In this Must Know…
- How Does California Rank for MicroBiz?
- Welcome New Boardmember Jeremy Hofer from Access Plus Capital
- Federal Budget Update
- Help us choose a new cover for CAMEO’s Facebook page by posting photos that you think best represent the micro sector by February 15, 2018. While you’re at there, ‘like’ us!
- Take this simple two-question survey on social media channels you use.
- The Goodies – This week’s highlight is a webinar to better understand the CDFI Fund Program NOFA with Friedman and Associates on February 8 at 11:00am PST or February 13 at 11:00am PST.
How Does California Rank for MicroBiz?
Prosperity Now recently published its 2018 Scorecard, which finds that despite some signs of progress at the national macroeconomic level, the picture is far from rosy for millions, especially households of color and people with disabilities. The Prosperity Now Scorecard examines over fifty measures on issues ranging from savings to debt and credit, housing costs to self-employment, microbusiness, and more. The Scorecard also assesses all 50 states and the District of Columbia on steps they can take to improve outcomes for residents, including the adoption of state EITCs, expansion of Medicaid and more.
So how did California do? Download our California Scorecard Profile. Overall, California is ranked 27th out of 50 states on outcomes such as financial assets and income, business ownership and jobs, housing, healthcare and education. Our state adopted 27 out of 53 possible policies that can help with income and wealth equality. If we break it down to business ownership and jobs, California does much better, ranking 12th out of 50 states and getting a ‘B’ grade on policy. A couple of highlights include:
- 19.4% of the California labor force own a microenterprise compared to 17.8% nationally.
- 1.52 times as many white workers in California own a business compared to workers of color compared to 1.22 nationally.
Homeownership is often the first step to launching a microbusiness, whether as a place of business or a source of capital. It comes as no surprise that California receives a ‘D’ grade on homeownership and we rank 41st out of 50 states, i.e. there is much room for improvement to make owning a home more affordable to more people.
Prosperity Now looked at multiple business-friendly policies, including if a state draws down CDBG money or uses WIOA funds to support low income entrepreneurs and how expansive the state’s Earned Income Tax Credit is. California implements 6 out of 10 policies that promote business and jobs for low income residents. One policy that the report doesn’t include is state investment in small and microbusiness development. As we’ve mentioned Governor Brown’s 2018-2019 budget proposal includes new resources to support entrepreneurs and small businesses, which is sure to improve our grade in the future.
While the economy has been growing, so has inequality. Prosperity Now also issued a report – “Whose Bad Choices? How Policy Precludes Prosperity and What We Can Do About It.” The report counters a deeply flawed national narrative that poor people are poor by choice. The 2018 Scorecard finds that often policymakers’ choices stymie opportunity and create barriers to financial stability, wealth and prosperity for people of color and those with limited income. We’re unlikely to see policies that come out of Washington that will take down these barriers, so it will be up to the state.
Welcome New Boardmember Jeremy Hofer from Access Plus Capital
The board is excited to welcome Jeremy Hofer of Access Plus Capital as its newest member. Jeremy started as a loan officer and worked his way up to Director of Operations. He says, “I have been involved with CAMEO since I started in microlending in 2009. I look forward to sharing my experience with the challenges faced by microenterprises, as well as the solutions we have offered at Access Plus Capital (formerly Fresno CDFI).” Jeremy has an MBA in Community Economic Development with an emphasis in community development finance from the University of Southern New Hampshire.
New board members are voted in by the full membership at the annual member meeting, but the board has the authority to appoint a member when we have a vacancy. After Salam Nalia termed off the board in December, we no longer had a director representing the Central Valley. Jeremy fills that gap, joining the board immediately. He will be formally voted in by the membership in June.
Federal Budget Update
Because you need to know…
Yesterday, Senate Majority and Minority Leaders Mitch McConnell (R-KY) and Chuck Schumer (D-NY) announced a bipartisan budget deal to lift defense and domestic spending caps for two years. The deal will increase defense spending by $80B in FY2018 and $85B in FY2019. Domestic spending will be increased by $63B in FY2018 and $68B in FY2019.
The budget deal is not a funding bill. As of the writing of the newsletter, Congress moved toward a vote today (Thursday) on a far-reaching budget deal that would avert a government shutdown while clearing a path to funding the government for the rest of the fiscal year. The current continuing resolution ends at midnight tonight.
In other national news, Kathleen McShane is the new Office of Women’s Business Ownership’s director, who oversees the WBCs. We look forward to working with her.
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!
Member Kudos: Congrats to AEO who received a $1.15 million grant from the W.K. Kellogg Foundation to help black business owners overcome entrepreneurial barriers.
Member Kudos: AnewAmerica is one of 25 finalists (out of 3000 national nominations) for the Renewal Awards sponsored by The Atlantic and Allstate. The awards nationally recognize non-profits that are making positive changes in their communities. Five winners receive a $20,000 grant and five runner-ups will receive a $10,000 grant. Please vote by February 21, 2018 (no login required.) Good luck!
Funding Opportunity: The U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Community Development Financial Institutions Fund (CDFI Fund) released the Notice of Funds Availability (NOFA) and applications for the FY 2018 Community Development Financial Institutions Program (CDFI Program) and Native American CDFI Assistance Program (NACA Program). To help potential applicants better understand the CDFI Fund Program NOFA join Friedman and Associates for a webinar on February 8 at 11:00am PST // 2:00pm EST or February 13 at 11:00am PST // 2:00 pm EST.
