Extra, extra: CAMEO and members are featured in a blog post about why the federal government should support micro.
In this week’s Must Know
- Annual Survey Deadline
- Free Rent for Businesses – Webinar Online
- The Goodies: information on important opportunities like trainings, funding, scholarship programs.
Annual Survey Deadline
We need you to fill out the annual survey if you haven’t done so. Two weeks remain until we close out our survey on August 31, 2012.
CAMEO members who completed their annual surveys on microTracker by July 31, 2012 received a free lunch on CAMEO. Here is the team from Opening Doors having fun while making a difference (see pic left)! – check more out on Facebook.
Six reasons to fill out the microTracker survey:
- Resources for Members – CAMEO uses this information to advocate for state and federal policies that increase resources to the Micro field;
- Efficiency – you will only have to fill out one survey;
- Data Quality – more consistent data quality across organizations and nationally;
- Data Back up and Accessibility – microTracker will house the data in the cloud;
- Industry Standard – funders increasingly are looking to microTracker for information (think Guidestar for the industry);
- Impact – to demonstrate the significant role Micro plays in local and statewide economies.
Free Rent for Businesses – Webinar Online
If you didn’t attend yesterday’s webinar on KIMCO’s new program for entrepreneurs and you work with entrepreneurs (that should be all of you/us but especially business trainers, loan packagers, and loan officers), then you missed learning about a great opportunity for your clients.
Lucky for you we’ve posted it on our website. KIMCO Realty’s KIMCO Entrepreneurs Year Start (KEYS) Program is an incubator program for entrepreneurs that offers one year of free rent and business counseling. The webinar is a half hour and includes:
- the benefits of program;
- who qualifies;
- how to qualify; and
- why Kimco is offering this great deal.
Watch and listen to the webinar.
Download the Powerpoint for the KIMCO Business Incubation and Free Rent Webinar.
The Goodies
New opportunities for trainings, 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 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!
Take Action: Two important programs expire on September 27, 2012. The refinance provision of the U.S. Small Business Administration 504 loan program allows small business owners to refinance performing commercial mortgages with longer-term, below-market, fixed interest rates afforded by the SBA 504 program. The First Mortgage Lien Pooling (FMLP) program creates a secondary market where lenders can re-sell a portion of SBA 504 first mortgage loans, allowing them to increase their liquidity and capacity to make more small business loans. Sign the petition to save them.
White House Briefing: WIPP and the White House Office of Public Engagement would like to invite you to join Deputy Administrator of the Small Business Association Marie Johns for a discussion on upcoming tax and budgetary changes and how they will affect your businesses. Register for the briefing on Tuesday, August 21 at 11:30am PT / 2:30pm ET.
Free Webinar: Small Business Majority hosts Workplace Wellness-Healthy Employees Mean Healthy Bottom Lines. Get the scoop on tried-and-true workplace wellness practices and emerging wellness initiatives by joining us for a chat with an expert on the subject. Register for the webinar on August 22, 2012, 11:00 am EDT // 8:00 am PDT.
Free Webinar: Green Business Development for Native American and Latino Entrepreneurs. How are small business CDFIs helping Native Americans and Latinos capture opportunities in the Green Economy? Join two organizations that have developed innovative approaches for “green” entrepreneurial training, technical assistance and access to capital. Thursday August 30th at 2:00 pm EDT // 1:00 pm CDT // 11:00 am PDT. Register now.
Conference: Meeting of the Minds 2012 – Collective Impact (Timely Training – Regional Economies – Sector Strategies). This dynamic conference offers a framework for the workforce, economic development, education, business, and industry sectors to meet. The goal is collective support of regional economies and identify workforce development initiatives and strategies that address critical issues facing California’s major regional industry sectors. September 4-6, 2012 at the Monterey Marriott. Claudia Viek and Judy Hawkins, CAMEO boardmember, are presenting on how to integrate business training into the workforce system.
Win $10,000+: SAP and Ashoka Changemakers are hosting a competition – The Power of Small: Entrepreneurs Strengthening Local Economies. The competition is for organizations and partnerships with innovative strategies designed to help emerging entrepreneurs and small businesses grow and thrive in underserved communities. Learn more about the competition and how to apply. The deadline for submissions is September 5, 2012.
Bay Area Office space: Renaissance Marin has two nice offices that they want to fill with compatible CAMEO members and/or lawyers, accountants, etc. that provide services to entrepreneurs. There is a corner office for $850 per month and an office right next to it for $650 per month that includes receptionist service, wifi and an opportunity to hold forums and seminars to provide information and promote services. Contact Boku Kodama by email or phone at 415.755.1115.
For Your Clients: CARAT offers free online trainings for small businesses through December. Check out their calendar.
Job Opportunities: Accion San Diego, California Farmlink, Valley Economic Development Center, Inner City Advisors, Fresno EOC and Fresno CDFI, West Company and Renaissance Marin are hiring. Please check CAMEO’s job page for more information and other listings.