How do you build good jobs and improve financial know-how and skills for hardworking people whose efforts toward economic, social, and cultural prosperity deserve better support?
This year’s annual report explores one of our responses, which is to fund a portfolio for Enterprise Development that focuses on communities who haven’t received their fair share of investment: Native nations, communities of color, rural communities, and areas with high immigrant and refugee populations.
Why Care About Enterprise Development?
Local entrepreneurs and small business owners are the lifeblood of communities. Businesses with fewer than 20 employees account for more than 97 percent of all new jobs. They are also invested in the well-being of their communities and expand opportunities for other community members to thrive.
We support microenterprises, businesses with five or fewer employees where owners work for themselves, and social enterprises, businesses run locally by nonprofits that raise revenue while furthering their missions. Learn more about enterprise development.
Neighborhood Development Center Supports Ownership and Income for Low-Income Communities
You can gain some context for this by reading the report’s in-depth profile of NDC. NDC provides loans and comprehensive programming for owners of microenterprises in communities of color, including Native American, immigrant, and refugee communities.
The loans offer capital that might not otherwise be accessible. Training, technical assistance, and other support improve the odds of success. To date, more than 550 entrepreneurs have passed through NDC’s training program, employing more than 2,000 community members.
Several audio pieces go deeper into NDC’s work through the voices of employees and program participants. Details about some of the Foundation’s other commitments to Enterprise Development and about its financials and staff also appear in the report.
