Our Mission
“Transforming communities and empowering individuals to overcome poverty and inequality”
Xiente, our new name, embraces our transformational mission and vision to create a “path of economic mobility” that empowers people to rise up from poverty to prosperity.
According to the Economy League of Greater Philadelphia, Philadelphia is the “poorest” of the largest U.S. cities, with 23.3 percent of residents living in poverty. Many of these are people of color, including immigrants who have not had the education or opportunities to establish a better life for themselves or their families.
According to Pew Research’s “Philadelphia 2023 The State of the City” Hispanic residents had the highest poverty rate in 2021, at 30% — nearly 2.5 times the rate for non-Hispanic White residents.
We are out to change the game by helping to make Philadelphia a high-performing city for economic mobility.
We understand intimately the daily struggles of waking up in a neighborhood devoid of opportunities, where government neglect perpetuates a sense of invisibility and hopelessness. Poverty leaves individuals feeling trapped in a relentless cycle of seeking aid to survive while simultaneously striving to uncover opportunities for a better life.”
Why Economic Mobility?
According to a recent report from the SMU Economic Growth Initiative, “Cities and Opportunity in 21st Century America:, High-performing metros for economic mobility have been unusually successful in fostering relatively high college completion, job-market access, new business creation, and housing affordability. They also tend to score high for social capital – the dense fabric of social connection and civic engagement that makes a community tick.
“Economic mobility” describes the extent to which people and families are getting ahead over time. Improving economic mobility should be a top-tier priority, for three reasons:
- Economic mobility is a key measure of how the nation is doing in increasing human well-being.
- Building an economy in which as many people as possible fulfill their potential is crucial to growth and prosperity for all.
- Americans aren’t likely to view our economic system as fair unless they believe that hard-working, enterprising people have a good shot at getting ahead.
Fulfilling our Mission
Through research and our own 40-plus years of experience in the community we’ve learned that the most important capital is human capital- which means families. Xiente programs maximize personal capital (education, financial literacy, real estate, business opportunity) to create a path of economic mobility for individuals and their families.
Comprehensive: We look at all of the factors related to economic mobility: financial, health, education, social and more—evaluating your situation and giving you a clear path forward
Trusted: We have been a trusted source of programs and services for our community for more than 40 years
Empowering: We are about strength and empowerment- giving you the skills and foundational building blocks to transform your family’s situation today and into the future