SpringForward Ventures Secures $307,000 in Federal Funding for Workforce Development
SpringForward Ventures has been awarded $307,000 of FY 2024 Appropriations funds to create training and onboarding curricula for its non-traditional workforce. The funding was requested and secured by U.S. Maryland Senators Cardin and Van Hollen as part of the Fiscal Year 2024 government funding legislation.
Established in 2022, SpringForward Ventures is building companies differently. SpringForward Ventures presents a radically innovative employment model to solve the under-and-unemployment crisis for individuals with behavioral health wellness needs. Our human-centered approach will transform employee-ownership and worker-run cooperative concepts into pathways for community wealth building and improve inadequate workforce strategies for our target population. By leveraging our key principles to build social enterprises for, and around, our community, we will actively challenge institutional, societal, and self perceptions about workers with behavioral health wellness needs and others largely forgotten by our society. Further, our model will promote economic justice in America and give those who have historically faced barriers to employment a voice in their workplace.
“Agriculture is at the center of Maryland’s diverse economy. SpringForward Ventures is not only providing workforce development opportunities to Marylanders who need it most, but also strengthening our local food systems,” said Senator Cardin. “Federal support for this community-driven project is an investment in a stronger workforce, in stronger communities and a stronger economy.”
Senator Van Hollen, a member of the Appropriations Committee, remarked, “We are working to invest in the success of every Marylander, including through our support for job training and education initiatives and behavioral health programs. This direct federal investment will help SpringForward Ventures continue its vital work to help ensure all Marylanders have access to meaningful work opportunities and to propel their economic empowerment – providing inclusive pathways for success.”
SpringForward Farms is an urban, Controlled Environment Agriculture farm in the greater Washington D.C area that utilizes the technology of high-tech indoor greenhouses to produce locally grown, cost-effective, nutrient-dense food, while simultaneously maintaining a commercially viable business model. To set our worker-owners up for success and to ensure training is accessible to all employees, workers will be onboarded using a variety of teaching methods and proprietary materials for its incubated social enterprise business. By designing training and instructional materials for individuals with behavioral health wellness needs and others facing barriers to employment, we can reduce barriers to the workforce by creating a more inclusive employment environment.
SpringForward Ventures will provide quality employment opportunities and contribute to community wealth building in Maryland, at a time when the state is still struggling to recover jobs post-pandemic. According to the Maryland Department of Labor’s Overview of Current Economic Conditions in Maryland (January 2024), the state's private-sector growth rate ranked 47th between February 2020 and November 2023. SpringForward Farms has the potential to change the nature of Maryland’s labor force, and in time, America’s workforce.
For more information about SpringForward Ventures and their transformative initiatives, please visit www.springforwardmd.org. Media inquiries can be directed to Piper Phillips Caswell at piper.phillips@springforwardmd.org. Stay updated on our progress and impact by following us on social media @springforwardventures, and join us in reshaping employment paradigms and enhancing communities.
