLETION, FROM AN AVERAGE PRE-PROGRAM SALARY OF $24K TO AN AVERAGE POST-PROGRAM SALARY OF $50K PER YEAR, A $26K AVERAGE WAGE GAIN. THESE FINDINGS VALIDATE THE EFFECTIVENESS OF MERIT AMERICA'S APPROACH IN PROVIDING SUSTAINABLE ECONOMIC MOBILITY.USING THE METHODOLOGY DEVELOPED BY UVA & BRIDGESPAN, MERIT AMERICA ESTIMATES APPROXIMATELY $340 MILLION IN PROJECTED CUMULATIVE WAGE GAINS FOR LEARNERS SERVED THROUGH 2022. THIS ACHIEVEMENT SURPASSES EXPECTATIONS, POSITIONING THE ORGANIZATION AHEAD OF SCHEDULE TOWARD ITS GOAL OF DRIVING $1 BILLION IN PROJECTED CUMULATIVE WAGE GAINS BY THE END OF 2025.FINANCIALLY, MERIT AMERICA SECURED $17.85 MILLION IN PHILANTHROPIC FUNDING IN 2022, $2.85M MORE THAN 2020 & 2021 COMBINED. NOTABLY, THE ORGANIZATION ALSO BECAME THE INAUGURAL PARTNER OF THE GOOGLE CAREER CERTIFICATES FUND, A $100 MILLION INITIATIVE LAUNCHED IN COLLABORATION WITH GOOGLE CEO SUNDAR PICHAI. THIS PARTNERSHIP STRENGTHENS MERIT AMERICA'S SUSTAINABILITY, ENABLES THE PROGRAM TO SCALE TO SERVE MANY MORE LEARNERS, AND AFFIRMS THE RECOGNITION OF ITS IMPACTFUL WORK.ORGANIZATIONAL GROWTH HAS ALSO BEEN A SIGNIFICANT HIGHLIGHT FOR MERIT AMERICA IN 2022. WITH THE EXPANSION OF THE TEAM FROM 75 TO NEARLY 200 EMPLOYEES, THE ORGANIZATION IS WELL-EQUIPPED TO CONTINUE SCALING OPERATIONS. IN ALIGNMENT WITH ITS MISSION, MERIT AMERICA PRIORITIZES DIVERSITY AND INCLUSIVITY WITHIN THE WORKFORCE, WITH 80% OF THE STAFF AND 70% OF THE EXECUTIVE TEAM IDENTIFYING AS BIPOC, LGBTQ, OR FIRST-GENERATION COLLEGE ATTENDEES BY THE CLOSE OF 2022. THIS DEDICATION HAS BEEN RECOGNIZED THROUGH ITS 2022 CERTIFICATION AS A "GREAT PLACE TO WORK," WITH 97% OF EMPLOYEES INDICATING HIGH LEVELS OF SATISFACTION.MERIT AMERICA'S 2022 PROGRAM ACCOMPLISHMENTS REFLECT THE ORGANIZATION'S COMMITMENT TO CREATING SCALABLE PATHWAYS FOR WORKERS STUCK IN LOW-WAGE JOBS TO ACCESS FAMILY-SUSTAINING CAREERS. THE ORGANIZATION'S SIGNIFICANT ACHIEVEMENTS IN SERVING A GROWING NUMBER OF LEARNERS, GENERATING SUBSTANTIAL WAGE GAINS, SECURING PHILANTHROPIC SUPPORT, AND FOSTERING DIVERSITY AND INCLUSIVITY WITHIN THE ORGANIZATION ARE INDICATIVE OF ITS IMPACTFUL WORK. AS MERIT AMERICA CONTINUES TO WORK TOWARDS ITS MISSION, THE ORGANIZATION IS WELL-POSITIONED TO SURPASS ITS GOAL OF DRIVING $1 BILLION IN CUMULATIVE WAGE GAINS TO MAKE A LASTING IMPACT ON ECONOMIC MOBILITY FOR WORKING ADULTS ACROSS THE UNITED STATES.