ACCION USA and Samuel Adams Brew Excitement in Hartford, CT
The Samuel Adams Brewing the American Dream Program, a partnership between ACCION USA and Samuel Adams is brewing excitement in cities throughout New England. After hosting a number of speed coaching events in Boston and Providence, I was wondering how much interest an evening of speed coaching could drum up in the Hartford area. Let’s just say I was not left disappointed.
On Monday evening, ACCION USA and Samuel Adams staff traveled to Billings Forge Community Works, an organization making a splash in the Frog Hollow community through job training and education courses. Nearly 50 people with small food & beverage and hospitality businesses attended to rotate through 20-minute sessions with Samuel Adams experts in marketing & public relations, logo design, packaging, sales and distribution, along with local business development coaches, attorneys and accountants.
The room was hardly able to contain the energy, as entrepreneurs soaked up valuable tips from coaches and networked with one another. Clearly there is a demand for these kinds of opportunities in a city like Hartford, where small businesses are looking for ways in today’s economy to, as one participant put it in a recent article in the Hartford Courant , “get a better sense of how [to] take [the] business from point A to point B.” I was inspired to see the dedication and enthusiasm with which businesses like Southern Relishes (who participated in Monday night’s speed coaching) seek to further establish and grow their businesses, having a positive impact in their local communities.
How wonderful it is for ACCION USA and Samuel Adams Brewing the American Dream to provide a space that can help pave the way for entrepreneurial success.
ACCION USA Celebrates One Year on Kiva.org!
I’m not one for remembering dates; I’ll even admit that I confuse my mom and dad’s birthdays. So when June 10th was approaching, there weren’t any plans going on to celebrate the one-year anniversary for ACCION USA’s partnership with Kiva.org.
Without further ado, a blog post to commemorate the partnership!
On June 10, 2009 the first U.S. loan appeared on the Kiva website, Elizabeth Polanco. I did my best to be the first person to lend to a U.S. entrepreneur; Maria Shriver beat me to it though!
The weeks that followed ensued passionate conversation about the need for microfinance in the United States, compared to traditional Kiva partners in developing nations. A lending team on Kiva was created to support us, check out the Happy Kiva Lenders . There were also some interesting conversations going on in the blogosphere that have helped fuel more support and awareness for microfinance globally.
Since June 10, 2009, ACCION USA has raised almost $500,000 dollars to support 95 borrowers through Kiva.org. Each of these borrowers has had a chance to share their story of entrepreneurship with the lending community on Kiva. Their Kiva profiles help generate a narrative about the successes and challenges for entrepreneurs, and the need for access to small business loans.
U.S. microfinance has only reached the tip of the iceberg, so to speak. It is through partners like Kiva that we are inspired and become innovative to reach those in need. With our missions aligned, ACCION USA and Kiva will continue to grow and inspire interest in microfinance—together.
And now for the Thank You’s!
Dear Kiva lenders, we have been overwhelmed by your generosity and conviction to the mission of microfinance. Thank you for all of your support and kind words—we always look forward to hearing from you. We hope that you choose to continue supporting ACCION USA through Kiva.org.
To our clients, a sincere thank you for participating in the Kiva program—your stories are the reason that we come to work everyday!
Please take a look at our current loans fundraising on Kiva!
Tags: accion usa, kiva, kiva.org, maria shriver, microfinance, us microfinance
Microfinance Week in Review- Week ending June 25
Some of the week’s news in the microfinance, green business initiatives and the small business sector:
- How to Finance a Growing Business- Wall Street Journal
- Finding the Next Micro Opportunity-Wall Street Journal
- For Small Businesses the Big Decision is Hiring-Bloomberg Business Week
- ACCION USA announces SBA Microloan Program- Trading Markets
- In Microfinance a ‘dot-com’ boom?- Wall Street Journal
- Sam Adams Sends Experts to ‘Speed Coaching- Hartford Courant
Microfinance Week in Review- Week ending June 18
Some of the week’s news in the microfinance, green business initiatives and the small business sector:
- Microfinance Tied to Economy, Study Finds – Michigan State University News
- The Reality of a Sweet American Dream- Queens Courier
- Groupon Coupons: The Small Biz Challenge- Bloomberg Newsweek
- No Profits, No Loans: How to Survive- CNN Money
- Underbanked Strategies- The New Faces- American Banker
- Domestic Microfinance Steps into Credit Breach- Bloomberg Newsweek
Tags: accion usa georgia, client story, CNN, microfinance, small business, success story, U.S. microfinance
Music + Microfinance
I was intrigued when I first learned about Hope Sings, a new musical collaboration project that brings the uplifting stories of microentrepreneurs to life through original song. Unable to carry even the most basic tune, I’m always impressed by talented musicians. But knowing that people were writing songs about microfinance borrowers truly boggled my mind.
