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During the event, PriceWaterhouseCoopers announced a five-year, $160 million commitment to advance youth education and financial literacy, including $60 million in cash and one million service hours valued at $100 million. In total, dayone commitments will directly affect nearly 3.9 million people. ing to American micro-businesses. This commitment will reach 20,000 small business owners, create jobs, and secure more livelihoods. Criterion will facilitate dialogue between business, churches and micro-lenders, build an awareness campaign to demonstrate new ways churches can support micro-business models in their communities, and work with financial intermediaries, such as micro-lenders, to design models that equip them to work with churches in order to engage in micro-lending. Most importantly, Criterion will be responsible for capturing, packaging, and spreading knowledge on how to reshape relevant market systems to better engage churches in supporting microbusinesses and marginalized populations. -----------------------------------------------------------Impact America HBCU Venture Catalyst Commitment by: Jalia Ventures United Negro College Fund (UNCF) Focus Area: Economic Empowerment Introduction: In 2012, Jalia Ventures and the United Negro College Fund committed to launch a venture competition to promote the development of minority-owned businesses that have a social or environmental mission. This partnership will raise $3.5 million over two years to expose historically black college and university students and alumni to social entrepreneurship and impact investing, and provide select entrepreneurs with seed financing and technical assistance to launch or scale up their enterprises. Those applicants who are selected to receive funding will have access to ongoing mentoring, training, and professional development opportunities. ----------------------------------------------------------Financial Security Has No Age Limits Commitment by: National Federation of Community Development Credit Unions Focus Area: Economic Empowerment
Introduction: In 2012, the National Federation for Community Development Credit Unions (NFCDCU) committed to expanding its Better Directions program from eight to 16 sites to reach an additional 1,600 seniors with financial products and educational tools. The program brings together community-based financial institutions (CDCUs) and networks of advocates for the aging to deliver products and services, including, savings products, affordable loans, debt reduction loans and pre-retirement investment products, while disseminating financial education and financial management tools that address the specific economic needs of low-income seniors. ------------------------------------------------------------
Using Video Games to Increase Learning Computer Science Commitment by: Glitch Game Testers Focus Area: Education
Introduction: In 2012, Glitch Game Testers and its partners committed to increasing the number of African-American teenage males interested in pursuing computer science degrees and careers. Over a five-year period, 125 low-income 16-year-old African-American males enrolled in high school in Atlanta will be given the opportunity to enroll in an intensive two-week introductory computer science learning program provided by the College of Computing at Georgia Tech. This initial training course will be complimented by ongoing computer science classes, including preparation for the
Advanced Placement Computer Science test, throughout the student’s involvement in the program. Each year, at least 10 program participants will be hired to fill part-time summer positions as game testers, a critical early stage position that ensures video games are interesting to play and free of any programming glitches. This commitment will help leverage ability of video games to attract and entertain teenage males in order to not only provide high quality education and employment opportunities but also serve as a model for other programs that seek to broaden participation of underrepresented groups in technology careers. Growing Family Assets Through Fair Lending in Mississippi Commitment by: Mississippi Center for Justice Focus Area: Economic Empowerment
Introduction: In 2012, The Mississippi Center for Justice committed to launch a state-wide campaign initiative to address predatory lending in America’s poorest state by dramatically expanding the availability of fair lending financial products and opportunities for asset creation. The Center will forge partnerships with employers, banks, credit unions, labor unions, schools and universities, funders and nonprofits by developing and disseminate educational resource materials; creating a sub-site of the Center’s website to provide information for consumers and participants about small dollar fair lending products. Additionally, The Center’s communications staff will support the working group in developing a media campaign to promote the initiative. ----------------------------------------------------------Empowering Women Entrepreneurs to Create U.S. Jobs Commitment by: Women’s Initiative for Self Employment Focus Area: Economic Empowerment
Introduction: In 2012, Women’s Initiative for Self Employment committed to provide women with the training and resources needed to start and grow 1,153 businesses and create and retain 3,701 jobs in three years. With this new commitment, Empowering Women Entrepreneurs to Create U.S. Jobs, Women’s Initiative will build on partnerships with major corporations, local businesses and community organization. By building on these partnerships, Women’s Initiative will expand its successful model of providing services to low-income women in new markets, while increasing their services in existing ones. These new markets, to be located in Chicago and New York, will replicate the successes of Women’s Initiative by offering entrepreneurship trainings, financing and support services. -----------------------------------------------------------
an extension of Capital One’s three-year, $4.5 million commitment to support the U.S. Chamber of Commerce’s Hiring Our Heroes initiative, which provides job fairs and workforce training initiatives across the United States for veterans and military spouses. This new initiative aims to create 1,500 new jobs over the next three years. -----------------------------------------------------------Optimizing Contracts for Minority and Women Owned Firms Commitment by: National Community Reinvestment Coalition Focus Area: Economic Empowerment
