FROM THE TOP
Executive Director, Eric Loewe

Dialing for Dollars at the National Level

In February I attended a new grant recipient training workshop held by the federal Department of Health and Human Services - OCS - in Washington, DC. Over 100 people attended representing the 86 award recipients for 2002 (two are from Washington State – SNEDA and one from Tacoma).

OCS provides among the most flexible funding available from the federal government to community development corporations (CDCs). These grants range in size from $75,000 for planning to $87,000 - $700,000 to implement job-generating business plans such as renovating commercial real estate or taking equity positions in for-profit corporations.

The workshop included payment processes and procedures, grant administrative requirements, introduction to SNEDA’s program officer, introduction to consultants (business planning, retail commercial development, replacement grants, agencies in transition, marketing plans, leasing and site control), micro enterprise, commercial real estate development and fundraising (especially through federal grants/loans and private sector partnerships).

I was struck by a quote from a consultant, Mr. Don Maxwell (Leawood, KS),  "During my tenure as President of the CDC of Kansas City, we obtained 26 OCS grants over approximately 15 years."

SNEDA competed successfully in both 2000 and 2002 for OCS money due largely to:

1. Funding from Foundation Northwest, City of Spokane CDBG, Corporation for National Service, Sterling Bank and US Bank. (Financial support by these organizations gives SNEDA local credibility in the eyes of funders such as OCS),
2. Our track record of meeting the goals we agreed with OCS, and
3. Our business plan being compatible with OCS goals of producing jobs.

It was a great opportunity to network with some of the nation’s top performing CDCs and be reminded that, in order to continue to compete successfully at the national level, SNEDA must:

• Generate job opportunities by creating new businesses and expanding/improving existing businesses,
• Raise operating, loan and equity funds by competing successfully for grants, from loan interest and fees and from returns on equity investments, and
• Build a top performing team (staff, board, loan/investment committees, consultants and business partners) to identify opportunities and execute business plans successfully.

Our current focus is trying to identify a near bankable deal to package for presentation to a CDC lender and, using our Treasury designation of CDFI, to apply to the Community Development Financial Institution for a grant requiring matching private sector funds.

NEW FACES

SNEDA welcomes new Entrepreneur Corps member Paul Hohlt as SNEDA's new Social Enterprise Development Specialist based at the Northeast Community Center. Paul is a graduate of California State Polytechnic in Pomona and worked as an accountant for a number of years. He also served as CFO for private and publicly traded firms. He is an Independent Financial Advisor and started his own company Strategies for Successful Retirement. He recently moved from Woodinville, WA and now lives in Newport.

Also new to SNEDA is Board member Robert L. Daugherty. Rob is a local entrepreneur and investor. He is Principal Partner in Northwest Angel Investors LLC, a firm that invests in startup companies and Co-Founder and Board member of Translational Technologies Inc. a local high tech company. Formerly, Rob was a news anchor at KXLY TV.

KEEPING CURRENT

Recommended reading by VISTA Leader, Don Hornbeck, "Guiding Growth: How Vision Keeps Companies on Course" by Mark Lipton. This is a good overview of how to develop a clear corporate vision - not a vision statement- and how to improve organizational performance and attract top talent.

WHAT’S NEW

As part of SNEDA's mission, Northwest Regional Facilitators (NRF) is undertaking an ambitious initiative: assessing housing conditions in 10 Spokane neighborhoods. Entrepreneur Corps member John Fisher is heading the effort to collect the information. From there, NRF will look for opportunities to renovate abandoned homes and return them to the housing market for low-income families.

The project participants are expanding upon previous assessments of the Hillyard area by AmeriCorps*VISTA members. Collectors will be trained to rate various aspects of the homes' exteriors including the roof, windows, siding and the foundation.

Work has already been completed in Emerson-Garfield, and as the weather improves, collectors will move into West Central, Peaceful Valley, Browne's Addition, East Central, Chief Garry Park, Logan, Nevada-Lidgerwood, Hillyard and Bemiss.