Nonprofit Wants to Create 130K Jobs for People With Disabilities

A new effort with the backing of some major names in the advertising industry is launching with an ambitious goal: create 130,000 jobs for people with developmental disabilities by 2020.

Leaders of several New York advertising agencies are coming together to form the nonprofit Creative Spirit, which will work to grow employment opportunities for those with intellectual and developmental disabilities at advertising, media, marketing and technology firms across the country.

The group is looking to make a dent in what they say is an estimated eight million Americans with intellectual and developmental disabilities who lack integrated employment.

“This is a global crisis and likely the most profound human rights employment issue of our time, yet it goes unsolved,” said Laurel Rossi, co-founder and CEO of Creative Spirit and chief marketing officer at the marketing agency Rauxa. “We believe that if the private sector comes together with its collective voice—and with the use of technology—that we can solve this problem at scale.”