Keeping in Touch With Our Roots
Last month the SNEDA Board requested that SNEDA staff and Board members give informational presentations to the neighborhood associations about the Community Development areas, i.e., the areas SNEDA serves. Our topic was SNEDA’s request for $300,000 from the 2003 City of Spokane Community Development Block Grant funds to seed a loan fund for neighborhood businesses.
SNEDA Board Chairperson Chris Venne and I so far have made presentations to Chief Garry Park, East Central, Hillyard, Logan, Nevada Lidgerwood and Peaceful Valley. Attendance ranged from 15 to 50 people. Four other SNEDA Board members and six staff members/volunteers attended some of these meetings as well. Additional presentations are scheduled for the Hillyard Steering Committee, Browne’s Addition and West Central.
The feedback has been tremendous. We learned an enormous amount from the questions neighborhood residents have asked. Those in attendance were curious about what SNEDA can do for economic development, businesses and jobs and what SNEDA has already done for the neighborhoods. We learned that despite our daily presence in the community centers and working with neighborhood businesses, regular attendance at neighborhood meetings is vital to continuing a healthy relationship with those we serve.
MOVING ON
Kristine Bentz completed her year for AmeriCorps/VISTA as a Neighborhood Planner for Hillyard and will be visiting Japan and Italy before enrolling in graduate school this fall. The Hillyard folks, NECCA and SNEDA extend their collective good wishes for a much deserved travel holiday and subsequent career in neighborhood economic development.
SNEDA Mobile Business Specialist, Shannon Antoine has transferred to Oregon where she is involved with micro enterprise development for the Newport/Lincoln City area.
KEEPING CURRENT
Recommended reading by Kerri Rodkey of SNAP: "The Trusted Advisor" by David Maister, Charles Green, and Robert Galford describes how to establish trust in relationships when business consulting. Also recommended, "The Perfect Business Plan" and recommended by VISTA Leader, Don Hornbeck, "The Community Economic Development Handbook" by Mihailo Temali. For those interested in the concept of enterprise facilitation, AmeriCorps VISTA Kristine Bentz recommends "Ripples on the Zambezi" by Ernesto Sirolli.
WHAT’S NEW
SNEDA staff is touring the neighborhoods, meeting with residents to introduce the idea of giving SNEDA access to some of the city’s Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) funds. SNEDA is asking for $300,000 for a five-year period that would be allocated from the $2.5 million designated for miscellaneous projects. If approved by the city, this grant will augment SNEDA’s existing loan fund to provide financing to businesses which are unable to obtain adequate capital from existing conventional or non-profit lenders.
SNEDA is unique in that it is the only organization in Spokane certified as a Community Development Finance Institution (CDFI). The CDFI Fund was established in 1994. It is run by the U.S. Department of the Treasury that infuses federal financing into institutions that serve low-income individuals and communities. This means that SNEDA provides banks with an enhanced financial incentive to loan. According to the Small Business Administration, 10% (500 companies) of businesses in SNEDA’s targeted area are not adequately financed. With some help from the City of Spokane, SNEDA hopes to turn this around.
