SMALL BUSINESSES INITIATIVE IN LOS ANGELES

MAYOR VILLARAIGOSA AND GOLDMAN SACHS JOIN TOGETHER TO LAUNCH 10,000

LOS ANGELES - Mayor Villaraigosa announced that Los Angeles would join The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. 10,000 Small Businesses Initiative. The initiative will drive economic growth and create jobs by providing $20 million in small business loans and by subsidizing business education.

“I am proud of the Mayor’s Office of Economic and Business Policy’s work in bringing Goldman Sachs’ 10,000 Small Business Initiative to Los Angeles, since our number one priority is getting the
people of Los Angeles back to work,”
Mayor Villaraigosa said. “Not only will this investment set in motion job creation at the most grassroots level, but it will have a real impact on the lives of the 70%
of Angelenos that are employed by small businesses by granting them the opportunity to expand their entrepreneurial enterprise through education, loans, and networking.”

Throughout the Los Angeles metropolitan area, the program will offer:

●    Business and Management Education: Small business owners will
have access to a high quality business education developed in
partnership with leading national business schools.  Through the
program, they can develop a business growth plan through a practical
business and management education offered by Los Angeles City College,
one of the nine campuses in the LACCD, and Long Beach City College.  The
education will be free to accepted business owners selected through a
competitive application process.  10,000 Small Businesses is partnering
with Los Angeles Southwest College (LASC) to support the needs of small
businesses with a particular focus on minority and low-income business
owners in the South Los Angeles region. LASC will build its capacity to
enhance its small business curriculum and associated business support
services.
●    Access to Capital: Goldman Sachs will commit $20 million of
lending capital, in addition to philanthropic support to Community
Development Financial Institutions (CDFIs) in Los Angeles County. The
investment will increase the amount of growth capital available to small
businesses in underserved communities and expand the capacity of the
CDFIs to deliver enhanced technical assistance to small businesses. The
first CDFI that will be receiving financing from Goldman Sachs will be
the Valley Economic Development Center.  Additional CDFI partners will
enter the program in the future.
●    Business Support Services: Business advice, technical
assistance, and networking will be offered to participating small
business owners through partnerships with the community colleges and
national and local business organizations, as well as the people of
Goldman Sachs.

"Los Angeles is home to many very talented small business owners," said
Lloyd C. Blankfein, Chairman and CEO of Goldman Sachs.
"Working with
local community development financial institutions and community
colleges, we aim to give selected local businesses the resources they
need to grow and create jobs."


10,000 Small Businesses began operations in New York in 2010 where LaGuardia Community College is offering education and Seedco Financial Services is providing access to capital.

The program will begin in Los Angeles in August, 2010.  Interested small businesses should apply for the education portion directly through the local community colleges and CDFIs. 
●    Los Angeles: www.lacc10ksb.com
●    Long Beach: http://www.lbcc.edu/10000smallbusinesses/
●    VEDC: http://www.vedc.org/

Bob Foster, Mayor of Long Beach
“The City of Long Beach is pleased that Long Beach City College has
been selected to host the 10,000 Small Business Initiative,” said
Mayor Bob Foster. “It is critical that we do everything in our power
to support and encourage small business growth in the region.”


Roberto Barragan, President Valley Economic Development Center

“VEDC is extremely proud to partner with Goldman Sachs & Company at
this time of severe credit crunch when small businesses still cannot
find capital to expand their businesses and create jobs.” said Roberto
Barragan, president of the Valley Economic Development Center (VEDC). 
“Over the past year, small business owners have become increasingly
disillusioned and, in some cases, given up looking. Small businesses can
now come to VEDC, thanks to Goldman Sachs support, to secure the
financing they need.”


Dr. Jamillah Moore, President of City College

"Los Angeles City College is honored to host one of Goldman Sachs'
first 10,000 Small Businesses programs in Los Angeles," said Dr.
Jamillah Moore, president of City College. "Our college is committed to
offering services that will help small businesses participating in the
program to build their network of resources and to increase their
knowledge of business operations."


Eloy Ortiz Oakley, President of Long Beach City College
“Long Beach City College is thrilled and honored to have been
selected as a partner with Goldman Sachs and the 10,000 Small Business
Initiative,” said LBCC President Eloy Ortiz Oakley. “Our college is
committed to economic development and we are ready through this new
partnership to further assist our local small businesses.”