Introduction: In 2012, The National Community Reinvestment Coalition (NCRC) committed to hire 10 business development specialists (BDS) to assist small businesses, particularly women- and minority-owned, in securing government contracts. Each BDS will be assigned to a specific agency in order to fully understand the requirements of that agency, upcoming contract opportunities, and current contractors working on various contracts. Each BDS will work with clients to secure a total of $30-100M yearly in contracts over a 5-year period. ----------------------------------------------------------Integrated Tax Services for Low-Income Business Owners Commitment by: Corporation for Enterprise Development (CFED) Focus Area: Economic Empowerment
Introduction: In 2012, Corporation for Enterprise Development (CFED) committed to operate Integrated Tax Services for LowIncome Business Owners by partnering with 60 local programs to build their capacity to serve a minimum of 250 low-income business owners per Local Partner. This commitment will enable 30,000 business owners over three tax years to have improved access to capital and financial services and receive an average $1,000 in Earned Income Tax Credits and other tax credits. CFED also committed to work with three to five Local Partners to identify problematic client behaviors that impede programmatic success and implement behaviorally-informed program improvements; and reach 100,000 people through a media campaign to make the case that low-income businesses need access to integrated tax and businesses services, and that these business can become important engines of job creation and economic growth. ------------------------------------------------------------
ECONOMICS
Empowering Women Veteran-Owned Small Businesses Commitment by: Capital One Count Me In for Women’s Economic Independence Focus Area: Economic Empowerment
Introduction: In 2012, Capital One Financial Corporation committed to partnering with Count Me In for Women’s Economic Independence to launch a new business training program designed for small businesses owned by women veterans. This program is
Sustainable Housing and Community Building - Kansas City, MO Commitment by: Make It Right Foundation Focus Area: Economic Empowerment
Introduction: In 2012, Make It Right committed to the redevelopment and construction of 50 LEED Platinum affordable housing units and a community center in the Manheim Park neighborhood of Kansas City, MO. This commitment builds on Make It Right’s existing work to make sustainable homes affordable for families in need, and is the result of a yearlong discussion with local residents and community leaders. Over the next year, Make It Right will redevelop and convert a vacant and abandoned school into LEED Platinum housing and a community center featuring an auditorium, gymnasium, locker rooms, technology lab, job training center,
medical clinic, grocery store and other retail space, community gardens, playground, walking trail and police office. Access to these resources will be available to all 30,000 residents of the neighborhood, resulting in a healthier, safer community. This commitment will also create or fill 420 full time, part time and consultant jobs. -----------------------------------------------------------Green Button initiative, EnerNOC Commitment by: EnerNOC, Inc. Focus Area: Environment & Energy
Introduction: In 2012, EnerNOC committed to join the Green Button initiative. The Green Button initiative is an industry-led effort that responds to a White House call-toaction to provide consumers with secure, easy-to-understand data about their energy use to help them take better control of their energy bills. EnerNOC commits to adopt the Green Button Standard at each one of its 12,500 customer sites whose utility companies support Green Button to support comparison of real-time metering data with billed utility usage. EnerNOC commits to the announcement of additional value-added software implementations (e.g., creation of a demand response eligibility tool for prospective customers, built using Green Button data). Green Button standardizes the utility data that customers can access-but EnerNOC will take this visibility a step further by helping customers derive value from the data. Specifically, EnerNOC will use Green Button data to identify actionable energy efficiency opportunities.
Nearsourcing in San Diego: Reviving US Prosperity Commitment by: CONNECT Focus Area: Economic Empowerment
Introduction: In 2012, CONNECT committed to expanding their “Nearsourcing Roundtable” program to attract and retain local manufacturing businesses in San Diego. CONNECT’s matchmaking sessions help San Diego entrepreneurs and designers identify and contract with local manufacturers along the supply chain, and prevent new businesses from looking overseas for production needs. Over one and a half years, CONNECT hosted six sessions, matching 6 firms with local suppliers and resulting in business growth. Through this Commitment to Action, CONNECT will increase the number of these matchmaking session to four or five-per month, resulting in at least fifty matches per year by 2015. CONNECT will begin to convene the workshops by industry cluster (life sciences, defense, biotechnology and medical devices) for more effective networking and matching. Further, CONNECT will launch a marketing campaign to educate local and international businesses about the benefits of contracting with local San Diego firms. -----------------------------------------------------------Small Business Education: Access to Capital & Credibility Commitment by: Dun & Bradstreet Credibility Corp. Focus Area: Economic Empowerment
Introduction: In 2012, Dun & Bradstreet Credibility Corp. committed to empowering five hundred Dun & Bradstreet Credit Advisors to each identify one struggling small business in their respective community or region per month over the course of one year. These Credit Advisors will provide a free educational credit consultation to at least 3,000 small business owners. They will also pro-