Chicago Community Ventures

Dear Friends and Partners,

The holiday season is here again, and as is tradition for this time of year we find ourselves reflecting back on the year's events. 2007 is the first year that we have been in the leadership at CCV and we are pleased to say we have seen many successes during this time. We have strengthened our partnerships, received recognition at the national and state level for our outstanding technical assistance, and exceeded our own expectations for channeling resources to our clients. This year we are on track to have helped secure over $42 million in contracts, packaged more than $3.1 million in loans and restarted lending from the Neighborhood Transformation Loan Fund after an almost two year hiatus. Additionally, in August of this year we closed on a $5 million fund from the City of Chicago that will provide small businesses throughout the city with growth capital.

All of these successes are in large part due to our strong partnerships with organizations and individuals like you. We look forward to working with you in the new year to build on these successes and want to wish each of you a very happy holiday season and a happy new year!

Regards,

Co-Presidents, Chicago Community Ventures

Back to top CCV Recognized for Outstanding Technical Assistance

The Chicago West Side Entrepreneurship Center (CWSEC), a partnership between CCV, the University of Illinois at Chicago and the Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity, was recognized for program excellence at the Illinois Entrepreneurship & Small Business Growth Association (IESBGA) Conference held in November.

The CWSEC was selected from among Entrepreneurship Centers, Small Business Development Centers and other small business service providers throughout the state for its outstanding and innovative best practices in meeting small business needs. The award was received for the Market and Customer Development Training, a four-month program that helps small companies create sales and marketing plans to more effectively reach new and existing customers.

The program, which launched in January of 2007, has so far had five participating companies who credit the program with helping them to focus their attention on strategic decisions and explore new markets for their products/services. To read what the newest Market & Customer Development Training Graduate has to say about the course click here.

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Small Business Development Center at CCV Will Open January 1

CCV is happy to announce that it will be opening an Illinois Small Business Development Center in the New Year. The center, funded by the SBA and the Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity, is part of the Illinois Entrepreneurship Network and will provide assistance to new and existing small businesses in the Chicagoland area. Services include:

• One-on-one business counseling and management assistance
• Assistance with the development of business plans
• Help accessing marketing information and the development of business plans
• Business Financing Programs
• Assistance with financial analysis and planning
• Access to business education and training opportunities

This center provides a mandate for CCV to expand our services beyond established companies and focus on the creation of new businesses. For more information about the center, or to receive services please contact us at 773.822.0320 or info@chiventures.org.

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Keep CCV and Our Clients In Mind This Holiday Season

In the midst of the holiday season we hope you will keep in mind some of CCV's client companies for your gift and entertaining needs.

Gifts

• Shop for gifts through GoodShop and a percentage of your purchase will be directed to CCV. Just visit www.GoodShop.com, select CCV as your cause, and start shopping. Participating stores include Best Buy, Barnes & Noble, Kohl's, Target and more.
• Experience the superior taste of Treleela™ 100% organic gourmet teas. An industry pioneer, Treleela™ teas come directly from their farms to your cup with no added flavors or oils. The delicate and naturally fragrant whole leaves are brimming with healthy, potent antioxidants and capture the best natural flavors and aromas. Gift baskets now available through 1800flowers.com
• Argires Nuts works hard to shorten the time between processing and purchase to give you the freshest and best tasting nuts. All of their nuts are cooked in small batches to make them the best for you! This holiday go nuts and share a tin of healthy and delicious mixed fruit and nuts. Gift items are available at anuts.com
• Gary Poppins uses only the finest, freshest, premium ingredients for its line of gourmet popcorns. Try the best tasting popcorn that you could imagine, in flavors you hadn't thought of... like cinnamon, chocolate with peanut butter, or white cheddar jalapeno. Available at garypoppins.com
• Arts of Life, an artistic community that provides adults with developmental disabilities an environment to experience personal growth, is offering holiday cards for sale this season. Whether the theme is Christmas, Hanukkah, or general holiday cheer, Arts of Life artists always bring a unique sense of color, fun and creativity to their pieces, and you'll know that your purchase is supporting a worthy cause. Holiday cards available at artsoflife.org/store/holiday
• Neleh Galleries Internationale, a fine art and custom framing gallery, sells artwork by African-American artists. "New Impressions", its current fine art exhibition lasts until December 24 and presents the work of LaShun Beal and Rudolphus Thorpe. Share the gift of art with your loved ones during this holiday season, a gift that is certain to be appreciated and valued for years to come by new and seasoned collectors alike. Learn more at nelehgalleries.com

