20th Anniversary – Fourth Faces Award
We are very excited for this year’s annual member meeting and to celebrate 20 years of microbusiness. We have a great agenda lined up for you filled with important info, lively discussion and of course time to celebrate. Show your support for microbusiness by sponsoring a table or registering today.
As part of our celebration, we will present the CAMEO Faces of Entrepreneurship Award during lunch. Last year’s winners included: Don Polvoron Bakery nominated by Renaissance Entrepreneurship Center (see pic left) and iResults nominated by CSUMB Small Business Development Center (see pic below.) This year it could be your client.
Legislators from the business owners’ districts will present awards. This is a great opportunity for your clients and helps us build strategic connections with our legislators. Award winners will be selected based on the following criteria: type of business, region, demonstrated growth and job creation, and contributions to their community. Nominate your businesses by April 30, 2014.
Post a photo and a one-liner of your nominee on CAMEO’s Facebook page.
Register for our 20th Anniversary Celebration in Sacramento on June 17, 2014! Join us for a full day of learning, networking, and celebrating two decades of micro.
Micro Impacts: Annual Survey
CAMEO is partnering once again with FIELD for our annual survey, so it’s time to gather your data. If you complete the survey by April 30, 2014, CAMEO will treat you and your staff to lunch up to $100! The U.S. Microenterprise Census is an annual online survey to obtain updated information on the size and impact of our industry. CAMEO uses this information to advocate for state and federal policies that increase resources to the Micro field. We are asked all the time to demonstrate the significant role Micro plays in local and statewide economies.
To complete the survey, all you need to do is…
- Download a sample survey to help you gather the data.
- Gather your 2013 year-end reports.
- Log on to microTracker.
- Create an account (if you don’t already have one).
- Complete the survey.
- Let us know you’re done. Email Andrew. He can help you if you have problems or questions.
Thank you for providing CAMEO with this vital data in a timely manner.
As a special incentive, FIELD and AEO are offering a discount for organizations that sign up for a microTracker Premium subscription and AEO membership together. New members receive $100 off from both FIELD and AEO! Click here to find out more.
Correction: In the 2012 survey results, the percentage of low income workers served was misreported. The actual percentage of low income workers served in 2012 was 75%, up from 52% in 2011.
The Goodies
New opportunities for training, conference information, funding, scholarships, and other information that have crossed our desks since the last Must Know. I have posted a running tab of current Industry Goodies on the CAMEO website that lists items that were in past emails. Check it out to make sure you’re not missing anything, like grants whose deadlines are still alive!
News Alert: Maria Contreras-Sweet was sworn in as the administrator for the Small Business Administration.
Member Kudos: Renaissance Entrepreneurship Center CEO Sharon Miller received a World of Difference100 Award from The International Alliance for Women (TIAW) for her work in helping Bay Area women to start and grow their own small businesses. Congrats!
CAMEO White Paper: Download Do-It-Yourself Economic Growth: How Communities Can Cultivate Their Talent and Thrive. Read it. Use it as a resource. Share it. The Do-It-Yourself Economy is built on a foundation of small, locally-owned, diverse businesses. CAMEO’s white paper focuses on why we need a new approach to economic development, explains the reality of small business and self-employment labor market trends, and delineates some of the tools that local economic developers can use to create a sustainable future for their regions.
New Report: Would you value data on microenterprise jobs, job quality and the return on investment of microenterprise? Are you trying to make the case for supporting microenterprise? Visit FIELD’s site, Microbusinesses, Gainful Jobs www.gainfuljobs.org, for the report and all the information you need to answer those questions.
Healthcare Webinars: The Small Business Administration and Small Business Majority are committed to helping businesses navigate the changes and opportunities in health care through the webinar series What the Healthcare Law Means For Your California Small Business . The next ones are on April 16 and April 23 at 10:00am. Note the Small Business Health Option Program’s online enrollment function is on hold and will be back online in the fall. Businesses can still purchase insurance through the traditional paper process, working with your Certified agent or the SHOP Service Center.
Free Webinar: Friedman and Associates hosts “How to Meet Your Deployment Goals for 2014 and Beyond!” on April 17, 2014 @ 11:00 am PDT. Join Friedman for a conversation as we share our framework for thinking through these core areas and our process for assessing loan fund operations to position your organization for growth.
Industry Survey: AEO and Credit Builders Alliance, with generous support of Capital One, have partnered to better understand the changing landscape of credit reporting and the implications of these changes on microlenders. Answer their survey by April 18, 2014.
Economic Empowerment Conference: The SBA is partnering with the National Black Justice Coalition (NBJC) to host Many Faces One Dream, an economic empowerment tour for LGBT communities of color. It takes place at the Oakland Marriot Center, 1001 Broadway, Oakland on Monday April 21, 2014, 8:00am to Tuesday April 22, 2014, 2:00pm. Register for Many Faces One Dream.
AEO Conference: Join us at AEO’s Big Easy Takeover in New Orleans, May 5-7. Let’s show AEO that CAMEO members know how to party! Claudia will be presenting on a panel entitled The State of Independence: Reframing Work for the 21st century and Marsha Bailey (WEV) is part of the Micro Capital Task Force Summit. CAMEO members are eligible for a $50 discount off the AEO nonmember rate and can access it by entering the code SMA2014 at registration. You can register now for AEO.
Industry Conference: CCEDA is hosting its 25th Anniversary Conference on Thursday, May 8, 2014 from 9:00am-5:00pm at the Los Angeles Radisson Hotel @ Los Angeles Airport, 6225 W Century Boulevard. Join the discussion on trends, views of the field, financing resources, and organization diversification. Workshops include: Social Enterprise-Planning, Financing, and Management; New Market Tax Credits; and Project Structuring & Financing in Post Re-development Credit.