A growing body of research now points to the pivotal role social capital plays in long-term labor market success and economic mobility. Unfortunately, social capital building is a skill that’s not taught in schools nor in America’s workforce programs. Nearly 47 percent of Americans find jobs through their social capital connections and 65% of jobs are hidden – meaning they are never posted or posted improperly. At the same time, according to the Aspen Institute, 40 percent of young people between the ages of 16 and 24 are weakly attached or unattached to school and work. The pandemic has just exacerbated this situation. Millions of young Americans don’t receive the support to build the social capital connections necessary to build a career and buffer the harmful effects of racism, discrimination, and bias – something that too many young Americans face throughout their life.

While nonprofits and schools spend more than 600 million each year to teach financial literacy, not one dollar has been spent to teach students social capital literacy – the ability to audit, access, build, maintain, and manage social networks effectively to improve financial and social well-being. Edward DeJesus is changing that.

Edward DeJesus is the Founder of Social Capital Builders, a minority owned social enterprise dedicated to changing the face of equity and access for youth and adults living in America’s low-income communities through the power of social capital literacy, development and analysis. Join Ed and his team at Social Capital Builders as they share their story with our network.