One Spark's goal is to eliminate obstacles to financial sustainability for women facing violence. We believe that increasing opportunities for women to achieve financial security is a critical component of supporting the transition to a violence free life. We also believe that eliminating violence against women on a systemic level involves addressing the financial and economic barriers that women face. Our services are designed to provide options and opportunities that women can access without being deterred by financial or resource barriers. Specifically, we will:

• Work with women experiencing violence to create a simple business plan that outlines how they might generate income by working for themselves, with the goal of contributing to a financial safety plan.

• Facilitate the process of registering a woman's business, including covering the cost of registration.

• Provide women with a laptop computer and the basic software required to engage in business-related activities.

• Provide women with information related to legal compliance and government remittances

• Provide training on tracking business income and expenses.

• Provide up to $2,000 in start-up cost subsidies per woman, which can be accessed for up to 2 years after her business is registered. 

• Facilitate crowdfunding campaigns for women who wish to raise additional start-up funds.

• Provide ongoing mentorship for women entrepreneurs that participate in the program.

The program's focus is on the elimination of barriers: once a woman has a registered business and the basic resources to conduct business, she can access self-employment opportunities as needed/wanted without being deterred by the process and cost of registration, computer resources, or basic start-up costs. If a woman chooses employment or other financial options after participating in the program, she has gained computer resources and/or additional training to assist with seeking employment, and - as a registered business owner - self-employment is now an ongoing option that she can access easily and immediately.