MicroLenders Forum Recap
Grant Opportunity: Work for Yourself@50+
Renew Your Membership or Join CAMEO before February 15 (extended deadline) to be included in CAMEO’s Member Directory.
The Goodies – This week’s highlight is the SBA’s Aspire Challenge, a $1.2 million prize competition that will award up to 16 awards of $75,000 to organizations who can deliver entrepreneurial training to individuals who have been formerly incarcerated. The application deadline is February 12, 2017.
MicroLenders Forum Recap
Last week, 57 members and bank partners attended our
9th MicroLender’s Forum Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco. A big thank you to John Moon and his staff at the Fed for hosting us (that’s their lobby in the photo). Attendees at this year’s Forum were engaged and excited about the new developments taking place in our rapidly changing sector.
Technology increases efficiency, saves money, and increases volume. It is now a given for any serious microlender; and the choices are expanding. Susan Brown, CAMEO’s microlending expert, kicked off a great panel for our ongoing discussion on why and how to automate. We discussed what CAMEO can do to help members grow. Many showed interest in the Spark platform presented by Nick Elders. Other ideas included: figure out how to solve the access to capital gap for the medical marijuana industry; advocate for the return of the COIN program; develop benchmarks that support business start-ups; and make sure that the proposed OCC charter for Fin Tech has strong CRA and inclusionary requirements. Then in the afternoon, Tammy Halevy from AEO, presented the opportunity of Project CUE, a platform solution closing the bank referral loop. This is a challenge we’ve talked about at past MicroLenders Forums and it was good to see that several members indicated interest in participating with AEO.
Read a recap for more details, read the
2017 MicroLenders Forum Recap.
And of course we topped it off with happy hour networking at One Market. Thanks to everyone who came and made this year’s event the best yet!
Grant Opportunity: Work for Yourself@50+
AARP Foundation presents Work for Yourself@50+, a new initiative designed to help low- and moderate-income older adults explore opportunities to work for themselves and take the first steps toward successful self-employment. This initiative includes the “Five Simple Steps to Get You Started” toolkit, workshop, and interactive website.
Eligible organizations can apply to host the workshop component. AARP Foundation is extending a special invitation to member organizations and contacts of the Association for Enterprise Opportunity to apply for the Work for Yourself@50+ initiative. Please use the
AEO Request for Applications link to find details regarding grantee expectations, support, timeline and eligibility.
AARP Foundation and AEO will host
a technical assistance webinar for this grant opportunity on
February 10, 2017 from 12:00noon – 1:00pm PT // 3:00 – 4:30pm ET.
The Goodies
New opportunities for training, conference information, funding, scholarships, and other information that have crossed our desks since the last
Must Know. I have posted a running tab of current
Industry Goodies on the CAMEO website that lists items that were in past emails. Check it out to make sure you’re not missing anything, like grants whose deadlines are still alive!
Policy Clarification: We’ve heard concern from members regarding the nomination of Steve Mnuchin for U.S. Secretary of the Treasury. CAMEO is not supporting his confirmation. However, Claudia may have the opportunity to meet with him and propose important policies at the end of February when she goes to Washington.
CAMEO in the News: “
Entrepreneurs thrash out future of flexible work” as published in the
San Francisco Chronicle.
On the CAMEO Blog: Read the recap of Self-Employed Entrepreneurs:
The New Era Workforce. We also re-posted an article the recaps the House Small Business Committee’s hearing on
Reimagining Health Care by Ann Sullivan for WIPP.
Member Kudos: Congrats to EDFC who received $500,000 of loan funds from USDA Rural Development for small and micro business loans in Mendocino and Lake Counties.
Take Action: The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) was created to protect our economy. And they have. The rules have kept the predators from rigging the system against small business and consumers. Congress aims to strip the CFPB of its power and undo many of the rules it is enforcing. ASBC and the Interfaith Center on Corporate Responsibility (ICCR) have joined to
petition Congress that a stable marketplace depends on the CFPB doing its job. Please join them.
For Your Clients: RJH is casting a wonderful series of commercials for USAA and is looking for real USAA members, and their families, to be in the commercials. They will be paid. Must be: Former Military, any branch, any rank. Male or female. Must have had interaction or insurance claims with USAA. Specifically looking for unique stories of your interaction with USAA as a family. Send the following information to
usaacastingfamilies@gmail.com: Name/Age/Military Branch/Rank; Contact Info (phone, email); Current City/State; Which USAA products do you have? (Auto insurance is Required); Family members in your household (list ages); Other Family members who also have USAA Auto Insurance (other generations, siblings etc. List who they are /relationship and where they live); Recent photos/videos of you, your family and/or photos of your military career. Skype interviews are in February and March.
