JPMorgan Chase supports CDFIs

JPMorgan Chase has announced grants totaling $25 million to five Community Development Financial Institutions (CDFIs) to help spur small business lending and job creation.

Awarded as part of the bank's $100 million commitment to strengthen CDFIs serving hard-to-reach communities, the grants — which range from $2 million to $5 million — will double, in most cases, the recipients' existing capital base, enabling them to grow in a way otherwise not possible in the current economic climate. The recipients include ACCION Texas-Louisiana; the Los Angeles-based Valley Economic Development Center; the Opportunity Fund, which serves the San Francisco Bay Area; the First State Community Loan Fund in Wilmington, Delaware; and Enterprise Cascadia, a creditor and consultant to small businesses, community facilities, nonprofits, and consumers in Washington and Oregon. Additional grants will be announced at a later date.

Over the last three years, Chase has provided more than $1 billion in loans, grants, and investments to CDFIs and their affiliates. Last year, the bank committed a total of $100 million, including $50 million for charter schools, in conjunction with a larger $325 million charter school initiative; $25 million to small businesses; and $25 million for other community needs.

"Small businesses are critical to our economy and they need permanent capital to strengthen their balance sheets in order to grow," said JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon. "Our $25 million funding initiative, when leveraged with private capital and government programs, will increase lending to small businesses by $125 [million] to $250 million."

“Chase Donates $25 Million to Support U.S. Small Businesses.” JPMorgan Chase Press Release 1/28/11.

Educational Improvement Tax Credit

The Educational Improvement Tax Credit (EITC) and Pre-Kindergarten (Pre-K) Tax Credit are administered by the Department of Community and Economic Development. It authorizes the award of tax credits to businesses that make contributions to Scholarship Organizations and/or Educational Improvement Organizations and/or Pre-K Scholarship Organizations contained on a list published by the Department. $60 million tax credits are available this year.

Qualifications: Businesses* subject to the following taxes:

• Corporate Net Income Tax
• Capital Stock Franchise Tax
• Bank and Trust Company Shares Tax
• Title Insurance Companies Shares Tax
• Insurance Premiums Tax
• Mutual Thrift Institutions Tax
• Personal Income Tax of S Corporation Share holders, or partners in a general or limited partnership

*Businesses must be approved to make contributions.

Applications accepted beginning July 1, 2010
Program Guidelines

Small Business Teaming Pilot grant

Program Announcement No. GCBD-2011-01, U.S. Small Business Administration/Office of Government Contracting (GC) OPENING DATE: January 11, 2011 CLOSING DATE: February 25, 2011 The U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) issues Program Announcement No. GCBD-2011-01 to invite applications from eligible organizations, as authorized by the Small Business Jobs Act of 2010, Pub. L. No. 111-240, Section 1314. The Small Business Jobs Act of 2010 (Public Law 111-240) was enacted by Congress to authorize the Administrator of the U.S. Small Business Administration to disburse up to $5,000,000 to make grants to eligible organizations “to provide assistance and guidance to teams of small business concerns seeking to compete for larger procurement contracts.” This initiative is specifically tailored to enhance SBA’s efforts to advocate for small business concerns in the federal procurement marketplace while at the same time seeking to strengthen small businesses and help them expand by increasing opportunities for them to participate in the federal procurement arena. Potential projects will be designed to assist and guide teams of small business concerns through training, counseling, and/or mentoring activities designed to enhance their ability to compete for larger procurement contracts. Such assistance and guidance must address (among other things) customer relations and outreach, team relations and outreach, and performance measurement and quality assurance. Recipients of awards made under this Announcement will be expected to help small business concerns find other firms that may be interested in teaming with them, assist small business concerns with the formation and execution of teaming arrangements, aid teams of small business concerns with identifying appropriate larger contracting opportunities, and assist teams of small business concerns with the preparation and submission of bids and offers. SBA is responsible for general management of this initiative to ensure the effective delivery of assistance to the small business community. Questions about this program announcement should be directed to the Office of Government Contracting at GCBDgrants@sba.gov.

