25 Organizations Selected to Join New “Citigroup Microenterprise Researchers Program”
Washington, DC, March 5, 2007 – Twenty-five organizations across the country that help small businesses start and grow have been selected to participate in the “Citigroup Microenterprise Researchers Program,” a new initiative launched with a $250,000 grant from Citigroup Foundation.
The program funds each organization to recruit and hire a graduate student to work as a summer intern in 2007, collecting data about clients and learning about the small business development field. Recruitment of the interns is expected to begin immediately.
As part of the new program, Citigroup Foundation also is funding FIELD, the Microenterprise Fund for Innovation, Effectiveness, Learning and Dissemination (FIELD), a research group housed at the Aspen Institute in Washington, D.C., to manage the project and provide the interns with data collection training.
Microenterprises are defined as very small businesses capitalized with $35,000 or less and employing five or fewer people. Today there are approximately 500 organizations nationwide, known as microenterprise development organizations that provide budding entrepreneurs with capital and/or training.
The internship program grew out of recognition that microenterprise development programs frequently do not have the internal resources necessary to collect extensive data on their clients. Yet, such feedback can be invaluable to organizations that want to improve or add services, fund-raise or advocate for entrepreneurship. Moreover, introducing a group of college students to the microenterprise field could help create the next generation of industry leaders.
FIELD selected the 25 organizations through a competitive application process. Interns will be paid a stipend of $5,760 and should be pursuing a degree in public policy, planning, business or a related field.
The 25 organizations and their locations are:
| The Abilities Fund | Centerville, Iowa |
| ACCION San Diego | San Diego, California |
| ACCION Texas | San Antonio, Texas |
| AnewAmerica Community Corporation | Berkeley, California |
| Community Finance Resource Center | Los Angeles, California |
| Community First Fund | Lancaster, Pennsylvania |
| Detroit Entrepreneurship Institute | Detroit, Michigan |
| ECDC Enterprise Development Group (EDG) | Arlington, Virginia |
| Justine Peterson Housing and Reinvestment Corporation | St. Louis, Missouri |
| Latino Economic Development Corporation | Washington, DC |
| Lenders for Community Development | San Jose, California |
| Mercy Corps Northwest | Portland, Oregon |
| Micro Business Development Corporation | Denver, Colorado |
| Mountain BizWorks | Asheville, North Carolina |
| Northeast Economic Development, Inc. | Norfolk, Nebraska |
| Philadelphia Development Partnership | Philadelphia, Pennsylvania |
| PPEP Microbusiness and Housing Development Corporation, Inc. | Tucson, Arizona |
| Renaissance Entrepreneurship Center | San Francisco, California |
| Trickle Up | New York, New York |
| Utah Micro Loan Fund | Salt Lake City, Utah |
| Washington Community Alliance for Self-Help (Washington CASH) | Seattle, Washington |
| Women’s Economic Self-Sufficiency Team (WESST) | Albuquerque, New Mexico |
| Women’s Economic Ventures | Santa Barbara, California |
| Women Entrepreneurs of Baltimore | Baltimore, Maryland |
| Women’s Initiative | San Francisco, California |
The Citigroup Foundation, working with a global network of colleagues and nonprofits in the community, supports programs in three areas: financial education, educating the next generation, and building communities and entrepreneurs. Within these areas, the foundation provides grants and technical expertise to organizations that help people improve their lives, help businesses grow and help communities prosper.
FIELD is a nonprofit research organization created to identify, develop and disseminate best practices in the microenterprise field and to broadly educate policy makers, funders and others about microenterprise as an anti-poverty intervention. It is part of the Aspen Institute, which was founded in 1950 and today is an international nonprofit dedicated to fostering enlightened leadership and open-minded dialogue.
Additional information about the “Citigroup Microenterprise Researchers Program” is available on FIELD’s Web site: www.fieldus.org.
The Aspen Institute, founded in 1950, is an international nonprofit organization dedicated to fostering enlightened leadership and open-minded dialogue. Through seminars, policy programs, conferences and leadership development initiatives, the Institute and its international partners seek to promote nonpartisan inquiry and an appreciation for timeless values. The Institute is headquartered in Washington, DC, and has campuses in Aspen, Colorado, and on the Wye River on Maryland’s Eastern Shore. Its international network includes partner Aspen Institutes in Berlin, Rome, Lyon, Tokyo, New Delhi, and Bucharest, and leadership programs in Africa, Central America and India.
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