WASHINGTON, Dec. 9, 2025 /PRNewswire/ — The Association of Women’s Business Centers (AWBC) today reports the significant nationwide impact of its partnership with Verizon, which has strengthened digital readiness, entrepreneurship training, and access to economic opportunity for more than 30,000 small business owners since its launch. Over the past several years, the collaboration has delivered vital technology tools, grant funding, and educational resources that fuel business growth in rural, urban, and underserved communities.
In 2025 alone, more than 8,435 business owners registered for Verizon Digital Ready, nearly 2,000 veterans engaged in programming, and over 2,200 course completions helped founders strengthen their operations and digital capabilities. An additional 1,447 entrepreneurs registered for Verizon Skill Forward, with hundreds completing workforce-aligned training that enhances their competitiveness in today’s economy.
As a presenting sponsor at the 2025 AWBC Leadership Conference in Washington, D.C., Verizon connected directly with small business owners and resource partners. Attendees heard firsthand from subgrant recipients about the real impact of Verizon’s support, and inspiring mainstage testimonials drove record-level interest and engagement in Verizon Digital Ready and Skill Forward throughout the network.
Verizon’s programs are fully integrated throughout the AWBC network, appearing across onboarding processes, capital readiness support, business plan development, and both live and virtual events. Verizon Digital Ready and Skill Forward are also consistently promoted through AWBC’s HOPE2Women Funding Center, VeteranStartup.org, Biz2Grow, and the TikTok Shop Veteran SOAR Business Accelerators, ensuring that entrepreneurs can easily access training, tools, and pathways to growth regardless of their location or business stage.
The partnership continues to generate meaningful success stories, including recent grant recipient Amy Brooks Hoffmann of Fleur de Lis Organized Solutions, who discovered Verizon Small Business Digital Ready through the Women’s Business Center of Kentucky and was awarded a $10,000 grant. “I found the courses offered on the Verizon Digital Ready site to be helpful in focusing my marketing messaging – having a clear understanding of who our clients are and how to communicate with them is the first step in reaching them,” said Hoffmann. Her favorite course, Defining Your Brand: Connecting to Customers, played a key role in refining her market strategy and strengthening her outreach efforts.
Through Verizon-funded subgrants, AWBC has also expanded support for Women’s Business Centers (WBCs) and Veteran Business Outreach Centers (VBOCs) nationwide. To date, the partnership has provided $1.53 million across 100 subgrants, including $545,000 awarded in 2025 to 26 organizations, allowing centers to reach entrepreneurs in rural areas, veteran communities, and regions with limited access to specialized digital resources. Participating resource partners include centers in Kentucky, Wisconsin, California, Ohio, Pennsylvania, South Dakota, Texas, Colorado, Nevada, and additional regions across the U.S., ensuring broad national reach supported by deep local programming.
“Five years into our partnership with Verizon, we are grateful for how this collaboration has strengthened our entire network and organization,” said Corinne Goble, CEO of AWBC. “Our shared commitment has ensured that entrepreneurs—whether in rural communities, veteran households, or rapidly growing urban centers—have the digital tools, training, and support they need to build strong, sustainable businesses.”
As AWBC and Verizon complete their fifth year of collaboration, the partnership remains focused on expanding access to digital readiness, strengthening entrepreneurial resilience, and supporting small business owners nationwide as they navigate an increasingly complex digital landscape.
Small business owners can access Verizon’s free programs at Verizon Digital Ready and Skill Forward.
About AWBC
The Association of Women’s Business Centers (AWBC) is the leading national voice and resource for igniting the economic power of women’s entrepreneurship. AWBC advocates for and supports a network of over 150 Women’s Business Centers (WBCs) across the United States. These centers provide entrepreneurs with free coaching, networking opportunities, small business resources, training, and more. AWBC’s mission is to ensure that small business owners have the tools and support they need to succeed in business and contribute to the broader economy.
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SOURCE Association of Women’s Business Centers (AWBC)
