Micro Grants by Joe Selvaggio
Posted by Steve Frazier
Our Meeting on August 10th featured a talk given by Joe Salvaggio from Minneapolis Club #9. In his introduction for Joe, President Tom told us some of Joe's background. He founded Project for Pride in Living in Minneapolis, and has served the people of South Minneapolis since 1965. In 1997, he founded the 1% Club which has all of the 900 members giving 1% of their money to charitable causes. About 5 years ago, he started MicroGrants.
MicroGrants is a 501c3 charitable organization that provides grants of up to $1,000 to deserving people. They are not loans as in other programs, but outright grants. The grants are given to recipients who are usually referred to them by social service agencies in Minneapolis. Referrers (Partner Community Organizations) are not government agencies, but rather private groups such as Jeremiah, Wilder Foundation, Midtown Global Market, and Summit Academy OIC.
They fund opportunities, not needs. Samples given include helping update equipment for a small cleaning contracting company, funding special training for a day care provider, and aiding a landscaper get new equipment. All of these examples show how MicroGrants uses funds to help entrepreneurs improve their business opportunities.
Of the money received by MicroGrants, about 12% is used for expenses of the organization, and the rest goes into grants. In 2009, the gave 349 individual grants of $1,000.00. Recipients are screened by the referring agency as well as MicroGrants itself.
Our club's board is considering becoming involved in a similar program, according to President Tom. (Article by Tad Shaw and posting and photo by Steve Frazier)
MicroGrants is a 501c3 charitable organization that provides grants of up to $1,000 to deserving people. They are not loans as in other programs, but outright grants. The grants are given to recipients who are usually referred to them by social service agencies in Minneapolis. Referrers (Partner Community Organizations) are not government agencies, but rather private groups such as Jeremiah, Wilder Foundation, Midtown Global Market, and Summit Academy OIC.
They fund opportunities, not needs. Samples given include helping update equipment for a small cleaning contracting company, funding special training for a day care provider, and aiding a landscaper get new equipment. All of these examples show how MicroGrants uses funds to help entrepreneurs improve their business opportunities.
Of the money received by MicroGrants, about 12% is used for expenses of the organization, and the rest goes into grants. In 2009, the gave 349 individual grants of $1,000.00. Recipients are screened by the referring agency as well as MicroGrants itself.
Our club's board is considering becoming involved in a similar program, according to President Tom. (Article by Tad Shaw and posting and photo by Steve Frazier)