Link to Full Announcement

www.sba.gov/teaming

Microfinance directory

[From "Free Money Ate My Brain" blog] In these days of economic doldrums and tight credit, people are in dire need of sources of money to start a business. For very small businesses, a microloan, given by a lender who understands the peculiarities of a one-man shop that is brand new, could make all the difference. But often, banks don't do this kind of lending. So where do you find an alternative?

FIELD, the microenterprise Fund for Innovation, Effectiveness, and Learning Dissemination set up just such a directory a couple of years ago. It is searchable by name of organization, state, and focus. However, take the information with a grain of salt: apparently, it hasn't been updated recently, so the information is a couple of years old. But it could point you to an organization in your area that can loan you small amounts of start-up money. Some of the organizations also offer technical assistance and mentoring. While it's NOT "free money," it's useful and nothing to sneeze at.

Dept. of Energy Small Biz Conference

Washington, DC - The U.S. Department of Energy today announced the opening of registration for the 12th Annual Small Business Conference & Expo being held from May 10-12, 2011, in Kansas City, Missouri. The conference will feature educational workshops, an Exhibit Hall with over 200 exhibitors and sponsors, as well as sessions where Department procurement officers will help match businesses with opportunities within DOE.

The Obama administration and the Department of Energy have continued to reinforce the important role small business plays in strengthening America's economy. The goal of the conference is to increase the access small business has to government contract and partnership opportunities.

The 12th Annual DOE Small Business Conference & Expo provides an opportunity for Small Business owners, large companies and minority education institutions to network and gain access to federal, state and local government agencies. As the largest civilian contracting agency within the Federal government, DOE has allocated billions of dollars in contracts to small businesses.

This year participants have the opportunity to take advantage of early online registration. Last year's conference attracted over 1,500 people. The small businesses attending the conference will be able to meet DOE small business program managers and learn how to engage with the Department successfully. To register, visit the 12th Annual DOE Small Business Conference & Expo website.

Strategic planning for small businesses

Strategic Planning is important for all businesses, yet entrepreneurs are so often caught up in the day to day aspects of running their business that they often lack the ability to figure out how to define and implement a strategic plan to grow their business.

Our approach is different. This 6 session workshop is designed for the entrepreneur who has an established business and knows that they need some help/structure to work on and focus on implementing their strategic plan, but yet lack the resources to hire a consultant to help them with a full strategic plan. This course will help your business develop its own strategic plan for a fraction of what it costs to hire a consultant!

The course will include the following sessions:

February 1, 11:30-1PM

“Where are we now?” Setting the Stage & Market Assessment Part 1

February 15, 11:30-1PM Session 2

Market Assessment Part 2

March 1, 11:30-1PM

Session 3: Vision of the Future: “Where do we want to be?”

March 2 through March 28

Session 4: Individual Company “Retreat”; Draft the Strategic Plan

March 29, 11:30-1PM

Session 5: Implementing the Strategic Plan Part 1: “How are we going to get there?”

April 12, 11:30-1PM

Session 6: Implementing the Plan: “Who is going to do what?” (And what gaps still exist)

This course will be presented both as a Webinar and an in-person seminar at our office located at 2402 West 8^th Street

COST: $1500 with Individual Planning Retreat

$1000 without Retreat

*Make checks payable to Strategy Solutions

2402 West 8 Street Erie, PA 16505

REGISTRATION: Call us at (814)480-8000 or e-mail: rachel@getstrategy.com

SBA Unveils New Web Site and Launches SBA Direct - A New Tool Delivering Personalized and Targeted Resources

[From Be Spacific]

News release: "As part of the U.S. Small Business Administration’s mission to ensure that small business owners and entrepreneurs have access to accurate, timely and helpful information, SBA Administrator Karen Mills unveiled a newly re-designed SBA website. The new site also features the launch of SBA Direct, a dynamic new web tool with a variety of personalization features that will help small businesses start-up, succeed and grow. “With the launch of the new SBA.gov, we have reached a significant milestone in how the agency has evolved in using interactive web tools, social media and blogs to engage with, and better meet the needs of small business owners,” said SBA Administrator, Karen Mills...While the site features a variety of enhancements including a full re-design, new content, and improved navigation, the centerpiece is a dynamic new web tool called SBA Direct."