IMAP Philanthropy

Initiative for

Microenterprise Sandra Burke

Mark A. Edelman

Community Vitality Center

Iowa Microenterprise Assistance Project

• Northwest Area Foundation

• Community Foundation of Greater Des Moines

• Community Vitality Center

• Iowa MicroLoan

IMAP

Philanthropy and Microenterprise Initiative

• Grants to Affiliate Community Foundations

• Facilitate endowment building activities

• Financially support entrepreneur and

microenterprise development activities

• 4 counties full program - 2010 - 2012

Greene, Hardin, Mitchell, Story

$50,000 over 3 years

• 3 counties

Adair strategic planning $5,000 2010

Adair $15,000 2011 – 2012

Boone $40,000 2011 – 2013

Okoboji $40,000 2011 planning and activities

7 County-based Affiliate Foundations

5 counties hired local staff (had not had any before) • 2 counties paid ¼ time staff, fully by grant

• 2 counties paid half-time staff, fully by grant

• 1 county had 2/3 time staff of which half is

paid from grant

1 county already had full time but increased to 1.25 staff, 15% of salaries from grant

1 county did not hire staff for endowment building Board volunteers important

Local Staffing

• Contacts and presentations with potential donors,

professional advisors, leaders, and organizations.

• Grant-making activities & coordination

• Financial related, endowment, tax credits, legislative, and

financial work and contacts

• Awareness and “brand” building activities, marketing,

web presence, newsletters/mailings, media, reports,

social media, publications, brochures....

• Event planning, Coordination of programs and projects

Staff Activities

• $2.98 Million more in contributions (2 or 3 years) than before project

• together the counties + 117% more than before project

• 3 counties > 100% higher

• 1 county > 300% higher

**Foundation Funds Grew**

• Facilitate entrepreneurship

• Help start new businesses

• Create jobs

• Not the typical role for philanthropy

• ***Can’t do as directly*** IRS

Microenterprise Development Activities

• Support business training/workshops

• Support financial literacy programs

• Fund professional development grants

• Implement summer internship program for

college students

Broad Reach of “Educational Purposes”

• Youth entrepreneurship programs

• Orient annual grants to microenterprise development purposes

• Facilitate local entrepreneurship networks and support organizations

• Create and build an endowment for microenterprise

• Support SBDC local presence, Skype, webinars

• Explore partnerships with nonprofit development organizations

• Facilitate development of revolving loan funds

• Create rental and deposit resource revolving fund for start-up businesses

Broad Reach of “Non Profits”

• Training for childcare providers – 150+

• Several types financial literacy workshops – 300+ participants

• FastTrac program; new businesses started

• Entrepreneur 4 a day – all 5th graders Hardin and Mitchell Counties

• Entrepreneurial Endowments – 3 Counties

Specific Examples

Impact of local paid staff

(0.5 - 0.75 FTE +) on enhanced endowment growth will repay salary cost many times over

Need day-to-day and week-to- week contacts and activities

Lessons Learned

There CAN be synergy between the two spheres of “development”: philanthropic and economic

Common goals: community betterment, enhanced economic opportunity, better lives and living for people

Lessons Learned

Two different spheres of expertise

Thus:

need relationships and partnerships and broader thinking

Lessons Learned

Foundations: think more broadly in grant making mission and focus on how could enhance microenterprise and entrepreneurial development

Lessons Learned

Economic Developers: think how philanthropic support could be an “income stream” for appropriate kinds of development, training, and educational activities

Entrepreneurship, not “big” projects

Lessons Learned

Philanthropic development and economic development both LONG TERM activities

Results may not show up for several years

IMAP shows can have short-term impacts as well, even in just two or three years

Lessons Learned

“Easy” to show endowment impact and change……$$$ numbers

Much more difficult, and longer term, to show impact and change in microenterprise and economic development

Lessons Learned

Sandra Burke scburke@iastate.edu

Mark Edelman medelman@iastate.edu

www.cvcia.org