Read our 2006 Annual
Report
We are very excited to have the
2006 Annual Report completed and online for you to
review. You can click here or on the picture above to
read the report.
In this report we seek to show
how alt.Consulting is stretching to reach more clients and
more communities with more tools to increase our impact.
You will find information about:
-
Impact and client success
stories on pages 2, 3, 4 and 5
-
New and/or expanding programs
and services on pages 5, 6 and 7
-
Our expanded mission,
strategies and impact on page 8.
See article below for an overview of our
new model shown on page 2 of the Annual
Report. |
| Our New Model
alt.Consulting is driven by its
mission to grow entrepreneurs in rural and minority
communities.
Building on our core competency
of one-on-one customized managerial assistance, we have
expanded our model over the years by adding programs and
partners that support our mission and meet the needs of our
clients.
As a Technical Assistance
Provider for the SBA Community Express loan program, we have
facilitated $800,000 in small unsecured loans through our
partner Innovative Bank.
Through LELIC and our partnership
with USDA RCDI and ECD we are developing a model for building
micro enterprise organizations in rural
communities.
With the help of our youngest
staff member, alt.Consulting has developed a youth
entrepreneurship program that will help at-risk youth actually
start and operate their own businesses.
Because of our commitment to our
mission and our clients, in 2005 we began working on a
long-term sustainability strategy. With assistance
from the Mary Reynolds Babcock Foundation, in 2006 we launched
Profit Squared, a wholly owned for-profit
subsidiary.
| |
| Hello,
I hope everyone had a great start to 2007. We
are off and running and very pleased to have our
2006 Annual Report available for your
review. Click the link to the left to
read the full
report. | |
Business
Loans
A Business
Tool
Do you need a business loan? It is one thing
to understand lending guidelines and requirements
but what can you learn from them to strengthen your
business (even if you don't need a loan right
now)?
In this article, we focus on
your guidelines and your loan
requirements. After all, it is your business and
loans are just another tool for you to use to grow and
succeed. Use them
wisely! |
|
Tunica County CDC
Implements Micro Enterprise
Program
Tunica County CDC's (TCCDC) Microenterprise program
is off to a great start. Working with
alt.Consulting through the LELIC program, TCCDC is now
providing training seminars, one-on-one assistance
and access to loan capital to businesses in
their area.
Mrs. Nellie Harris, a day care provider and owner
of "Love Home for Kids" attended workshops and
received one-on-one counseling from TCCDC staff before
deciding to expand her day care business.
Mrs. Harris, who holds an associates degree in
early childhood development, was limited to serving only
five kids in her residence. While in training with
alt.Ctonsulting, TCCDC provided the assistace Mrs.
Harris needed to obtain a child care license,
identify a commercial building to lease and secure an
initial investment from TrickleUp.
Love Home for Kids is now a full service
daycare center operating 24 hours a day
and licensed for 17 full time and 13 part time
kids.
Click here to see a picture of the grand opening on
page 5 of our 2006 Annual Report.
|
|
EntrepreneurshipWeek
USA
EntrepreneurshipWeek USA, February 24, 2007 through
March 3, 2007, is a national effort to ignite the
nation's consciousness around the imortance of being
entrepreneurial. It is sponsored by the Marion
Ewing Kauffman Foundation, the New York Times and Inc.
Magazine with over 800 partners who are sponsoring and
promoting local activities.
In Memphis, TN alt.Consulting is pleased to partner
with the Tennessee Small Business Development Center
(TSBDC) as well as representatives from Memphis City,
Shelby and Fayette County to provide a Youth
Entrepreneur Clinic on February 24, 2007 and a Business
Plan Competition on March 3, 2007.
alt.Consulting is following up this week of
activities with a new Youth Entrepreneurship pilot
program, which will be launched this spring in
Memphis. Read our annual report (page 6) for more
information.
We want to thank David Doyle, the Executive
Director of TSBDC for spearheading this event.
| |
 ARHealthNet
Thanks to a partnership between the state of
Arkansas and federal government, small businesses in
Arkansas with low-income workers may now qualify for an
affordable package of health care benefits for their
employees.
ARHealthNet is a new insurance program available to
small businesses with between 2 and 500 employees who
have not provided group health insurance coverage in the
past year.
Visit the ARHealthNet website (click logo
above) for a list of agents in your
area. You may also call 800.540.7566 (voice) or
800.285.1311 (TTY). |
|
Leadership Design
Work Groups
Lifting up the Delta is a bottom up
approach for creating a Culture of Possibilities in our
regions. Ines Polonius, Executive Director of
alt.Consulting, was chosen to participate in the
Arkansas Leadership Design Work Group sponsored by Mid
South Delta Initiative (MSDI). She joins 19 other
leaders from around the Delta to better understand
issues and address how to create a leadership culture
that sustains a society of equity and opportunity for
all and how to create opportunities for leaders to build
skills and reshape policies that lead to a Culture of
Possibilities.
The Arkansas Leadership Design Work Group was
launched in the fall of 2006. They
gather monthly and have met grassroots and
community leaders, as well as elected officials in
McGhee, Arkansas City, and Pine Bluff.
MSDI is a partnership among Delta communities,
regionally-focused organizations, Delta residents
engaged in leading change at all levels, the W. K.
Kellogg Foundation and many other foundations, public
agencies and investors. Through their program,
Lifting up the Delta, they have 3 design groups in
each of the Delta regions in Arkansas, Louisiana and
Mississippi to create a Culture of Possibilities in the
Delta. These groups focus their efforts on Youth,
Grassroots and Leadership. If you want to
know more about the Design Workgroups, click here.
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