PHILADELPHIA – (March 4, 2014) – Lend for America today launched a new regional initiative that connects college students with small business owners to provide microfinancing and training, with $75,000 from the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation.

Though small business has an important presence in the local economy, Philadelphia is creating fewer new businesses than the national average and Pennsylvania ranks 48th in the country in microbusiness ownership. The new Lend for America Initiative will engage local college students to help small business owners develop practices that grow revenue and foster sustainability.

Lend for America will launch the project with a contest to encourage students to connect with local business owners and participate in community building. The contest, Lend for Philly, challenges local college students in a race to map small businesses in their community. Students will go through a boot camp to learn about the community.

“Provided the right tools and support, students can develop long-term programs to help business owners in Philadelphia access training and loans. This support enables us to support students who will in turn help local businesses grow,” said Vanessa Carter, executive director of Lend for America.

“This program cultivates talent, while creating lasting connections between millennials and the community; it helps spark the kind of commitment that is necessary for people to attach to a particular place and help shape it,” said Donna Frisby-Greenwood, Knight Foundation program director for Philadelphia.

As part of the contest, students will walk through neighborhoods in their communities to find businesses and talk to owners. They will use a custom smartphone app to gather two pieces of information: (1) how many people the business supports and (2) what the business needs the most.  The college team that maps the most businesses will win a $5,000 prize.

Student teams will also be allowed to award small grants from Lend for America to local small businesses. The contest and seed fund launched today and will run through the spring semester.

By directly empowering college students to lead these new initiatives, students’ gain work experience while offering a much-needed community service. As a result, students gain finance skills and experience with negotiating and management that prepares them for employment in a market with the highest youth unemployment rates in its history.

Please visit www.lendforphilly.org for more information.

About Lend for America

Lend for America is a national program of the Intersect Fund, a nonprofit microlender and certified CDFI based in Newark, N.J. Lend for America helps student leaders build their communities through the creation of campus microfinance institutions (“Campus MFIs”). Their platform supports students practicing microfinance in the U.S. by providing training, networking, funding and research. Learn more at lendforamerica.org.

About the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation

Knight Foundation supports transformational ideas that promote quality journalism, advance media innovation, engage communities and foster the arts. The foundation believes that democracy thrives when people and communities are informed and engaged. For more, visit knightfoundation.org.

CONTACTS:

Anusha Alikhan, Director of Communications, Knight Foundation, 305-908-2677, [email protected]

Charity Yoro, Program Associate, [email protected]