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The Atlanta Fed’s Community and Economic Development engagement team launched the Inclusive and Resilient Recovery initiative to support strategies for a more inclusive and resilient economic recovery. Partners Update reflects on the ongoing webinar series and the goals of this initiative.
Speakers from organizations that support small businesses and entrepreneurship discussed the challenges these businesses are facing during the pandemic. For instance, many small businesses of color were unable to tap government programs like the Paycheck Protection Program because they lacked an existing relationship with a bank. Atlanta Fed president Raphael Bostic moderated the discussion.
Small businesses of color are important contributors to the national economy. The Atlanta and Kansas City Feds recently published the Small Businesses of Color Recovery Guide to help support these firms’ economic recovery. This Partners Update article provides an overview of this comprehensive guide.
Take the Federal Reserve Banks' annual Small Business Credit Survey to provide timely insights on small business conditions to policymakers, service providers, and lenders. Highlight your experience with COVID-19 and take the survey today! Link to the survey in Partners Update.
The Board expanded its Main Street Lending Program to allow more medium-sized and small businesses that were financially sound before the pandemic to receive support. Read about the changes in Partners Update.
Social distancing policies, mandatory business shutdowns, and shelter-in-place orders due to COVID-19 have left many small business owners vulnerable to permanent closure. Partners Update gives an overview of the state of southeastern small businesses before and during the COVID-19 pandemic.
The Federal Reserve Banks have released the 2020 report on small business financial and credit experiences. A supplemental brief explores small firm resilience in light of the effects of COVID-19. Read Partners Update for a summary.
The Federal Reserve Banks have released the 2020 report on small business financial and credit experiences. A supplemental brief explores small firm resilience in light of the effects of COVID-19. Read Partners Update for a summary.
The Federal Reserve's Small Business Credit Survey: 2019 Report on Minority-Owned Firms examines the state of minority-owned businesses, offering insights on their performance, access to financing, and experiences in the credit market. Partners Update highlights key findings from the report.
Anchor institutions such as universities and hospitals can help drive inclusive economic development in their communities. The author examines efforts to launch anchor institution strategies in New Orleans, Atlanta, and the Miami area.
The latest Federal Reserve Small Business Credit Survey probes the experiences of firms with no full- or part-time employees. Despite being a key income source for their owners, these firms face acute profitability and financing challenges, says Partners Update.
CAC members advise the Board on issues affecting consumers and communities, with a particular focus on the concerns of low- and moderate-income consumers and communities. Learn how to apply for membership in Partners Update.
The 2019 report says a larger share of firms had annual revenue and employment growth, compared with previous years. Online lenders gained in popularity, with nearly one-third of firms applying to such lenders. Read Partners Update to learn more.
Where do small businesses that sell goods and services globally go for financing? Partners Update explores the question using Federal Reserve Small Business Credit Survey data.
U.S. small businesses are important economic drivers, employing nearly half of non-self-employed workers, and financing is crucial to many firms' success. Partners Update compares southeastern small firms' performance and borrowing patterns with firms across the country.
Take the Federal Reserve Banks' annual Small Business Credit Survey to provide timely insights on small business conditions to policymakers, service providers, and lenders. Link to the survey in Partners Update.
Tune in to the latest episode of the Access podcast to discover how local food systems can create economic opportunity and drive economic activity in rural communities. Partners Update provides further details.
Join experts from the Federal Reserve, ncIMPACT, and Public Health Dayton and Montgomery County as they discuss the opioid epidemic and its impact on the economy. Register for the session in Partners Update.
How do small business financing experiences vary by the race or ethnicity of a firm's ownership? A new discussion paper examines data on minority-owned small businesses’ borrowing patterns.
The Federal Reserve seeks original research for its Community Development Research Conference, Renewing the Promise of the Middle Class. Get submission details in Partners Update.
The Fed Board and Cleveland Fed have released a report that examines how small business owners view online lending. Explore the findings in Partners Update.
The new Opportunity Zones tax incentive is for investing in distressed communities. Register for the webinar in Partners Update to learn how the incentive may affect your community.
Tune in to the latest episode of the Access podcast, which discusses a holistic workforce development model that moves beyond traditional training programs. Partners Update provides further details.
The third annual minority banker forum will discuss the economy and diversity/inclusion and offer attendees professional development opportunities. Learn more about the September forum in Partners Update.
The Fed Board has issued its annual report on households' economic outlook. It shows numerous signs of growth and improvement, but differences in well-being persist across race, ethnicity, education groups, and locations, says Partners Update.