Entertaining

• Be prepared to experience the true tapas of Spain at Haro Tapas located on Chicago's lower west side by the UIC campus. Haro Tapas offers a variety of Basque pintxos such as Chatka, Piquillo de Bonito, Gilda, Champiñones, and Chorizo as well as a selection of strictly Spanish Wines, Cavas, and Txololinas. harotapas.com
• Delightful Pastries, a mother and a daughter run bakery in the city's Jefferson Park neighborhood makes authentic European pastries using as many local ingredients as possible. Their belief is to let quality natural ingredients speak for themselves. Try one of their holiday specials including Stollen, Walnut Streudel, Homemade Eggnog and Sticky Toffee Pudding. delightfulpastries.com
• Tired from all of your holiday shopping? Stop by Cafe Penelope to try their award winning soup and brunch as voted on CitySearch 2007. cafepenelope.com

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City of Chicago Awards CCV Community Development Block Grant Funding

CCV is pleased to announce that it has received funding from the City of Chicago, Community Development Block Grant program for the fourth consecutive year. Through this grant CCV provides assistance to individual businesses, makes resources available to community business associations, markets commercial real estate, and conducts outreach to businesses, real estate professionals, and other service providers for commercial development. CCV operates as a delegate agency of the Chicago Department of Planning and Development for which it manages the Federal tax program the Commercial Revitalization Deduction (CRD). Through this program, CCV is responsible for allocating the $12 million offered through the CRD annually to qualifying commercial development projects.

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Market & Customer Development Training Helps Anton-Argires, Inc. Attract New Customers

George Argires, the president of Anton-Argires Inc, a small second generation family nut and gourmet popcorn business, enrolled in the Market & Customer Development Training because the company was experiencing sales stagnation and wanted to explore ways to attract new customers. The business was originally founded as a produce and nut wholesaler but had evolved into a nut processor and packager of in-shell and shelled nuts, dried fruits, chocolates, and gourmet popcorn. Despite the growth, a recent move from its original location had taken its toll by disrupting their customer base and the company was having trouble gaining new sustained sales.

After completing the course, George feels more confident about his sales strategy and company's projected growth and profitability. "The objective perspective and comprehensive experience of CCV’s Business Analysts can help anyone better understand their business from the inside out." He attributes the program with not only providing him new market opportunities, but also a more thorough understanding and global perspective of his company.

CCV consultants helped Anton-Argires formulate a strategy for attracting and retaining new customers and also helped get George on track to launch a new website. Aside from the training program, CCV also recognized that the company needed help with its cash flow and was able to suggest strategies for restructuring current loans to free up capital.

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Can Life Insurance Help You Get A Business Loan?
Contributed by Sheri L. Yarbrough, Agent, New York Life Insurance Company

Most businesses run on credit, or at least ready access to it. Without credit at reasonable rates, many businesses would find it nearly impossible to carry out expansion plans or get through times of tight cash flow. That's one reason businesses watch interest rates so closely. A lower rate usually means better access to more credit.

Life insurance may be a player in the credit game. When banks evaluate a loan application from a business client, they frequently take into consideration whether a key employee in that business has life insurance. In the event that the employee's loss causes a business disruption, the life insurance could serve as a means of secondary collateral. In a sole proprietorship or other closely held business, a life insurance policy can possibly be a deciding factor to the bank as to whether or not to grant the loan. The chances for obtaining a loan approval may be enhanced if the business itself is named as the policy beneficiary.

How Can a Life Insurance Policy Help Your Business?
A life insurance policy can help in the following ways:

• May make a lender more willing to grant credit or a loan.
• May open access to higher amounts of credit.
• In some instances, it may result in a more competitive loan rate.

Which Insurance Is Right for You?
Term insurance is often used, especially when:

• Protection needs are short-term or limited, such as to cover a single loan for a specific period of time.
• The situation calls for a high dollar amount of coverage.
• Dollars are tight. Term insurance provides coverage for a lower immediate premium dollar than does permanent insurance.
• Most business owners prefer no-frills protection. You can buy it when you need it and drop it when you're done.

However, term life insurance has its drawbacks:

• It's pure cost. Unlike permanent life insurance, term provides no living benefits in the form of cash value accumulation.
• If you need coverage for more than a short period of time, keep in mind that the premium cost is likely to increase over time. Eventually, as you get older, the cost may become prohibitive.
• If you experience health problems and become uninsurable, you may not be able to buy coverage when you next apply for it.

