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Corporate Social Responsibility
News
3.11.2008 - 03:45pm ET
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Citi Foundation Funds Interns For 20 Microenterprise Organizations
(CSRwire) WASHINGTON, DC - March 11, 2008 - For the second year in a row, the Citi
Foundation is funding summer interns to work with 20 organizations across
the country that help entrepreneurs start and grow businesses. Known as
the "Citi Microenterprise Researchers Program," the interns will help
collect data on clients, while also learning about the microenterprise
development field, which supports budding entrepreneurs by providing
capital and/or training.
Each organization will recruit and hire a graduate student for the
internship, which will pay a $7,000 stipend.
As part of the $280,000 program, Citi Foundation also is funding FIELD,
the microenterprise Fund for Innovation, Effectiveness, Learning and
Dissemination, a research group housed at the Aspen Institute in
Washington, D.C., to manage the project and train the interns in data
collection methods.
Microenterprises are defined as very small businesses capitalized with
$35,000 or less and employing five or fewer people. Currently, there are
approximately 500 organizations nationwide engaged in the microenterprise
field.
The internship program was designed to help these organizations collect
extensive data on their clients that can be used to improve or identify
gaps in services, fund-raise or advocate for entrepreneurship. The
internships also are a way to introduce college students to the
microenterprise field and help create the next generation of industry
leaders.
FIELD selected the 20 organizations through a competitive application
process. The organizations and their locations are:
ACCION New York, New York, N.Y.
ACCION San Diego, San Diego, Calif.
ACCION USA, Boston, Mass.
(Business Investment Growth) BiGAUSTIN, Austin, Texas
Community First Fund, Lancaster, Penn.
Justine Petersen Housing and Reinvestment Corporation, St. Louis, Mo.
Latino Economic Development Corporation, Washington, D.C.
Lenders for Community Development, San Jose, Calif.
Mercy Corps Northwest, Portland, Ore.
Micro Business Development Corporation, Denver, Colo.
Mountain BizWorks, Asheville, N.C.
Nebraska Microenterprise Partnership Fund, Oakland, Neb.
Philadelphia Development Partnership, Philadelphia, Pa.
Renaissance Entrepreneurship Center, San Francisco, Calif.
Utah Microenterprise Loan Fund, Salt Lake City, Utah
Washington Community Alliance for Self-Help (CASH), Seattle, Wash.
Wisconsin Women's Business Initiative Corporation, Milwaukee, Wis.
Women's Economic Ventures, Santa Barbara, Calif.
Women's Initiative, San Francisco, Calif.
Women's Opportunities Resource Center, Philadelphia, Pa.
More about the Citi Microenterprise Researchers Program is available at:
www.fieldus.org.
About The Citi Foundation
The Citi Foundation is committed to enhancing economic opportunities for
underserved individuals and families in the communities where it works
throughout the world. Globally, the Citi Foundation is focusing its
giving on Microfinance and Microentrepreneurship, which helps individuals
become economically self-sufficient; Small and Growing Businesses leading
to economic expansion and job creation; Education, which prepares young
people for personal and professional success; Financial Education, which
helps individuals make informed financial decisions; and the Environment
with a focus on sustainable enterprises that generate jobs and stimulate
economic growth while preserving the environment. In the U.S. and Canada,
the Citi Foundation supports Community Development programs that help build
and revitalize neighborhoods and Education programs that prepare students
for college and careers. Additional information can be found at
http://www.citigroupfoundation.org/.
About The Aspen Institute
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 near the shores of the Chesapeake Bay in
Maryland. Its international network includes partner Aspen Institutes in
Berlin, Rome, Lyon, Tokyo, New Delhi, and Bucharest, and leadership
initiatives in Africa, Central America, and India.
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