The Fed report on small firms with employees finds profitability, revenue growth, and employment growth improved over 2016. However, certain segments continue to face financing challenges, according to Partners Update.
Two-thirds of firms polled in the Fed's 2017 Small Business Credit Survey have had trouble hiring over the past year. A new discussion paper investigates how firms use compensation, training, and job restructuring to respond.
This Board of Governors and Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis publication includes selected papers that were presented at the ninth biennial Federal Reserve System's Community Development Research Conference. The essays explore a range of issues and concepts central to understanding how—and how well—people are able to move economically.
The Community Reinvestment Act (CRA) encourages banks to help meet the credit needs of the communities they are chartered to serve, including the low- and moderate-income neighborhoods in those areas. This video explores the CRA's provisions and how regulators evaluate a bank's CRA performance.
Community development financial institutions have long faced challenges securing financing to assist low-income communities. One option is to become a Federal Home Loan Bank member to access additional funding sources. Partners Update discusses the membership process and new members in the Atlanta region.
The purpose of this ebook is to present an emerging model of economic development that focuses on using entrepreneurship and small business development as the primary tool to create community economic growth.
Published by the San Francisco Fed in partnership with CFED, What It's Worth provides a 360-degree view of the financial problems and challenges millions of American households face. The book highlights the enormous creativity and innovation underway to improve financial well-being and provides concrete ways that nearly all sectors of society can implement proven and evolving solutions.
Little is known about the financial lifecycle of nonemployer businesses, which are an important part of the U.S. economy. Do they obtain financing? If so, what is their source? A new paper in the Community and Economic Development Discussion Paper Series discusses findings from the 2014 Joint Small Business Credit Survey, focusing on the nonemployer firms.
With 90 percent of the world's data generated in just the past two years, this book from the San Francisco Fed and the Urban Institute challenges policymakers, funders, and practitioners across sectors to seize this new opportunity to revolutionize our approaches to improve lives in low-income communities. It provides a road map for the strategic use of data to reduce poverty, improve health, expand access to quality education, increase employment, and build stronger and more resilient communities.
The guidebook from the San Francisco Fed provides information on a variety of community development data resources, divided by topic area, along with a practical application of how to retrieve the data and suggestions on how to conduct appropriate analysis.
One outcome of the recent recession is that rural poverty rates are the highest since the mid-1980s. Mil Duncan, founding director of the University of New Hampshire's Carsey Institute, discusses the issues facing the rural poor in an Economic Development podcast episode.
Microbusinesses are a proven job-creation vehicle and promote economic growth. An Association for Enterprise Opportunity (AEO) report suggests their size and impact has implications for local economic development. Kim Alleyne, at AEO, provides highlights from the report in this Economic Development podcast episode.
Some 60 percent of small firms got most or all of the credit they applied for, a significant improvement over last year, according to the Atlanta Fed's first-quarter Small Business Survey. Partners Update reports on the survey results.
The 2014 Association for Enterprise Opportunity's national conference focused on the innovations, cross-sector collaboration among players, and policy initiatives that can foster economic opportunity for solo, micro, and Main Street business owners. The Atlanta Fed cosponsored the conference.
How effective are economic development strategies that seek to grow local entrepreneurship and small businesses? Todd Johnson at Gallup and Dell Gines at the Kansas City Fed explore the successes and challenges associated with this approach in an Economic Development podcast episode.
This publication provides a road map of best practices in community development and a healthy communities framework that highlights the types of investments that are valuable both to financial institutions and their target communities. It also includes reference guides for ensuring planned CRA activities meet regulatory requirements and a template for how financial institutions can tell their CRA story.
What are the challenges facing small business after the Great Recession? Ty Barksdale of Sutton Bank and Jake Rouch of Erie Regional Chamber and Growth Partnership describe demands of the current workplace, including that workers be adaptable, collaborative, agile, and entrepreneurial.
Lenders, regulators, and representatives of community-based nonprofit organizations met to discuss housing finance, general financial services, and small business lending, with a focus on low- to moderate-income households.
Microenterprise development initiatives can help to create and grow businesses and, in many cases, much needed jobs. Elaine Edgcomb and Tamra Thetford at the Aspen Institute discuss their proposal for encouraging microenterprise investment as a job creation strategy.
An economic development approach that supports locally owned businesses over nonlocally owned businesses and small companies over large ones has gained popularity since the 1980s. In a new paper, the author examines the effects of locally based entrepreneurship on local economic performance.