Many Business Owners Opt for Permanent Life Insurance
Cash value accumulation can be an important feature of permanent life insurance for business owners, especially since many businesses rely on credit on an ongoing basis. In fact, it's not uncommon for business owners to routinely assign insurance benefits to their lending bank. In a nutshell, here are several of the highlights of purchasing a cash value, permanent life insurance policy:

• Once you buy it, you can keep it for life, as long as you pay your premiums. With term coverage, on the other hand, there is always the risk that the term insurance will expire and you may become uninsurable as you get older. Then you might not be able to purchase insurance, which can compromise your access to credit.
• The price doesn't go up. It remains level.
• The cash value that accumulates can be borrowed against at a competitive interest rate. (However, it's important to remember that policy loans accrue interest and will reduce the death benefit.)

The reality of business is that business relies on credit, and life insurance can sometimes help you get that credit.

For more information on how life insurance can help your business and family, please contact Sheri L. Yarbrough, Agent, New York Life Insurance Company, at 773.339.9142.

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Outsourcing HR - How Small Companies Can Save Money and Offer Quality Employee Benefits
Contributed by Kevin Smith, Administaff

As human resources outsourcing gains momentum in America, thousands of businesses are leading the trend by working with professional employer organizations (PEOs). The PEO model gives businesses a one–stop source for the management of human resources, employee benefits, payroll and workers compensation. They deliver one comprehensive HR package that can be more cost-effective, efficient and robust than maintaining an in-house HR and benefits department, or negotiating for competitive benefits piecemeal. Additionally, because they assume the responsibility for a company's benefits program, PEOs handle the burdensome and often complicated associated regulatory requirements such as those of HIPPA and COBRA.

PEOs can also help small companies compete for best talent since they are able to offer competitive benefits. “We heard PEOs could provide Fortune 500 benefits to small companies”, said Addie Cinquino, Vice President of Operations for Engineered Assemblies Corporation. “Employees and job applicants compare us with other companies our size that do not have a PEO; we always have more to offer”.

PEO's enable employees of small businesses to take advantage of many benefit options available to US employers and workers. Nearly all PEO's have established “Section 125” cafeteria plans to offer employees the opportunity to offset medical expenses with tax-free dollars. Without a PEO most small businesses lack the expertise to establish and administer such a program. Additional options that are often offered are Flexible Savings Accounts and Health Savings Plans, supplemental Health Care products, such as Dental and Vision Care, and 401 (k) programs.

For many businesses having a PEO can eliminate the need to keep a HR professional on staff and many PEOs can assist in developing an employee handbook and provide related guidance and training. They manage required record–keeping and reporting, and help focus an organization on workplace rules and employee conduct. They also offer training programs to help clients decrease their exposure to liabilities from harassment, discrimination, wrongful termination, and other employment law claims. With a PEO, executives have access to a team of experienced professionals in human resources, benefits, payroll, regulatory compliance and risk management who can help organizations take care of employees. In today’s business climate, that’s a powerful resource to have on your side.

For more information on how PEO's can help your business compete for quality benefit packages, please contact Kevin Smith, Consultant, Administaff, at 312.427.5018

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CCV Welcomes New Staff Members

Duane Wadlington joins CCV as our new Loan Officer. Prior to joining CCV, Duane served as Business Development Manager for the Rebirth of Englewood Community Development Corporation. In that position he oversaw the Business Capitalization Initiative, a program that identified local, capital-ready businesses and helped them secure lines of credit and term loans. He was also responsible for overseeing an IDOT contract which helped small businesses assess their technology needs.

Aarti Gopal joins CCV as an AmeriCorps*VISTA Volunteer. She will be working primarily with CCV's consulting team to deliver the Market & Customer Development Training as well as strategic consulting projects to aid client growth. Prior to joining CCV, Aarti worked for JP Morgan Chase where she held an Internal Consulting position. After the completion of her VISTA year she plans to pursue a MBA.

Kate Jones-Smith recently joined CCV as a graduate intern/AmeriCorps member. Kate will be focused on updating CCV's internal reporting systems and is also responsible for assisting the Community Revitalization Deduction Program. Before joining CCV, Kate was a Peace Corps Volunteer in Tanzania, East Africa and later worked with the McLean County Community Compact as a Program Assistant. She is currently pursuing a Master's degree in Applied Economics at Illinois State University.

Joshua Punchur joins CCV as an AmeriCorps*VISTA Volunteer. He will be working on projects related to the the Neighborhood Transformation Loan Fund and various consulting engagements. Previous to joining CCV, Joshua worked with Jackson Clark Partners in Pittsburgh where he helped organize civic engagement projects in Southwestern Pennsylvania.

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Funding Partners

	Minority Business Development Agency, U.S. Department of Commerce
	CDFI Fund, US Treasury Department		Jacob G. Schmidlapp Trusts, Fifth Third Bank Trustee
Drinker Biddle Gardner Carton	The Private Bank and Trust Company	University of Chicago, Graduate School of Business	CNA Foundation