Supporting Entrepreneurship in the USA

The last few months, I’ve had a number of conversations with friends who wonder how the principles that drive HOPE could be applied domestically. It’s an important question, and although HOPE has decided to remain focused internationally, I strongly believe we need more organizations working to help restore dignity through the gift of employment in the U.S.

legos duplo

Here are some examples of organizations I admire that are creatively addressing poverty in the U.S.  Some provide job preparedness. Others provide access to financial services. All are having a positive impact.

1) Mentoring  

  1. Defy Ventures and Prison Entrepreneurship Program (PEP). M.B.A. boot camp for convicts and ex-convicts, PEP and Defy are built on an interesting hypothesis: Often criminals are born entrepreneurs. Many students used to manage networks—albeit illegal—and possess ingenuity, the ability to think on their feet. Defy and PEP are helping them transfer these skills to thrive in the business world. Eighty nine percent of criminals who return to prison are unemployed when arrested. In sum: A job keeps people from going behind bars again. PEP offers business training, giving prisoners a second chance. Results are remarkable. Within 90 days of getting out of prison, 100 percent of individuals at PEP find jobs. And the recidivism rate of PEP’s graduates—five percent. (Nationwide it’s 60 percent.)
  2. Assets Lancaster. Based in the city of HOPE’s headquarters, Assets provides a 10-12 week course in business training and management, as well as business mentoring for entrepreneurs. It’s also hands-on training and it is having an impact in building a better city. See www.assetslancaster.org.

2) Business Training/Job Preparedness

  1. Jobs for Life (JfL). JfL taps into one of the most overlooked resources to provide job training—the Church. Through JfL, the Church is equipping individuals with skills to interview, to network, and to find and to retain a job. See www.jobsforlife.org/JfL-profile.htm and video.
  2. The Chalmers Center. World class, Chalmers develops curriculum to provide a hand up. Faith & Finances is their course empowering churches and organizations to teach foundational principles of finance. See www.chalmers.org/work/gtc/programs/financial.

3) Financial Services

  1. Grameen AmericaProsper.comAccion USA.  Nobel Peace Prize winner Muhammad Yunus made microfinance a household name.  He decided to take his pioneering Grameen Bank—which has served the poor globally—to New York City. Now it has spread throughout the U.S.  Grameen, Accion, and Prosper.com are just three organizations giving financial services, such as savings and small loans, as well as business training to get people on their feet again.  See grameenamerica.org, www.accionusa.org, and www.prosper.com.
  2.  Grace Period.  Loan sharks and “payday” lenders—with interest rates as steep as 400 percent—are  often the only option in an emergency. Grace Period offers an alternative.  Providing small loans, Grace Period also requires members to save for the next emergency. See www.graceperiod.org.

One last organization which you should explore – Hustle PHX. They “encourage the creation of sustainable business ventures that affirm the dignity of people and lead to the flourishing of all communities in Phoenix” and focus on providing three essential kinds of capital: Intellectual Capital (training), Human Capital (mentoring), and Financial Capital (investment). Check them out at http://www.hustlephx.com/.

These are just some organizations doing important work in giving people a hand up, rather than a handout throughout the U.S.

Which other groups am I missing?

February 12, 2015: After publishing this blog, friends have sent other examples of excellent organizations operating in the US, including:

  • Center for Peace in Texas is a subset of Perpetual Help Home in Victoria, TX, an organization that walks alongside women as they break the cycle of incarceration and homelessness. The Center for Peace helps women learn business, computer, and office skills to become marketable for employment.
  • Sunshine Gospel Ministries in Chicago, IL walks along local business owners and entrepreneurs to set them up for success in their endeavors.
  • LAUNCH Chattanooga in TN offers support to budding entrepreneurs in underserved areas to create sustainable businesses, thus helping their families and communities thrive.
  • Restorers is a training program in Grand Rapids, MI that seeks to help build budding entrepreneurs turn their ideas into thriving businesses.
  • The Pepperdine Micro-enterprise Program helps underprivileged members of the Los Angeles community find gainful employment and launch micro-businesses.
  • The Crossing School of Business & Entrepreneurship in Indiana empowers struggling students to become contributing members of their communities through academics, job training, and faith-based character education.
  • Mission Asset Fund in San Francisco, California helps individuals acquire loans from the bank by organizing lending circles, processing payments (without interest or fees), and reporting to major credit bureaus. In time, individuals within these lending circles can build good credit and secure loans from the bank. 

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Scroll to top