Inroads

Services and Programs

Inroads seeks to alleviate economic disparities between whites and racial minorities by providing college students with employment skills and a corporate or government internship and a financial services program. ^{2 4}

Internship Program

Inroads works to place minority students in paid multi-year summer internships where they will learn networking and other skills, as well as access other career development resources. In 2021, more than 6,000 candidates were accepted into the program, of which 907 received internships at 134 companies and federal government agencies. ²

Financial Services Institute Program

Inroads run a specialty spring program for Black college sophomores who are interested in pursuing a career in financial services. The program runs for 10 weeks, and students are entered into the internship applicant pool. From 2019 through 2021, 75 percent of participants secured an internship, the vast majority with financial service companies. ⁴

Program Impact

In 2019 Inroads hosted a study that explored the roots of the economic inequality of racial minorities compared to whites, and to examine how the Inroads internship program has affected the economic status of previous participants. The study attributes economic disparity to systemic discrimination and economic exclusion that is the result of policies such as “redlining.” However, the study also notes that barriers to economic progress are hindered by a lack of intergenerational wealth that results in even minorities with secondary education taking on more education debt and lacking in network connections that provide opportunity and mentorship. ⁵

The study found that alumni of Inroads programs had much higher levels of wealth than other minorities, with 76 percent owning their own home, in contrast to 41 percent of black families and 45.6 percent of Hispanic families. More than 40 percent of alumni had a net worth between $500,000 and $5 million, in contrast to 8 percent of non-white families and 18 percent of all households. ⁵

Finances

In the fiscal year that ended on August 31, 2019, Inroads had $6,713,699 in net revenue, of which $6,797,945 was derived from contributions and grants. The organization had $6,695,406 in net expenses, of which $4,391,010 was allocated towards salaries and compensation. Inroads ended the year with $155,744 in net assets and had reduced total liabilities from $7,793,708 at the beginning of the fiscal year, to $1,797,190 at the end. ⁶

Leadership

Frank Carr founded Inroads in 1970 after leaving his regional manager position at the publishing firm Harcourt Brace Jovanovich. The first class had 25 students and 17 corporate sponsors. He later retired and attended seminary and was ordained as a Catholic priest in 1986. He passed away in 1996. ⁷

Forest T. Harper is the president and CEO of Inroads. He worked at Pfizer for 28 years, eventually holding vice-president positions. He was a captain in the 82nd Airborne Infantry. ⁸

Harper has made contributions to a variety of left-of-center campaigns and PACs, including ActBlue and the 2008 presidential campaign of Barack Obama. He has also made contributions to the Pfizer Inc. PAC. ⁹

Inroads has a large board of directors, and many of its members are employed by large corporations that partner with the organization. This includes executives from Cetera Financial Group, Price Waterhouse Coopers, PNC Bank, Proctor and Gamble, Microsoft, and Lockheed Martin. ¹⁰