Business Inclusion

February 2010 e-Newsletter of the Inclusive Business Initiative

The Inclusive Business Initiative of the Insight Center for Community Economic Development releases its February 2010 e-newsletter. The e-newsletter includes the following highlights:

• Data on the portion of federal Recovery Act (ARRA) contracts going to small businesses, minority businesses, and women owned small businesses. The minority business contracts are broken out for each racial or ethnic group.
• Data on state contracts and subcontracts funded by the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) to Disadvantaged Business Enterprises (DBEs) for each of the 50 states, as well as District of Columbia and Puerto Rico, for fiscal year 2008.
• The 2009 Year in Review of the Inclusive Business Initiative, including our work with Delaware which led to the state's new supplier diversity policy.

If you would like to subscribe to the e-newsletter, send an email to tlohrentz@insightcced.org with the word 'ADD' in the subject and your contact info in the body of the email.

Few ARRA Recovery Capital Loans Going to Minority-owned Businesses

New American Media reports on its research of the participation of minority-owned businesses in the ‘America’s Recovery Capital’ loan guarantee program:

Loans handed out to struggling small businesses as part of President Barack Obama's stimulus package have largely shut out minority businesses -- especially those owned by Blacks and Latinos -- according to data provided by the federal government's Small Business Administration (SBA) to New America Media (NAM).

On June 15, the SBA, using money from the $787 billion American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, launched the ARC program, America's Recovery Capital, giving banks and credit unions 100 percent guarantees so they're taking no risk when they make loans of up to $35,000 to previously successful, currently struggling small businesses to help them ride out the recession.