Entrepreneur Tracker: Join the seven CAMEO members who are using FIELD’s Entrepreneur Tracker. The tool offers a credible, affordable way to collect and understand outcomes achieved by small business and microbusiness clients. Such outcomes include: Business start and survival rates, jobs, changes in revenue, hourly wages paid to workers, and client movement out of poverty. To discuss pricing and learn more about EntrepreneurTracker, please contact
Lavanya Mohan.
Funding Opportunity: The SBA’s Aspire Challenge is a $1.2 million prize competition that will award up to 16 awards of $75,000 to organizations across the nation who can deliver entrepreneurial training to individuals who have been formerly incarcerated. The application deadline is
February 12, 2017 with winners be announced no later than March 14.
Free Webinar: Credit Bureau Alliance will share the results of a new survey of CBA’s Reporter members about the benefits of reporting client loan data to the three major credit bureaus.
Register for the webinar on
February 16, 2017 at 11:00am PST // 2:00pm EST. This webinar is open to the public. Feel free to share this invitation.
Organizational Development: Join CAMEO member Catherine Marshall for a one-day workshop – One Page Business Plan for Non-profit Organizations Workshop on
February 22, 2017 in Sacramento. Spend an afternoon to clarify your leadership plan and guide your mission’s work.
CDFI Conference: The
CDFI Coalition will hold its 2017 Institute on
February 28 and March 1 at the Capital Hilton Hotel, 1001 16th Street NW, Washington, D.C. The agenda will include speakers and topics of interest and importance to the CDFI Industry. Panelists will include federal agency leaders and industry experts with topics ranging from the 115th Congress and Trump Administration priorities, to the CDFI Fund and other federal resources, as well as private sector sources of capital for CDFIs.
For Your Clients: Join a global community of impactful entrepreneurs with
Stanford Ignite, a transformative program where innovators with military backgrounds learn core business skills such as prototyping, marketing, accounting, leadership and much more. Applications are due
March 2, 2017.
For Your Clients: The U.S. SBA opened the third year of the InnovateHER: Innovating for Women Challenge (the Challenge), pursuant to the America Competes Act, for entrepreneurs to create a product or service that has a measurable impact on the lives of women and families, the potential for commercialization, and fills a need in the marketplace. Organizations that
wish to host a local competition as part of the initial round of this Challenge must
send a request to the SBA no later than
March 10, 2017. (Click on first link in sentence and scroll half way down the page.)
Advocacy Day: This year, OFN’s Advocacy Day will take place on
May 16–17, 2017. During Advocacy Day, your voice is needed to make the case to members of Congress and Administration officials about the
importance of funding for the CDFI Fund, the industry, and our communities.
Funding Opportunity: OFN announced their
NEXT Fund for Innovation, a pilot that will provide flexible capital in amounts ranging from $500,000 to $2 million to CDFIs with innovative ideas. Applications are accepted on a rolling basis now through
June 30, 2017. The fund is open to all qualifying CDFIs, including non-OFN Members and past NEXT Awards recipients.
Funding Opportunity: Opportunity Fund recently launched its
Community Partner Program. The program can supplement the missions and programs of other non-profits by serving as a microloan program for those who do not have one and complementing the services of those who do. Partners receive several benefits, including an in-depth look at the credit and underwriting criteria and a 5% commission on every qualified referral booked for loans between $5,000 and $50,000. If you have questions or are interested, please contact
Robert Zapata by email or phone 323.506.3529.
microTracker Relaunches: FIELD at the Aspen Institute is thrilled to announce the new
microTracker.org, their nationwide database on US microenterprise development organizations. MicroTracker gives you the ability to explore, analyze, and compare data on microenterprise programs across the country. The new site is updated to give flexibility, better navigation, and more ability for downloading analysis.]]>
Last week, 57 members and bank partners attended our 9th MicroLender’s Forum Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco. A big thank you to John Moon and his staff at the Fed for hosting us (that’s their lobby in the photo). Attendees at this year’s Forum were engaged and excited about the new developments taking place in our rapidly changing sector.
Technology increases efficiency, saves money, and increases volume. It is now a given for any serious microlender; and the choices are expanding. Susan Brown, CAMEO’s microlending expert, kicked off a great panel for our ongoing discussion on why and how to automate. We discussed what CAMEO can do to help members grow. Many showed interest in the Spark platform presented by Nick Elders. Other ideas included: figure out how to solve the access to capital gap for the medical marijuana industry; advocate for the return of the COIN program; develop benchmarks that support business start-ups; and make sure that the proposed OCC charter for Fin Tech has strong CRA and inclusionary requirements. Then in the afternoon, Tammy Halevy from AEO, presented the opportunity of Project CUE, a platform solution closing the bank referral loop. This is a challenge we’ve talked about at past MicroLenders Forums and it was good to see that several members indicated interest in participating with AEO.
Read a recap for more details, read the 2017 MicroLenders Forum Recap.
And of course we topped it off with happy hour networking at One Market. Thanks to everyone who came and made this year’s event the best yet!