NEWS
BUSINESS BRIEFS
The Community Foundation Return on Investment Award Announcement
The Community Foundation of North Louisiana is currently seeking applications for its annual Return on Investment Award.
Return on investment (ROI) is a ratio derived by dividing return by investment, traditionally used by the business industry. Increasingly, however, this concept is becoming relevant to the nonprofit sector. With private donations to charities shrinking and requests for help growing, leverage, impact and ROI are more important than ever. Measuring ROI helps nonprofits assess their effectiveness and efficiency and demonstrate that they are returning value to the community. In a competitive economy, a strong ROI can help nonprofits communicate their worth and attract additional capital.
To encourage local nonprofits to undertake this type of self-measurement and to reward those who already excel in this area, The Community Foundation presents an annual award to a local nonprofit that has demonstrated an outstanding return on investment. The winner will be recognized at the Foundation’s annual meeting in April 2013. The winner will also receive a $5,000 grant award to start or add to an existing agency endowment fund housed at the Community Foundation.
Visit our website at www.cfnla.org to download the application. The application deadline is January 31, 2013. Please contact Liz LaBorde at laborde@cfnla.org for more information.
SHBA Announces 2013 Board of Directors
The Southern Hills Business Association has elected its 2013 Board of Directors. They are: John Bowman, The Human Resource Department, Inc.; Mara Elliott, Remington College; Marvin Greer, Marvin Greer Insurance; John Lorick, South Park Auto Sales; Harold Sater, Encore Event Rentals; Robert Duvall, Duvall’s Amusement Rentals; Drew Maggio, Barksdale Federal Credit Union; Lola Kendrick, Kendrick Educational Consulting; Barbara Riley, Barbara’s Unique Gifts and Florist; Daniel Lonsberry, Gibsland Bank & Trust; Chuck Stripling, Ayers Business College; Lt. Richard Corbett, Sheriff’s Safety Town; Shawn
Dye, Edward Jones Investments. Officers for 2013 are John Bowman, President; Mara Elliott, Vice President; Marvin Greer, Treasurer. All Board members are owners or managers of businesses in Southern Hills. The first meeting for 2013 will be January, 29th at the Business Center, 9701 Baird Road, with Shreve Memorial Library Director, Dr. Ronald Heezen, as Speaker.
YP of the Year Announced at annual 40 Under 40 Gala
More than 400 guests gathered at Horseshoe Riverdome to celebrate the many accomplishments of young professionals working and living throughout Shreveport-Bossier City. Each year, the Greater Shreveport Chamber of Commerce teams up with C i t y L i f e Magazine and other partners to highlight and recognize the commitment from young professionals in our area.
The awards are merited on career, community involvement and commitment to further professional development in their field of work. Forty individuals are selected to be honored each year from over 200 nominations each year. A special committee from the Chamber and Young Professional Initiative makes the selections each year.
“It is wonderful to see so many outstanding young people making their mark in this city,” said YPI Chair Kezia L. Pigford. Every year the selection committee has a difficult time narrowing the nominees down to only forty.” This program began in 2006 and since then there have been over 200 young professionals honored with this prestigious award. From the forty honorees chosen each year, one is named the Young Professional of the Year.
Dr. Megan Gardner of Ark-La-Tex Children’s Clinic was named the 2012 Young Professional of the Year. “Dr. Gardner stood out from the rest. She has gone above and beyond in her commitment to this region. Following in the footsteps of her grandfather, Mr. James “Jim” Gardner—past Shreveport Mayor and pioneer for this region— she will continue his legacy in keeping Shreveport close to her heart.
YPI is an affiliate program of the Greater Shreveport Chamber of Commerce that concentrates on providing networking, professional development and community outreach opportunities for young professionals working in the area. To learn more about this program visit www.ShreveportChamber.org.
— BUSINESS MONTHLY
NEWS
FROM THE BETTER BUSINESS BUREAU
Website Aims to Stop Investment Scams
Better Business Bureau and the FINRA Investor Education Foundation launched a new consumer website, BBB Smart Investing, which is designed to help investors make smarter investing decisions while avoiding fraud, risky investments and unlicensed brokers. The campaign combines the research and expansive knowledge base of the FINRA Foundation with the extensive consumer outreach of BBB’s trusted 100-year-old name and its 104 local operations across the United States. “Our partnership with BBB will help Americans in communities across the country protect their savings from fraudsters,” said FINRA Foundation President Gerri Walsh. “The FINRA Foundation’s ‘Outsmarting Investment Fraud’ curriculum and resources have been field-tested, and give consumers the tools and information they need to thwart fraudsters touting investment scams.” Consumer financial fraud is a serious problem in North America. According to the Federal Trade Commission and the Canadian AntiFraud Centre, consumers reported losing more than $1.5 billion to all types of scams in 2011. FINRA Foundation research has found that investors are overconfident in their knowledge of financial management, particularly Baby Boomers who are most often the target of investment scams. A telephone survey found that 92% felt “somewhat” or “very confident” about managing their finances, with almost 80% describing themselves as “somewhat” or “very” knowledgeable about investing. But only 44% got a passing grade on a basic financial literacy knowledge test. BBB Smart Investing hopes to help change that. “This is a great partnership,” says Carrie Hurt, President and CEO of the Council of Better Business
Bureaus. “Even though BBB has always investigated investment scams, this gives us a whole new portfolio of prevention tools to offer to consumers. The FINRA Foundation’s basic ‘Ask & Check’ message is exactly what consumers need to hear before they make investment decisions. We think this program will go a long way toward preventing investment scams that have become so much more prevalent in recent years as people more actively manage their own retirement funds.” Nearly half of the BBBs based in the United States have begun rolling out programs and hosting events in their local areas. A wide variety of tools from the FINRA Foundation are being used by trained BBB presenters across the country to introduce smart investing skills and to teach consumers how to detect investment schemes, scams and frauds. A list of upcoming events is available online. For those who are interested in learning more but cannot attend a local event or do not have one scheduled nearby, a free DVD is available from the FINRA Foundation. The program, “Trick$ of the Trade: Outsmarting Investment Fraud,” is an hour-long documentary that originally appeared on PBS and was recognized by Kiplinger’s Best of Everything.
— BUSINESS MONTHLY
BUSINESS MONTHLY| January 2013 | 13