It’s a busy time of the year; make sure you don’t miss out on all of the fabulous opportunities in this week’s Must Know! Starting with our annual Women’s Symposium. Register for Food, Glorious Food Biz! at the Los Angeles Federal Reserve on December 3. Learn more about the Women Entrepreneurs Symposium and our closing keynote, Evan Kleiman of KCRW’s ‘Good Food’.
- Micro-Business Means Business
- Grab Bag Webinar – Three Totally Unrelated, but Interesting Items (rescheduled) Register for the webinar.
- The Goodies – This week’s highlight: I’m gathering a listing of your shop local guides for the 2013 Holiday Season. Send me yours and I’ll post it.
Micro-business Means Business
November is National Entrepreneurship Month and CAMEO is out there spreading the ‘Mighty Micro’ message.
Claudia published two pieces in the Huffington Post: 1) micro-business is the backbone of the economy and 2) micro-business ownership can help close the inequality gap.
We’re thrilled that Stacey Sanchez, our board president, will be featured at KPCC’s Crawford Family Forum in a discussion entitled “Micro-business Means Business” on November 20, 2013. It’s free, but RSVP today to learn how micro-business impacts our economy and changes lives. Send this notice out to their networks in Los Angeles through email, Facebook, Twitter, and whatever else you use.
And if that weren’t enough, two new reports were published this week:
- Etsy published a report about their economic impact Etsy-based micro-businesses generate almost $900 million in revenue! Page 11 has some good policy suggestions that we’ll be looking into.
- AEO published a two-year study, Bigger Than You Think: The Economic Impact of Micro-business in the United States. The data “paints a compelling portrait of a remarkably vigorous micro-business community that plays an essential (and outsized) role in American economic productivity.”
Grab Bag Webinar (rescheduled)
Over the last month, I’ve come across several resources and opportunities for you and your clients, so I’ve gathered them together into a webinar. Register for the webinar that is on Friday, November 22 @ 11:00am to learn about the following.
- John Kennedy from Mobile Citizen will talk about their program to expand high-speed broadband access through low-cost mobile internet solutions for non-profit organizations and their clients.
Bernadette Abel, from Thank You Small Business and Silver Lining, will explain the Thank You Small Business movement and their new matchmaker wishlist for businesses (e.g. a business posts something that they need and someone who can meet that need responds.)- Gene Kahn, from Great Kolor for Nonprofits will talk about the opportunities and possibilities to do outdoor advertising of your services (it doesn’t cost as much as you may think.)
Register for the Grab Bag webinar – outdoor advertising, mobile hotspots and business wishlists.
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 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!
Take Action: 
Last week, we launched a ‘Go Local’ op-ed campaign. We need your participation! Not only will you be helping local businesses, you’ll get free PR for your org and a clip to send your funders. Please see last week’s ‘Go Local for the Holidays’ Must Know. Please contact me for any questions or help.
Take Action: I’m gathering a listing of your shop local guides for the 2013 Holiday Season. Send me yours and I’ll post it.
Take Action: The Minimum Wage Needs Your Voice! Business for a Fair Minimum Wage is organizing business owners to speak in favor of a higher minimum wage. They want the current minimum wage of $7.25/hour ($15,080/year) to be raised over three years to $10.10 an hour, indexed to inflation. This is the plan that President Obama recently supported. We support the increase in minimum wage because a higher minimum wage means more disposable income and more customers for our business. It’s possible that Congress may take action on this issue early next week, so please add your name to their petition to raise the minimum wage.
Free Webinar: Bank of America Charitable Foundation offers a free monthly webinar to nonprofit leaders. Their next one is Engaging Influential and Affluent Volunteers for Fundraising and Board Leadership on Thursday, November 21, 2013 from 11:00am-12:00pm PT // 2:00 pm-3:00 pm ET. Learn more and register for this non-profit fundraising webinar.
For Your Clients: The American Sustainable Business Council (ASBC) has invited your clients to be featured in a full page photo in their new brochure. They are looking to feature Main Street businesses, sustainable businesses, and socially-responsible business. If you’d like your business featured, please forward digital files to Jen Ocean jocean@asbcouncil.org by next Friday, November 22, 2013. Learn more about the ASBC call out for micro-business photos.
Farm Finance Expo: California FarmLink host’s their annual Farm Finance Expo on December 12, 2013 from 1:00 to 5:00 pm at the Sacramento Food Bank and Family Services, 3333 3rd Avenue, Sacramento. Panels will include lenders, farmers and trainers who will discuss farm operating, infrastructure and land loans; sources of capital; preparing loan applications; and building, maintaining and repairing credit. Register for the Farm Finance Expo.
Fellowship Opportunity: The BALLE Fellowship is North America’s only fellowship dedicated solely to advancing the local economy movement, and where other programs focus on individual social entrepreneurs trying to scale single enterprises, we focus on local economy connectors – people who each represent, convene, and influence communities of hundreds of community entrepreneurs. Deadline is December 15, 2013.
Funding Opportunity: The CDFI Fund announced the opening of its FY 2014 round of Financial and Technical Assistance Programs, anticipating up to $191 million in awards (subject to the passage of appropriations for FY 2014). The application deadline is midnight, December 23, 2013. Learn more about the CDFI FY 2014 Funding Round and download the application.