Dr. Jack Daniels, President Los Angeles Southwest College
“We are excited about being a participant in the 10,000 Small
Businesses Initiative.  This planning grant will allow us to build a
foundation that will address small business needs in South Los Angeles
that will impact their sustainability while at the same time
strengthening our college programs that will provide on-going support to
businesses in South Los Angeles.”

Who Should Apply

The program is designed for owners of small with limited financial
resources, and with few opportunities to otherwise access a business
education designed to enhance small business success. Broad
characteristics of business owners targeted to participate include, but
are not limited to: business revenues between $150,000 and $4 million in
2009; business in operation for at least two years; at least four
employees; operations in economically underserved areas; and a business
model that could scale to create more jobs.

Similar selection criteria are used by CDFIs to select small businesses
for financing and will vary slightly by loan product and program, but
are based on sound underwriting criteria.

Program Background
10,000 Small Businesses is a $500 million initiative that will unlock
the growth and job-creation potential of 10,000 small businesses across
the United States through greater access to business education,
financial capital, and business support services. It is based on the
broadly held view of leading experts that a combination of education,
capital, and support services best addresses the barriers to growth for
small businesses.  It is now operating in New York and Los Angeles and
will continue to expand to communities across the country.
10,000 Small Businesses is modeled on the Goldman Sachs 10,000 Women
initiative, which creates partnerships between academic institutions and
non-profit entities to provide a business and management education to
women around the world. 10,000 Women is currently operating in 20
countries, where it is helping women entrepreneurs create jobs and
growth in their communities. 

Los Angeles Community College District (LACCD): LACCD is the nation's
largest community college district, serves one-quarter million students
a year in more than 36 cities in Los Angeles County. The LACCD consists
of nine colleges: Los Angeles City College, East Los Angeles College,
Los Angeles Harbor College, Los Angeles Mission College, Pierce College,
Los Angeles Southwest College, Los Angeles Trade-Technical College, Los
Angeles Valley College and West Los Angeles College. The District covers
nearly 900 square miles and has educated and trained the region's
diverse workforce since 1969.

Los Angeles City College (LACC): LACC is a multifaceted entity that
works collaboratively with internal and external partners for the
purpose of serving and training diverse student and organizational
populations. LACC is committed to providing resources, training, and
tools that positively impact and build neighboring communities with an
emphasis on creating a competitively skilled and competent workforce.
LACC is leading the charge with assisting students and community
residents with pursuing their goals for developing and operating
successful and viable businesses, expanding and building capacity with
existing businesses, as well as increasing the health and wealth in the
communities it serves.

Los Angeles Southwest College (LASC): Founded in 1967, Los Angeles
Southwest College serves more than 8,000 students with associate degree
programs in 34 disciplines, occupational certificates in 47 disciplines,
community services and ESL/citizenship classes. The campus is undergoing
a massive expansion and technological upgrade that will make it a model
for community college education in the 21st century. Los Angeles
Southwest College is part of the Los Angeles Community College District.
For more information, visit www.lasc.edu.

The Long Beach Community College District (LBCCD): LBCCD is one of the
largest single college districts in the California Community College
System. LBCC is a comprehensive college which provides quality
educational programs and related students services to nearly 30,000
students pursuing a wide range of degrees, certificates, transfer and
other courses of study. LBCCD is a driving force in the local economy,
providing over 2,300 local jobs and a commitment to Economic and
Workforce Development. LBCCD’s economic activity generates over $2.12
million daily in the region’s economy. The College is also in the
middle of a $700 million construction bond program that was approved by
local voters.

Valley Economic Development Center (VEDC): VEDC is the largest
non-profit small business lender in metro Los Angeles and offers direct
micro and small business loans as well as SBA 7(a) and SBA 504 loans.
VEDC has over $12 million under management and originates loans totally
more than $25 million annually to local businesses. With seven locations
throughout the Los Angeles area, VEDC supports the small business owner
with the goal of creating and sustaining jobs and businesses in low to
moderate income communities by providing high-quality economic
development services. The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. is a global
financial services firm. Founded in 1869, the firm is headquartered in
New York and maintains offices in London, Frankfurt, Tokyo, Hong Kong
and other major financial centers around the world.

Fabiola Vilchez
Central Area Director
Office of Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa
200 N. Spring St.
Los Angeles, CA 90012

 

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Established in August of 2008 by writerartist Dianne V. Lawrence, The Neighborhood News covers the events, people, history, politics and historic architecture of communities throughout the Mid-City and West Adams area in Los Angeles Council District 10.

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