Community Reinvestment Act loans are intended to meet the needs of a community, including those in low- and moderate-income neighborhoods. Here's a look at trends in national and southeastern data, focusing on small business and small farm loans.
A diverse set of issues is shaping community development policy and practice. Nearly 350 participants explored research at the Fed's eighth biennial Community Development Research Conference. New ideas, approaches, and strategies for the community development industry and academic field were discussed.
What are the current trends in female entrepreneurship? Alicia Robb, senior research fellow at the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation, discusses recent data on women-owned firms and the challenges and opportunities in expanding this sector.
Stephan Goetz, director of the Northeast Regional Center for Rural Development, discusses his recent research on the growing impact of self-employment as an economic development strategy. He also describes the types of local programs and policies that can support this sector.
This Atlanta Fed booklet describes how the Community Reinvestment Act (CRA) affects the way banks and thrifts serve their communities' credit needs. It outlines factors that regulators use to rate a bank's CRA performance and tells where to find information on a bank's rating.
Small minority businesses typically pay higher interest rates and receive smaller loans than nonminority-owned firms of similar age and size. Tim Bates, professor of economics at Wayne State University, explores ideas to increase access to capital so minority companies can create jobs and expand.
Bob Friedman of the Corporation for Enterprise Development discusses how federal tax preparation assistance for new businesses and the self-employed could facilitate job creation.
This compilation of essays published by the San Francisco Fed and the Low Income Investment Fund highlights entrepreneurial solutions for addressing poverty. Authors include leading experts from across the country in community and economic development, academia, government policy, health, and philanthropy.
On November 9-10, the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System hosted a forum on Small Business and Entrepreneurship during an Economic Recovery in collaboration with the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta and the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation. View materials from this event, including conference papers, video clips, transcripts, and speaker presentations.
Participants discussed issues facing small businesses and entrepreneurs in the current economic environment. The Atlanta Fed, Fed Board of Governors, and Kauffman Foundation cohosted the event.
Miss a Fed community development call-in? No problem! You can hear the presentations and discussion plus see the slides and related resources online after the session. Materials from the first call-in on September 8, Micro Finance: Helping to Create First-time Entrepreneurs, are available now.
Federal Reserve System webinar series provides a national audience with timely insights and information on emerging and important community and economic development topics.
The new podcasts added to the Atlanta Fed's Economic Development podcast series highlight strategies that practitioners across the country are using in the postrecession economy.
New research suggests that self-employment is becoming an important solution to unemployment in the Southeast, especially in rural areas. But why are there different outcomes for urban and rural areas? And what are the implications for economic developers and policymakers?
Find out the latest small business trends by industry sector, age of firm, and more in the latest report on the results of the Atlanta Fed's quarterly survey of small businesses.
The Atlanta Fed offers a new collection of small business resources, with a special focus on the Southeast. Plus, now you can explore the relationships between small business, entrepreneurship, and economic recovery through papers and presentations from a recent conference.
Microenterprises, which employ about 20 percent of the U.S. private-sector workforce, have been especially important since the recent recession. Connie Evans, president and CEO of the Association for Enterprise Opportunity, discusses how economic developers can grow local jobs by supporting microenterprises.
Newly available data provide fresh insights into employment in the small business sector. Brian Headd, economist in the Small Business Administration's Office of Advocacy, explores the changing relationship of small business to jobs.
Minority-owned small businesses make significant contributions to the U.S. economy, but there are still distinct disparities in business performance between minority-owned firms and nonminority-owned firms. Dr. Robert Fairlie, professor of applied economics and finance at the University of California Santa Cruz, discusses how minority-owned small businesses have fared in difficult economic conditions and policy options to address these challenges.
For some low-skilled workers, self-employment appears to be the best opportunity to improve their earnings, but is it? Dr. Magnus Lofstrom, research fellow with the Public Policy Institute of California, discusses whether self-employment improves the earning power of low-skilled workers as well as economic development policies that local and state governments could consider to help this vulnerable population.
Small businesses are recognized as job creation engines as well as contributors to the economic vibrancy of the neighborhoods where they are located. Dr. Lisa Servon, former dean of Milano the New School for Management and Urban Policy, discusses the effects of the economic downturn on small businesses and local communities and approaches to promoting economic development in a time of major financial constraints and challenges.
The conference provided a multidisciplinary approach to understanding the relationship between small business and entrepreneurship and economic recovery. The Kauffman Foundation and Atlanta and Dallas Feds cohosted the event.