The Inner City Economic Forum is the country's only national leadership network focused on business-led inner city economic development. The Forum was founded in 2003 as an ambitious and bold effort to create a national movement around the revitalization of America’s inner cities. It has emerged as a powerful mechanism for generating innovative ideas on inner city economic development and transforming ideas into action.

Announcements and Events REGISTER NOW for Summit 2008!  September 25-26, 2008 Marriot Biscayne Bay, Miami, Florida. Sessions begin at 9:30am on Thurs., Sept 25. Visit the Summit page for more information View the current agenda for speaker and session overview Click here to register for the Summit includes option to register and join as a Forum Member  Book your hotel now! Rooms reserved Sept 24-26 at $149/night Use Group code "faafaaa" for discounted rate.   The 2008 Forum Membership Program has begun!   For more information about joining the Forum, including benefits and fees, visit the Membership pages on this website. To renew your Membership or apply to become a new Member, complete the brief application form here.

The Forum is a unique organization that engages leaders and practitioners to work across boundaries, putting collaboration into action and developing inventive solutions with substantial impact. Since its inception, the Forum has emerged as an ongoing mechanism that:

• Targets transformational thinking and national-scale change
• Connects leaders across boundaries to develop solutions and build on success
• Promotes, incubates and accelerates adoption of innovative ideas

Forum members represent a dynamic national group of thought leaders and opinion shapers from national corporations; inner city businesses; investment firms; government, civic and community organizations; foundations; and academic and policy-making institutions. Forum members bridge their diversity to work together towards a common goal: the economic revitalization of America’s inner cities to create jobs, income and wealth for inner city residents.

The Forum’s current agenda focuses on action in three critical areas: increasing capital flows to inner cites, building inner city businesses of size and scale, and marketing the business opportunity of America’s inner cities.

Current Strategic Partners and Sponsors

• Bank of America
• Citigroup
• Ford Foundation
• Heron Foundation
• Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation
• U.S. Small Business Administration