The Untapped Potential of Employee Ownership in the Inner City
For inner city business owners looking for tax breaks, CEOs looking for additional employee benefits, and employees looking for a greater stake in their employer’s future, Employee Stock Ownership Plans (ESOPs) can provide an answer. But what exactly are they? And how can they benefit each of these seemingly disparate groups? Corey Rosen, Executive Director for the National Center for Employee Ownership, addresses the issue of ESOPs, and how they might work for your company.
Re-Casting the Supporting Roles to Bring Mission Investing to Scale
Foundations that undertake a mission-based investing strategy effectively double the impact of their investment dollars. So why haven’t more foundations taken the reins and brought mission-based investments to scale? Is it a lack of expertise? A lack of knowledge about the investment vehicles available?
Tim Ferguson, a longtime ICIC board member, founded Next Street to transform the way that finance and financial advice are provided to small businesses and entrepreneurs in inner cities across the U.S. Next Street is a merchant bank that provides business advisory services and capital to inner city small businesses, several of which are ICIC Inner City 100 award winners. Next Street provides not just the financing but also the advice and services — including strategy, talent management, marketing and advertising — that are badly needed for ongoing growth but rarely available.
In this piece, Tim discusses how mission-based investing strategies must evolve in order to bring about more positive change.
Eight Tips for Urban Entrepreneurs in a Tough Economy
Is it the worst of times or the best of times? In perhaps the worst economic environment since the Depression, you need to do what it takes to streamline and re-position yourself to survive in the near term and accelerate growth when the economy turns. These tips from Michael Gurau, Manager of CEI Community Ventures and Managing General Partner of Clear Venture Partners, should get you started. Necessity is the mother of invention. . .
In October 2005, the Newark Alliance launched OpportunityNewark: Jobs and Community Development for the 21st Century (OpportunityNewark), an initiative focused on leveraging Newark’s assets to create jobs for Newark’s inner city residents. The Newark Alliance partnered with ICIC and the Newark Community to develop a set of strategic action plans to leverage Newark’s competitive advantages to retain, attract and grow businesses. These partners are still actively engaged in the implementation phase of OpportunityNewark. Find out more about this dynamic initiative!
National Conference on Corporate Community Investment sponsored by the US Chamber of Commerce's Business Civic Leadership Center. www.uschamber.com/bclc/cciconference May 3-5, 2009 at the InterContinental in Chicago.
Included in this edition:Two new articles from Miller-McCune on inner city poverty and economic development; a new study on business start-ups and job creation from the Kauffman Foundation; and an update on the CalPERS California Initiative.
For inner city business owners looking for tax breaks, CEOs looking for additional employee benefits, and employees looking for a greater stake in their employer’s future, 
knowledge about the investment vehicles available? 
Resources for Companies 