Join Steve Tobocman and Business Forward to discuss how to Build Welcoming Economies.

1. Building Welcoming Economies:
The Growth of Inclusive Economic Development

2. • WE embraces the following core values:
• Immigrant communities are central to expanding
economic opportunity and revitalizing the entire region
• Welcoming immigrants into the economic and social
fabric of a region helps to make the region more vibrant
for everyone
• Regional economic development initiatives can play in
retaining immigrants and enhancing their role in the
community’s economic and social fabric

4. WE Global Network Members

5. Building Inclusive Economies:
Local Innovations in
Immigrant Economic Development

6. Talent

7. International Student Retention

8. 70.3%
63.2%
60.4%
55.4%
53.4% 52.1%
50.2%
44.5% 43.7% 43.7%
42.1%
40.3%
13.0%
4.8%
0.0%
10.0%
20.0%
30.0%
40.0%
50.0%
60.0%
70.0%
80.0%
International Students Predominate
Graduate STEM Degrees

9. International Student Retention
• Job Fairs
• Interview and Resume Writing
• Employer Meet-and-Greets
• Resume Collection and Dissemination
• Legal 101s for Corporate Employers

10. Skilled Immigrant Integration

11. Table 4. Forgone Earnings and Taxes by State, and State Share of Overall Totals, 2009-13
Total Forgone Earnings ($billion) Total Forgone State/Local Taxes ($million)
Estimate State Share of U.S.
Total (%)
Estimate State Share of U.S. Total (%)
United States 39.36 100.0 3,033.56 100.0
California 9.39 23.9 694.81 22.9
Florida 3.64 9.2 214.72 7.1
Michigan 0.51 1.3 48.56 1.6
New York 5.05 12.8 594.03 19.6
Ohio 0.51 1.3 52.97 1.7
Texas 2.50 6.4 167.45 5.5
Washington 0.83 2.1 74.86 2.5
Total 7 states 22.44 57.0 1,847.40 60.9
Other 43 states and DC 16.93 43.0 1,186.15 39.1
Source: MPI analysis of 2009-13 ACS and 2008 SIPP data from the U.S. Census Bureau, with legal status assignments
by Bachmeier and Van Hook. Tax estimates are from Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy estimates based on the
Institute’s microsimulation model.

12. Skilled Immigrant Integration
• State Licensing and Credentialing Guides, Recredentialing
• Interview and Resume Writing
• Employer Recruitment
• Job Readiness and Coaching
• Career Pathways; Upskilling
• Contextualized ESL

13. Connector
Programs

14. Connector Programs
• One-on-One Connections
• Trailing Spouse Programs
• Three Referrals
• Halifax, St. Louis, Detroit

15. Entrepreneurship

19. IMMIGRANTS ACCOUNT FOR HIGHER
PERCENTAGE OF HIGH-EXPORT COMPANIES
PERCENT OF TOTAL SALES
EXPORTED OUTSIDE OF THE
U.S
PERCENT OF FIRMS THAT
ARE OWNED BY IMMIGRANTS
NONE 12.7%
LESS THAN 1% 11.1%
1% TO 4% 14.7%
5% TO 9% 17.1%
10% TO 19% 20.2%
20% TO 49% 35.1%
50% TO 99% 50.5%
SOURCE: Partnership for a New American Economy Report, “Open for Business: How Immigrants are Driving Small Business
Creation in the US” (2012) - SPECIAL TABULATIONS FROM THE SURVEY OF BUSINESS OWNERS (2007)

21. Entrepreneurship

22. Homeownership and
Neighborhood Revitalization

23. Welcoming Economies
Global Network Actvities

24. 6 Annual
Convenings

25. “This newly formed relationship with
our peers enriched our experience,
and seeing firsthand the work and
impact affirmed our belief of the
importance of intentional
relationship building within
integration work.”
-Guadalupe A. Velasquez, City of Columbus
City-to-CityVisits

26. Publications

27. Publications

28. Robyn Webb Vin Ko Gracie Xavier
Webinars
Connector Programs

29. New Allies

30. Building Welcoming Economies:
The Growth of Inclusive Economic Development
The mission of the Welcoming Economies Global Network is to
strengthen the work, maximize the impact, and sustain efforts of
local economic and community development initiatives that
welcome, retain, and empower immigrant communities as valued
contributors to the region’s shared prosperity.

33. Find the Guide at welcomingamerica.org > learn > resources