Marta Gómez, Colombian songstress
If you’re also curious about how Hope Sings is melding music and microfinance, check out the project’s June 23rd concert, presented by Marta Gómez, the acclaimed Colombian singer/songwriter that was deemed the “essence of Latin cool” by Billboard magazine. You’ll learn a new song or two, and help raise funds for ACCION USA’s international counterpart, ACCION International.
Who knew microfinance could be so cool?
Hope Sings
Wednesday, June 23, 2010, 7-10 p.m.
1359 1st Avenue (at 73rd Street)
$20 in advance, $25 cash at the door
Space is limited, reserve at http://hopesings.net/in-the-news
Boston Beer Company Receives Founders Award for Corporate Philanthropy
Congratulations to The Boston Beer Company for receiving this years’ Founders Award at the 10th Annual Excellence Awards in Corporate Philanthropy for their Samuel Adams Brewing the American Dream Loan Fund in partnership with ACCION USA. (See video)
For those who aren’t familiar with our work together, ACCION USA and the Boston Beer Company have been working for the last two years to provide New England small business owners in the food and beverage industry with the resources necessary to grow independently.
The Boston Beer Company has worked creatively to give food and beverage entrepreneurs the tools to succeed by regularly hosting free speed coaching events, where small businesses can receive one-on-one lessons from experts on finance, legal advice, marketing, sales and distribution, and more. Since the launch of these “speed coaching” sessions in 2008, they have evolved into tremendously popular networking and business support events.
Jim Koch, along with ACCION USA president and CEO Gina Harman, received the award on behalf of Boston Beer The CEO of General Mill Ken Powell and CEO of Intel Paul Otellini also received awards for their leadership in corporate giving. (See all awardees)
You can learn more about the Samuel Adams Brewing the American Dream Loan fund on our Website.
Microfinance? There’s an App for That.
Before you check out, "check in" with CauseWorld to earn karmas for ACCION USA.
Calling all iPhone and Android users! Thanks to the generosity of Citi, ACCION USA is now one of just 28 featured charities on the CauseWorld smartphone application. In a twist on the location-based social networking craze (think foursquare), CauseWorld’s over 300,000 users collect karmas by using their phones to “check-in” at retail stores, or to scan the bar codes of common retail products. Users then donate to the cause of their choice these karmas, which become (you guessed it) cold hard cash for their favorite charity.
Just think, you can enable a microloan to a hardworking microentrepreneur right here in the U.S. with every trip down the supermarket aisle. (Go for the Crest Whitestrips. Biggest karma for your buck.) All you need to get started is the free app, which is available for download at CauseWorld.com.
You can read more about CauseWorld on the New York Times’ “Bits” technology blog, The Wall Street Journal, and a bunch of other places. Thanks again to Citi and CauseWorld for supporting ACCION USA and U.S. microentrepreneurs.
The Issue of the 21st Century
“If you don’t know better, you cannot do better.”
On Monday, businessman, author, and social entrepreneur John Hope Bryant used this statement to support a Huffington Post op-ed in which he boldly asserts that financial literacy is not simply a goal for which all must strive, but is moreover, a universal right of every human being. Bryant notes that the struggle for civil rights characterized the 20th century; and he believes the challenge of achieving universal financial literacy will characterize the 21st.
But is financial literacy a “right,” equivalent to civil rights? I personally have to say no. We must use caution in characterizing anything as unequivocally endowed upon birth. What I do believe, though, is in the importance of education. I will always be an advocate for knowledge and believe in its power to generate progress, growth, and development – on both the micro and macro levels.
A year and a half ago, this core belief in education was the foundation for my support of financial literacy efforts. That was prior to the economic wake-up call of 2008 and prior to my time with ACCION USA. Now, my support is grounded in my everyday work, where I continually see the detriments of financial illiteracy.
