- Get Paid on Time with SupplierPay
- Welcome New Member: EBALDC
- The Goodies – This week’s highlights include a free webinar about raising money using a Direct Public Offering (DPO) by Cutting Edge Capital on July 22 at 11:00 am PST.
- If you haven’t already, fill out the microTracker census with your 2013 impacts. Email Andrew with any questions. We will be closing the survey at the end of July.
Get Paid on Time with SupplierPay
Small business owners often complain that they aren’t paid on time, especially by big companies. Timely payments and the cost of working capital can make or break a small business.
Late last week, SBA Administrator Maria Contreras-Sweet joined President Obama at the White House to announce the launch of SupplierPay – a new partnership with private sector companies to expedite payments to small suppliers and help small suppliers access affordable capital. CAMEO members need to train their clients about this opportunity.
Twenty-six major corporations have signed up so far. They have pledged to shorten payment times or provide other creative financing solutions to their small business suppliers.
In other SBA news, Maria Contreras-Sweet wrote about her first 100 days as the SBA Administrator. In addition to the SupplierPay program, she’s looking to increase access to capital, increase opportunities for veterans and focus on underserved communities. CAMEO plans to help her every step of the way.
Welcome New Member: EBALDC
CAMEO is please to welcome East Bay Asian Local Development Corporation as our newest member.
EBALDC is a nonprofit community development organization that builds healthy, vibrant and safe neighborhoods in Oakland and the greater East Bay. They develop and manage high quality affordable apartments and homes, retail spaces for local small businesses and community centers, while fostering increased economic opportunities for low-income families and individuals. These comprehensive programs help families and individuals begin a path toward financially security and access the resources they need to lead healthy, stable and fulfilling lives.
We are dedicated to building healthy neighborhoods which includes many forms of economic development. We look forward to being part of the CAMEO network and finding new ways to open doors of entrepreneurial opportunity for low income residents.
— Executive Director, Joshua Simon
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!
Grant Opportunities
Grant Opportunity: The U.S. SBA announced that it is seeking grant proposals to award up to $1.5 million in grant funding to for-profit and non-profit service providers including, but not limited to, universities, trade and professional associations, firms, and other organizations for special projects to promote the development, success, and long-term survival of small disadvantaged businesses that participate in the agency’s 8(a) Business Development Program. The application deadline is July 20, 2014.
Grant Opportunity: The SBA has issued an RFP for new Women’s Business Centers. California is one of 11 states that can apply. The deadline is July 30, 2014.
More Good Stuff
Manage Your Money Week (MYMW): MYMW is a project of the State Controller’s Financial Literacy Advisory Committee. You are invited to attend an MYMW orientation session for the San Francisco Bay Area region where you will be joined by other organizations to plan for this upcoming week of events. At this meeting, we will survey our regional inventory of resource providers, brainstorm ideas for marketing and building broad coalitions, determine gaps in delivery, and establish a framework for moving forward. Register for the planning meeting that takes place on Wednesday, July 30, 2014 from 1:30 – 4:30 pm at the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco, 101 Market Street.
New Resources: The Federal Reserve has two new resources regarding their work in community development – 1) a new community development web portal with information, resources, case studies, research, regional efforts, etc. and 2) Federal Reserve Community Development Perspectives: A summary of activities, insights, and future opportunities.
Free Webinar: Learn about how your clients can raise money using a Direct Public Offering (DPO). CAMEO member Cutting Edge Capital, hosts DPO 101. Register for the webinar on July 22 at 11:00 am PST//2:00 pm EST.
Healthcare Webinars: The Small Business Administration and Small Business Majority are committed to helping businesses navigate the changes and opportunities in health care through the webinar series What the Healthcare Law Means For Your California Small Business . It’s every two weeks in English and monthly in Spanish. The next ones are on July 30, 2014 at 10:00am and July 23, 2014 at 1:00pm respectively. Note the Small Business Health Option Program’s online enrollment function is on hold and will be back online in the fall. Businesses can still purchase insurance through the traditional paper process, working with your Certified agent or the SHOP Service Center. A recent survey by Transamerica Center for Health Studies revealed six in 10 small businesses are aware of SHOP, but only 56 percent of them feel very informed about their company’s options for health insurance. Check out this new online guide of small business health plan options and costs through SHOP.
Healthcare Info In Spanish: Our friends at Small Business California helped create a new Spanish-language website to help Latino business owners and employees learn how to comply with the health care law along with The California Endowment and Health Law Guide for Business.
Women Business Leader Conference: Women business owners from across the country will be gathering in Washington, D.C. to grow their businesses, enhance their leadership skills and advocate on key issues impacting the women entrepreneurship community. Women Impacting Public Policy (WIPP)’s Annual Leadership Meeting is on July 23-24, promising an opportunity to network and cultivate business opportunities with women business owners as well as interact with policymakers to discuss the challenges you are facing in your industry.
Professional Development Scholarship: Through the Diane Lupke Scholarship Fund, IEDC is proud to award four scholarships to economic development professionals (two IEDC members and two nonmembers) working in distressed communities to attend an IEDC education course of the recipient’s choice. Submit all materials by Friday, July 25, 2014 to be eligible for consideration.
Scholarship Opportunity: Do you have an idea, product or service that helps microbusiness owners address their financial challenges? CFED is collecting those ideas. Up to 10 standout submissions will be selected, recognized, and offered a free trip to Washington, DC from September 17-19, 2014 to take part in a special design thinking intensive at CFED’s Assets Learning Conference. Deadline for submission is July 25, 2014.
Webinar: IEDC hosts Tourism Resources & Strategies for Your Community on August 12, 2014, 11:00am – 12:30pm PT // 2:00 – 3:30pm ET. Does your community take full advantage of the opportunities presented by the travel and tourism industry? Is tourism part of your economic development strategy? The webinar is $95 for IEDC members, $135 for Non-members.
Take Action: Our friends at ASBC is conducting a campaign to ask Governor Brown to sign SB 1272. This important legislation will place an Advisory Measure before the People of California in November 2014, calling on the US Congress to overturn Citizens United v. FEC and “all applicable judicial precedents”. Download the template small business-oriented letter.
For Your Clients: Six million young Americans are both out of school and out of work – a staggering number that contributes to weak economic demand. At the same time, small business leaders are struggling to fill job vacancies that are critical to both individual company success and overall economic growth. Small Business Majority has identified some best practices that will help address this problem while also benefitting small employers. Have your clients pledge to help youth employment and check out our best practices.
CAMEO White Paper: Download Do-It-Yourself Economic Growth: How Communities Can Cultivate Their Talent and Thrive. Read it. Use it as a resource. Share it. The Do-It-Yourself Economy is built on a foundation of small, locally-owned, diverse businesses. CAMEO’s white paper focuses on why we need a new approach to economic development, explains the reality of small business and self-employment labor market trends, and delineates some of the tools that local economic developers can use to create a sustainable future for their regions.