Franklinton social enterprise adds wraparound services for workers in Columbus Urban League partnership

A single dad recently brought his daughter to work when her in-home daycare was unexpectedly closed.

The 11-year-old kept herself occupied while he handled customer support calls in the “kiddie coworking space” that Fortuity Calling LLC created for just such an emergency.

“It literally cost us nothing to enable him to come to work that day … and not have to make the decision whether you leave an 11-year-old home alone or call off of work,” Fortuity co-founder and CEO Fred Brothers told Columbus Business First.

“You see a parent sitting there earning money, and the kid is safe, it’s pretty darn cool.”

The Franklinton social enterprise creates a path to leave poverty wages for higher-paying customer support careers, and provides extra support to overcome outside barriers to employment.

Childcare interruptions was one of the hurdles Fortuity was trying to address, when a partnership with the Columbus Urban League brought the problem more in focus, co-founder Katie Robinson said.

A one-year $50,000 grant starting in May from the foundation of Huntington National Bank pays for Urban League services including training for Fortuity management and employees.

Staff size fluctuates seasonally, hitting about 115 at peak times. Less than 5% attended college.

We’ve never had a hard time teaching them the work,” Brothers said. “It’s all about these outside factors they struggle to balance.”

The business model has always included wraparound services – Fortuity pays for two mental health counseling sessions per month, for example.

Urban League is augmenting that support with culturally competent services that build trust with employees, Robinson said.

“They had the right business model – a phenomenal business model,” said Jeaneen Hooks, the league’s vice president of programs. “They were still at times at a loss: The things we put in place are not working and we don’t understand why.”

After surveying Fortuity workers, Urban League identified top needs as emergency transportation and childcare, and access to medical care.