What does IMAP stand for? Iowa Microenterprise Assistance Project, which provides grants to affiliate community foundations, facilitates endowment building activities, and financially supports entrepreneur and microenterprise development activities.

1. IMAP Philanthropy
Initiative for
Microenterprise
Sandra Burke
Mark A. Edelman
Community Vitality Center

2. Iowa Microenterprise Assistance Project
• Northwest Area Foundation
• Community Foundation of Greater Des Moines
• Community Vitality Center
• Iowa MicroLoan
IMAP

3. Philanthropy and Microenterprise Initiative
• Grants to Affiliate Community Foundations
• Facilitate endowment building activities
• Financially support entrepreneur and
microenterprise development activities

4. • 4 counties full program - 2010 - 2012
Greene, Hardin, Mitchell, Story
$50,000 over 3 years
• 3 counties
Adair strategic planning $5,000 2010
Adair $15,000 2011 – 2012
Boone $40,000 2011 – 2013
Okoboji $40,000 2011 planning and activities
7 County-based Affiliate Foundations

5. 5 counties hired local staff (had not had any before)
• 2 counties paid ¼ time staff, fully by grant
• 2 counties paid half-time staff, fully by grant
• 1 county had 2/3 time staff of which half is
paid from grant
1 county already had full time but increased to 1.25
staff, 15% of salaries from grant
1 county did not hire staff for endowment building
Board volunteers important
Local Staffing

6. • Contacts and presentations with potential donors,
professional advisors, leaders, and organizations.
• Grant-making activities & coordination
• Financial related, endowment, tax credits, legislative, and
financial work and contacts
• Awareness and “brand” building activities, marketing,
web presence, newsletters/mailings, media, reports,
social media, publications, brochures....
• Event planning, Coordination of programs and projects
Staff Activities

11. • $2.98 Million more in contributions
(2 or 3 years) than before project
• together the counties + 117% more
than before project
• 3 counties > 100% higher
• 1 county > 300% higher
**Foundation Funds Grew**

12. • Facilitate entrepreneurship
• Help start new businesses
• Create jobs
• Not the typical role for philanthropy
• ***Can’t do as directly*** IRS
Microenterprise Development Activities

13. • Support business training/workshops
• Support financial literacy programs
• Fund professional development grants
• Implement summer internship program for
college students
Broad Reach of “Educational Purposes”

14. • Youth entrepreneurship programs
• Orient annual grants to microenterprise
development purposes
• Facilitate local entrepreneurship networks
and support organizations
• Create and build an endowment for
microenterprise

15. • Support SBDC local presence, Skype, webinars
• Explore partnerships with nonprofit
development organizations
• Facilitate development of revolving loan funds
• Create rental and deposit resource revolving
fund for start-up businesses
Broad Reach of “Non Profits”

16. • Training for childcare providers – 150+
• Several types financial literacy workshops –
300+ participants
• FastTrac program; new businesses started
• Entrepreneur 4 a day – all 5th graders Hardin
and Mitchell Counties
• Entrepreneurial Endowments – 3 Counties
Specific Examples

17. Impact of local paid staff
(0.5 - 0.75 FTE +) on enhanced
endowment growth will repay
salary cost many times over
Need day-to-day and week-to-
week contacts and activities
Lessons Learned

18. There CAN be synergy between the two
spheres of “development”:
philanthropic and economic
Common goals: community betterment,
enhanced economic opportunity, better
lives and living for people
Lessons Learned

19. Two different spheres of expertise
Thus:
need relationships and partnerships
and broader thinking
Lessons Learned

20. Foundations: think more broadly in
grant making mission and focus on
how could enhance microenterprise
and entrepreneurial development
Lessons Learned

21. Economic Developers: think how
philanthropic support could be an
“income stream” for appropriate kinds
of development, training, and
educational activities
Entrepreneurship, not “big” projects
Lessons Learned

22. Philanthropic development and economic
development both LONG TERM activities
Results may not show up for several years
IMAP shows can have short-term impacts
as well, even in just two or three years
Lessons Learned

23. “Easy” to show endowment impact
and change……$$$ numbers
Much more difficult, and longer term,
to show impact and change in
microenterprise and economic
development
Lessons Learned

24. Sandra Burke scburke@iastate.edu
Mark Edelman medelman@iastate.edu
www.cvcia.org