Remembering September 11th
Successful today, Luis Zapeda was one of thousands of small business owners to be impacted on September 11, 2001.
I wasn’t yet living in New York City or working for ACCION USA (then called ACCION New York) on September 11, 2001. So in preparation for this post, I had intended to search our archive of files to find facts that detailed ACCION USA’s American Dream Fund, money set aside to lend to businesses that were lost, harmed, or impacted in any way by the attacks. I had Luis Zapeda, an ACCION USA borrower, on my mind. He was at Ground Zero on 9/11 and narrowly escaped the falling towers. However, his truck (and only source of employment) did not.
I found the following excerpt to be compelling; a wide-angle snapshot of the thoughts of thousands on that day eight years ago:
On September 12, the entire staff of ACCION New York sat in a circle in our office in Williamsburg and faced the disaster (and each other). Like all New Yorkers, we were in a state of shock. We saw our city as a target for the first time; ourselves as potential victims. As individuals, we were powerless, only able to watch the towers falling again and again on our television screens. But in that circle, we were also members of ACCION. Our desperate concern for our city could be channeled through ACCION’s resources…
In the end, ACCION USA’s American Dream Fund supported over 300 small business owners in crisis; our staff experienced first hand the devastating effects that the economic aftershocks had throughout the region. Eight years later, I’m honored to be part of the organization that played a critical role in New York’s recovery—and to live here, in the city that proved to be so resilient.
Tags: 9/11, american dream fund, luis zapeda, september 11
Microfinance Week In Review: September 11, 2009
What went on in the world of U.S. microfinance and microbusiness, week ending September 11, 2009
- ACCION Names Michael Schlein as New President and CEO
- Rainy Day Blues (Microcredit vs. Microinsurance) (Time.com)
- Charity, Not Handouts: Kiva Helps the Needy Help Themselves (Examiner.com)
- Debunking Myths About the Poor and Financial Services (Wall Street Journal)
- Love a Local Businses? Buy a Share (CNNmoney.com)
- Microlender [Grameen America] Visiting With Charlotte Brass Today (Charlotte Business Journal)
How Anna Wintour Is Saving NYC Microbusinesses
Vogue's Anna Wintour sets out to save fashion, and helps boost consumer spending and microbusinesses along the way.
Our country’s microbusinesses haven’t been the only thing threatened by the lingering recession. According to Anna Wintour, editor of American Vogue, the future of fashion is in jeopardy, too. Tonight, she sets out to save the latter with “Fashion’s Night Out” – an effort to “enliven again the consumer spirit that churns the economy and boosts the local industry of America’s fashion capital, New York City.”
So, hats off to you, Anna—but only if they’re in style this season.
Is ACCION USA in the Era of Web 3.0?
Staff member Erika Eurkus assists an ACCION USA client in building a website for free using Yola.com
I first heard the term Web 3.0 last week at the SOCAP conference in San Francisco. To be honest, I am still trying to understand Web 2.0, but leave it to the technologically savvy San Franciscans to bring me up to speed on online social innovations.
If you’ve joined ACCION USA’s Facebook Page or if you have lent money via our Kiva.org lending team, then you have entered the age of Web 2.0. Web 3.0 is stepping from that online social space back into the offline community. This definition is still up for debate, but using the context of online-to-offline social good I will make an attempt to draw ACCION USA’s path to Web 3.0.
ACCION USA has been working offline in communities throughout the U.S. since 1991. I recently observed one of our New York-based loan consultants as she worked late every day for an entire week, doing everything she could to help her client get the capital he needed for his business. Next, by directing her client to Yola.com to build a website for free, she helped to bring her offline work with this client into the online space.
ACCION USA has recently partnered with Yola.com, which deserves a big round of applause for the great service that it is providing to our clients. The partnership offers clients that create websites through Yola.com the chance to be featured on the Yola.com website — a great marketing opportunity! ACCION USA’s longtime goal of helping our clients create a web presence is now becoming a reality. Yola.com provides a simple drag-and-drop application that makes it easy for anyone to build a website. And in our New York office, Yola.com has sponsored a workstation where volunteers can provide one-on-one assistance to help a microentrepreneur build a website for free! Could this be Web 3.0?
So as you engage in Web 2.0 by reading this blog and commenting on it, consider volunteering with ACCION USA. Empower a business owner by helping them create a website through Yola.com. You could even help them start their own blog! This is my take on Web 3.0 and ACCION USA’s role in it. What are some ways that you’re engaging in Web 3.0?
Tags: accion usa, us microfinance, web 3.0, yola.com
I Know It’s Not Polite, But …
ACCION USA client Focaccia Rustica served up delicious coffee and sandwiches to bed racers.
Generally speaking, it’s never polite to give “the finger,” but that’s just what local Miami merchants are doing (figuratively, of course), and they’re aiming it at the recession. And, well, maybe it’s OK this one time.
With “stimulus package” specials and an irreverent Great Grove Bed Race festival (see link for hysterical photos of participants) –revived after a six-year hiatus — things were happening in Coconut Grove all Labor Day weekend. Thank god for these small businesses that make us laugh and forget about the grind and troubling news of the week.
ACCION USA client, Focaccia Rustica, was right on the race’s path (did I mention they have outstanding coffee and sandwiches?) and they were working hard to make the most of the thousands that turned out on Sunday.
And that’s what you see all over the Grove, local merchants that are getting creative, showing their grit, and having fun even during these brutal economic times. So, do me a favor, visit your local businesses and keep this grit (and fun) going.
Tags: client story, coconut grove, focaccia rustica, labor day, miami
Microfinance Week in Review: September 4, 2009
What went on in the world of microfinance & microbusiness, week ending September 4, 2009
Microcredit – When Tiny Loans Make a Big Difference (American Express)
American Express OPEN Small Business Website highlights developments in U.S. microfinance
Small Business Loans in Arrears Decline (Reuters)
Delinquencies among mainstream small business loans fell in July—showing signs of hope for the microbusiness community.
Next Step for Microfinance: Taking Deposits (Time.com)
While internationally-focused, Time.com explores the importance of savings products in a comprehensive microfinance strategy.
Takin’ it to the Web: Online Microbusinesses Thrive in Recession
Dan and his self-designed greeting cards
Dan is certainly no stranger to the internet’s powerful reach—his social media savvy shows, even though he claims to be a novice. His greeting card company, iZon, was started at his dining room table, and has expanded beyond his wildest expectations. Now he is planning to bring his business into the internet age with a new website and marketing campaign.
Internet-based businesses in ACCION USA’s portfolio have been performing extremely well lately, largely because they have low overhead. Freed from the obligation of rent, they have fewer financial burdens to manage in the event that sales take a turn for the worse due to the recession. Joshua, for example, runs his vintage clothing business solely on the internet. Instead of investing capital in rent for a storefront, he sells his handpicked items online.
The economy may or may not be on the path to recovery, but it’s clear that jobs will keep dropping for a while longer. This means that more and more budding entrepreneurs are seeing the recession as an opportunity to go into business for themselves. While ACCION USA provides vital financial services to this population of entrepreneurs, the internet provides a low-cost marketplace for their ideas.
Though online businesses may not be the first thought that comes to mind when thinking of the typical microfinance borrower, I know I’m definitely curious to see if the internet becomes a more common marketplace for microbusinesses over the next few years. Business presence on the web may also become a metric for social impact as we work with our entrepreneurs to develop cost-saving solutions to doing business.