“Back to School” Microenterprise Webinar Series!
Summer’s over and our thoughts are on planning for next year’s budget and new and improved ways to help our clients build strong businesses and lead our communities into economic recovery. Despite continued economic challenges, microenterprise development organizations and CDFIs are finding new opportunities to demonstrate their relevance and impact.
Friedman Associates and our partners offer three free webinars in September to help get the creative juices flowing:
Building a High Performance Volunteer Program
Wednesday September 14th at 1:00 pm EDT
Women’s Initiative has a demonstrated model for successfully utilizing volunteers at every level of the agency and has designed a program intended to transition interest into engagement. In this free webinar, Katie Taylor will share best practices for the design, execution, and cultivation of volunteer programs to capture individual agency needs and maximize volunteer impact. One notable program is the Women’s Initiative Microenterprise Fellowship Program, designed to engage recent college graduates and seasoned professionals alike to contribute to the agency by maximizing each fellow’s interests and expertise, and by creating a professional development experience unmatched by traditional internships.
Led by Katie Taylor, Research Assistant and Volunteer Coordinator for Women’s Initiative for Self Employment.
Estimating Supply and Demand for Microcredit in Your Community
Wednesday, September 21st at 2:00 pm EDT
It’s become conventional wisdom – tightened credit markets means more business for microfinance organizations and CDFIs. But how do you really know? How do you quantify the demand for microcredit in your community? In this free webinar, we reveal our approach to helping microfinance organizations and CDFIs answer that key question. Through a process that combines number crunching and interviews with key stakeholders, you will be armed with the information you need to increase volume and impact. Also, we’ll give you some tips on how to “fine tune” your loan fund operations to achieve greater efficiency and performance.
Led by Amelia Lobo, Friedman Associates and Blaise Rastello, Urban Oasis Development, LLC
Innovations in Green Microenterprise Development in Rural Communities
Wednesday, September 28th at 2:00 pm EDT
In this free webinar we will profile the exciting work of two very different organizations working to help green entrepreneurs in rural communities.
Established by The Conservation Fund with a lead grant from the U.S. Endowment for Forestry and Communities, ShadeFund enables individuals, companies and foundations to help green entrepreneurs across America grow their businesses and create jobs. Tax deductible contributions to ShadeFund are pooled and lent to qualified small green businesses nationwide. As entrepreneurs repay their loans, those same dollars are recycled to help other entrepreneurs grow their businesses.
Adelante Empreas integrates elements of sustainability, using the triple bottom line framework, into each element of its business development program for Latinos. Learn how staff conducts an impact assessment with clients to identify sustainability goals and how they integrate these goals into their business development coaching.
Led by Rick Larson, Director, ShadeFund and Ali Brown, Coordinator, Adelante Empressas
These webinars are provided by Women's Initiative, Access to Capital for Entrepreneurs/Georgia Green Loans, Little Dixie Community Action Agency and Friedman Associates and funded by the U.S. Small Business Administration PRIME Program.