For Your Clients: The U.S. SBA announced the launch of the 2018 Emerging Leaders initiative for executives of small businesses poised for growth in emerging markets. Local area recruitment for the 2018 training cycle is currently ongoing at designated SBA District Offices. Classes are scheduled to begin this spring with specific dates differing by location. Interested small business owners can learn more regarding eligibility, how to apply, and class schedules at the SBA’s Emerging Leaders website. In California, classes will be held in Fresno, Glendale, Los Angeles, and Sacramento.
New Resource: NCCLF developed spacesforgood.org, a free online space finding platform dedicated to meeting the commercial real estate needs of nonprofits in the Bay Area. Join their kick off event on February 13, 2018, 2:30-5:00pm PST. NCCLF, Citizen Engagement Lab (CEL), 1330 Broadway, 3rd Floor, Oakland.
Free Webinar: Attend “Get more out of QuickBooks Online and LivePlan in your classroom” on February 14, 2018 at 10:00 AM PST. This presentation is primarily focused on using QuickBooks and LivePlan in higher education, but there is a strong tie-in for consultants and advisors because they also teach continuing education classes and workshops that focus on accounting and planning.
West Coast Listening Session: Join Prosperity Now and your West Coast Region peers to review regional trends in the 2018; share solutions that help families thrive and close the racial wealth divide; updates on Prosperity Now’s perspectives on federal policy challenges and the opportunities; and discuss opportunities to engage at local, regional or federal levels. Register for the listening session on February 21, 11:30 am PST / 12:30 pm MST with Mohan Kanungo of Mission Asset Fund as the moderator.
Professional Development Opportunity: Applications are now being accepted for OFN’s Opportunity Fellows Program! This program, which launched in 2017, will challenge a diverse cohort of CDFI leaders to learn about facilitating and leading systemic change within their CDFIs to cultivate greater diversity and inclusion with the goal of ensuring equitable investment in underserved and disenfranchised communities. The application deadline is Friday, February 23, 2018.
Professional Conference: Registration for the 2018 CDFI Institute is open. The 2018 Institute will take place on February 28 and March 1 at the Renaissance Hotel, located at 999 9th Street NW in Washington, D.C. You can learn more about the conference’s agenda at the CDFI Coalition’s website.
Moving Main Street Forward: AEO’s microbusiness and microfinance conference is a must-attend event for professionals providing capital, technical assistance and other forms of trusted guidance to Main Street and microbusiness owners. The agenda will be packed with inspiring keynotes, thought-provoking plenaries and compelling breakout sessions designed to engage attendees in bold and provocative conversations on using inclusion, innovation and investment to move Main Streets across the country forward. See you in Detroit, Michigan, April 30 to May 2, 2018.
For Your Clients: California State Treasurer John Chiang officially rolled out CBIG.ca.gov, the California Business Incentives Gateway. The online gateway connects business owners and entrepreneurs to incentives to help them grow and create jobs. The CBIG site makes it easy for businesses expanding or locating in California to find and apply for incentives as part of a strategic business plan.
For Your Clients: Read a summary of how the tax reform bill will affect freelancers – then pass it on to your clients.
For Your Clients: Cutting Edge Capital presents “Cannabis Business Structuring and Capital Raising Part II”.
New Resource: The SBA’s SF District Office has launched a slack channel – The Business Support Network – that you are invited to join. Feel free to announce events and voice questions about where to send clients, how to handle specific types of businesses, find funding (for clients or yourselves), shape programming to serve business owners, and more. (Note: they had some technical difficulties, so if you signed up, you’ll need to sign up again.)
New Resource: Are you serving returning citizens? Credit Builder’s Alliance has a new toolkit – “Supporting Returning Citizens in Entrepreneurship and Credit Building.”
New Report: Institute for the Future outlines a worker-centered design for gig economy platforms in “Designing Positive Platforms: A guide for a Governance-based Approach.”
New Report: Prosperity Now issued a new report – “Advancing Collective Prosperity through Entrepreneurship in Atlanta.” Entrepreneurship can provide pathways to building wealth. But White-owned businesses nationwide are valued 11 times higher on average than Black-owned businesses. Prosperity Now recently facilitated a community of practice in Atlanta. This cohort of professionals came together over the course of several months to learn from one another and to identify strategies for strengthening Black-owned businesses.
New Report: The SBA Office of Advocacy released, “Latino Business Ownership: Contributions and Barriers for U.S. Born and Immigrant Latino Entrepreneurs,” that evaluates the differences in Latino self-employment rates and business income, comparing immigrant and U.S.-born Latino men and women with non-minorities. Roughly 600,000 business owners are U.S.-born Latinos, with an additional 1.2 million immigrant Latino business owners. The study shows that total Latino business owners generate $62.5 billion in business income. However, Latino business owners on average report less business income, and U.S born Latinos have a smaller self-employment rate.
New Report: The Federal Reserve’s Small Business Credit Survey released “Report on Rural Employer Firms” while we were on holiday. Highlights include: Firms in rural areas are more stable and face less financing constraints; and small banks play a bigger role in rural areas.