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SWFL MicroEnterprise Project Announced

The Southwest Florida Community Foundation (SWFLCF) is excited to announce that we have entered into a partnership with a number of other local organizations to create the Southwest Florida MicroEnterprise Project. This project will provide training and loans to community members, specifically the unemployed, to start their own businesses.

SWFLCF’s role will be to solicit, accept, and disburse funds on behalf of this project, and SWFLCF will be the main source of reporting back to financial supporters. All funding will flow through SWFLCF, which has committed $20,000 per year for three years to get the project off the ground.

Goodwill Industries of Southwest Florida will be the administrator of the program and will coordinate the training, mentoring, and loan applications of clients. The training curriculum that will be used has been implemented by Goodwill at several other sites around the country with great success. SCORE will mentor and recruit mentors for those in the program.

The Southwest Florida Enterprise Center will provide training space and conduct the training. Through the rigorous training curriculum, clients will determine if their projects are viable and if they should move forward with their business plans.

Successful completion of this program makes a client eligible to pursue a microloan with ACCION USA, which specializes in working with small business owners who cannot borrow from the bank due to business type, a short length of time in business, or an insufficient credit history. ACCION has a 98% repayment rate on their loans. There are multiple other organizations that potentially will be partnering on this project as well.

For general information on the Southwest Florida Micro Enterprise Project, visit www.swflmicro.com.

To find out how you can financially support this important community project, click HERE.

Read Us in the Florida Weekly

Every week in the Florida Weekly newspaper, articles of Southwest Florida Community Foundation staff and guest contributors are featured in the Giving section. Pick up your free copy around town or visit the Florida Weekly website at www.floridaweekly.com.

Read us in the Island sun

SWFLCF is also featured monthly in the Island Sun Newspaper of Sanibel and Captiva Islands. Pick up your free copy around town or visit their website at www.islandsunnews.com.