My colleagues have spent hours working with clients to dispute credit report errors, resolve stolen identities, and create payment plans for collections accounts. After months of work, many of these individuals continue their struggles in resolving these issues.
Furthermore, payday loans, high-fee credit cards, check cashers, and other predatory services populate the financial world in which many of ACCION USA’s clients exist. For many, this is reality – and the only one they have ever known. And with the FDIC’s recent white paper reporting that 25% of the U.S. population lacks a relationship with a financial institution, financial illiteracy is quickly becoming an issue that permeates socio-economic borders.
Whether mismanagement, misunderstanding, or mistrust lie at the root of these situations, they all share a common solution and, more importantly, prevention: financial literacy.
It is our hope that ACCION USA’s financial education program may meaningfully address the growing issue of financial illiteracy. With each workshop, each counseling session, each webinar, and each article, we are helping people “know better”…and with that, as Bryant says, we can empower them to “do better.”
If financial literacy empowerment is the issue of the 21st century, ACCION USA certainly has a hand in the game.
Tags: accion usa, financial literacy, huffington post, illiteracy, john hope bryant, predatory lenders, right
It’s Not Easy Being Green…or Is It?
We hear it time and again; going green makes business sense. Signs everywhere point toward more environmentally-conscious consumers, employees and investors, coupled with basic cost-savings opportunities and amazing incentives for investments in energy and water efficiency measures.
It’s no wonder then, that at ACCION USA we found ourselves listening intently when focus group participants communicated a sense of confusion on the definition of a green business, and a belief that going green meant spending a lot of money. We felt the need to lead the way for our clients by bringing in experts as part of a Green Speaker Series that began shortly after the launch of our green loan program, and would serve to demystify some of the terms and myths around green business.
We’re at the half-way point in our green business speaker series. Participants have hailed from all over the United States but have also signed in from the UK, Denmark, Italy, Portugal, Vietnam and New Zealand! Here’s where our series has led us and our 72 small business owner participants:
- Green; it’s not the word. It’s the Why. Guest presenter Deborah Guyer Greene, co-founder of epOxyGreen Eco Design Center in Venice, CA and green consultant laid the framework for branding your business as green in the marketplace. Participants understood that green ‘is not a Band Aid and the market will notice if you are using green that way’. Sincerity is key!
- Saving Energy and Water Can mean Tangible Cost Savings. Chris Moyer of the National Restaurant Association’s Conserve program provided 10 ways to increase a small business’ profit by decreasing energy and water usage.
- The Time is Now. Leading Energy Auditor Rise Engineering walked participants through the energy assessment process and highlighted how much small businesses can save by taking steps to becoming energy efficient today.
- Be personal and transparent in your green marketing. Kiwano Marketing highlighted 8 Green Marketing Tips and 4 Green Marketing Mistakes during a lively exchange of ideas on social media marketing and crafting a green message. Check out Kiwano’s blog post for additional take-aways.
Have you taken a moment to see what’s up next in our green business speaker series? Check out www.accionusa.org/workshops to see descriptions of our webinar on June 8th, All About Green Business Certifications and ‘Sustainability and Leadership’ on June 22nd.
In David vs. Goliath, Microfinance the Slingshot
Bloomberg Businessweek has a terrific article this week about microlenders stepping in to fill the credit gap created by decreased lending to small businesses among mainstream lenders. The piece focuses on ACCION USA and Opportunity Fund, as two of the larger U.S. microlenders. 
The article pulls in great stats from the Aspen Institute, which tracked increases in U.S. microloan applications at 66% of lenders over the past two years, as well as an aggregate $68.6 million lent in 2008. (In the Tooting-our-Own-Horn Department: U.S. ACCION affiliates lent a combined $31.4 million in 2008 – or 46% of the industry total reported by the Aspen Institute.)
Growing along with demand are interest in and support for the industry. Over 700 individuals (including California First Lady Maria Shriver) attended the first national microfinance conference last month, and donations from private individuals are up.
All of this is helping to unlock the potential of the field; and more importantly, that of the small businesses it aids.
As William Ortiz-Cartagena, microfinance borrower and owner of a San Francisco parking company, put it, “It’s like David and Goliath, and Opportunity Fund is my slingshot.”
Read the full article at Businessweek.com.