Membership More Important Than Ever
Communications Tips for 2017
The Goodies – This week’s highlight is that Go-Biz’s California Competes Tax Credit online application is now open until January 23, 2017. Tell your clients!
Membership More Important Than Ever
Now is the time to
renew your membership to CAMEO’s dynamic network. Together, our membership provides critical support and capital to entrepreneurs in our communities. We are growing California’s economy through microbusiness development!
We are stronger together. When it comes to the budgets of programs that our sector relies on, the only certainty is uncertainty. With the uncertainty at the federal level, we will look to the state to fill the gap. But that takes work and the education of our electeds. This year, we ask you to renew your membership before February 1 and to consider and additional donation to ensure that the voice of microbusiness is heard in DC and Sacramento. At the end of the membership form, you have an option to add dollars to your membership fee. We’d greatly appreciate it if you did.
In addition to our advocacy, your
membership dues easily pay for themselves with high quality programs, free group trainings, individual training opportunities, discounts on professional communications tools, member meetings and the priceless intangible benefits of collaboration and support.
Be sure to
RENEW before February 1 to be included in CAMEO’s Member Directory that is mailed to CAMEO members and funders. We look forward to serving you with the resources and training you need to excel.
If you’re not the decision-maker for your organization, make sure that person sees this email!
Communications Tips for 2017
Every year brings changes in best practices for online activity. When was the last time you did a review of your website? If it’s been a while then it’s definitely time to give it a look. Even if you did a big revamp last year and made your
website responsive, new developments mean that you might need to make a tweak or two. What are the
website trends and emerging technologies for nonprofits looking to share their missions in creative ways in 2017?
And make sure you’re up-to-date with your social media activity. Check out this
cheat sheet that helps with image sizes, suggested tools and other important information that maximizes your social media strategy.
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 the CAMEO members who were on
NerdWallets’s list of top micro and SBA lenders: Grameen, Opportunity Fund, CDC Small Business Finance, VEDC, and Main Street Launch.
Washington Update: Ann Sullivan wrote about the
highlights of what is old and new in Washington for 2017 on the WIPP blog.
For Your Clients: The future of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) and the health insurance marketplaces is an unknown. In California, a lot of confusion and misinformation about what this means for the state’s health insurance marketplace, Covered California, and enrollment options for 2017 is floating around.
Small Business Majority sets the record straight on healthcare in California with a few key points to keep in mind. In a nutshell, if you signed up for 2017, you’re covered for 2017.
For Your Clients: Go-Biz’s
California Competes Tax Credit online application is now open until January 23, 2017. Yes, very small businesses can apply for the available $100 million in credits.
Women’s Business Center Comments: The US SBA is seeking comments on this
Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) regarding the Women’s Business Center (WBC) Program. The deadline for comments is
January 23, 2017.
Professional Development Opportunity: CEDA is offering scholarships to attend the CALED Conference (March 21-23 in San Diego.) If you show both financial need and dedication to economic development and want to attend the conference, then please
submit the application form to Helen Schaubmayer by 5:00 pm on
January 24. Scholarship winners will be contacted by January 31st.
For Your Clients, Webinars: Small Business Majority and the U.S. SBA host
California Workplace Benefits Webinar: Healthy Employees, Healthy Bottom Line. This webinar series during open enrollment discusses workforce and healthcare laws. They’ll also discuss programs that offer a competitive advantage for small businesses and help them retain and attract talented employees. Register for the last webinar at 11:00am on
January 24, 2017.
Free Webinar:
Stanford Social Innovation Review host a webinar –
The Gig Economy – on
Wednesday, January 25, 2017 at 11:00am-12:00pm PST // 2:00-3:00 pm EST. The webinar will explore the following: the current and emerging landscape of independent work; the most promising and troubling elements of independent work; generate ideas on what could make independent work more stable and sustainable for workers, especially vulnerable and/or lower skilled workers; and more.
Funding Opportunity: The Local Crowd pleased to announce an opportunity for up to 10 U.S. rural communities to become Demonstration Sites that use crowdfunding as an economic development tool. This will be the fourth and final RFP to become a demonstration site. Local economic development organizations are invited to
respond to the Request For Proposals. These responders may be local or regional economic development groups, SBDCs, chambers of commerce, Main Street programs or other organizations. Deadline to respond is
February 1, 2017.
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.)
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.]]>
