The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48:

Furtherance \Fur"ther*ance\, n.
   The act of furthering or helping forward; promotion;
   advancement; progress.
   [1913 Webster]

         I know that I shall abide and continue with you all for
         your
         furthersnce and joy of faith.            --Phil. i. 25.
   [1913 Webster]

         Built of furtherance and pursuing, Not of spent deeds,
         but of doing.                            --Emerson.
   [1913 Webster]

WordNet (r) 3.0 (2006):

furtherance
    n 1: encouragement of the progress or growth or acceptance of
         something [syn: promotion, furtherance, advancement]
    2: the advancement of some enterprise; "his experience in
       marketing resulted in the forwarding of his career" [syn:
       forwarding, furtherance, promotion]

Moby Thesaurus II by Grady Ward, 1.0:

94 Moby Thesaurus words for "furtherance":
   Great Leap Forward, accomplishment, advance, advancement,
   advancing, advocacy, advocating, aid, amelioration, amendment,
   amplification, ascent, assistance, backing, bettering, betterment,
   blossoming, boost, boosting, career, championing, championship,
   course, development, developmental change, elaboration,
   enhancement, enlargement, enrichment, eugenics, euthenics,
   evolution, evolutionary change, evolvement, evolving, expansion,
   expediting, expedition, explication, facilitation, flowering,
   forward motion, forwardal, forwarding, fostering, furthering,
   go-ahead, gradual change, growth, headway, help, helping along,
   improvement, lift, march, maturation, melioration, mend, mending,
   natural development, natural growth, nonviolent change, ongoing,
   onward course, passage, patronage, pickup, preferential treatment,
   preferment, progress, progression, progressiveness, promotion,
   pursuit, recovery, restoration, revival, ripening, rise, rolling,
   rolling on, rushing, special treatment, speeding, succor, support,
   travel, upbeat, uplift, upping, upswing, uptrend, upward mobility,
   way