In this week’s Must Know
- CAMEO’s Summer Activities
- The Goodies: information on important opportunities like trainings, funding, scholarship programs.
CAMEO’s Summer Activities
This summer we’ve enjoyed some beautiful weather for San Francisco, but that doesn’t mean we’ve been lazing around.
- Thanks to Susan Brown, we’ve made excellent progress on our innovative platforms designed to increase capital and efficiencies for microlending. The Micro Management System (MMS) and Kiva partnership will begin operations this fall.
- We’re wrapping up our Annual Member Survey and will be crunching the numbers to find out the state of micro in California. (It’s not too late to fill it out if you haven’t.)
- We are about to launch a campaign to garner public support for a Self-Employment Assistance Program in California (look out for that next week).
- We’re expanding our efforts to better serve the needs of women and women veterans. We are convening quarterly peer support groups for our Women’s Business Centers. And save the date for Think Big: A Women Entrepreneurs of Color Symposium, which will be in Los Angeles on November 7, 2012.
One more thing – we moved upstairs. Our new suite is 715. Please change your address books.
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!
Watch and listen to the webinar.
Download the Powerpoint for the KIMCO Business Incubation and Free Rent Webinar.
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.
AEO Webinar: AEO On the Hill- Policy and Advocacy Update. Join AEO’s Policy Team for an update from Washington, DC. Congress returns soon from August Recess. On their agenda before the end of the year: expiration of Bush tax cuts and many other small business tax policy updates; looming ‘fiscal cliff,’ and annual appropriations. Register for the webinar on August 30, 2012 at 10:00 – 11:00 am PT // 1:00 – 2:00 pm.
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. Register and learn more.
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.
Renaissance Online Business Prep Class: Attention service-starved areas, the webinar-based classes are scheduled from 6:30 to 9:30 p.m. PST one evening a week for 12 consecutive weeks, with two optional 30-minute individual telephone consultations. Clients are expected to participate in every webinar and complete about 3 hours of homework weekly. The next one starts on September 29, 2012. Learn more and register.
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.