 In this issue
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Letter from Seedco President |
With a recession rolling across the United States, it has certainly been a tough year for many low-income people. Increasing unemployment, higher education costs, fewer benefits available to workers and a deepening credit crunch have made life more difficult for those struggling on low incomes or sustaining a small business, rendering Seedco's work all the more important.This has emboldened us to work harder than ever to provide new economic opportunities for disadvantaged Americans. We recognize that more people will need our help and yours, and we are prepared to meet the challenge with our most innovative work yet.
 Diane L. Baillargeon President & CEO |
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Dr. George Pruitt named Chair of Seedco Board of Directors. Robert Giloth Named to Board. Francine Delgado Named Vice President for New York City Programs. |
PRO Guide Can Help One-Stops Serve More Jobseekers
Seedco has found success helping low-wage earners find work by utilizing the strengths of community-based organizations to serve more One-Stop jobseekers.Learn how your One-Stop or community organization can improve outcomes for jobseekers using Seedco's new guide, Project Reach Out. |
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| Recent Grants |
Seedco thanks the following for their generous support this quarter:
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Seedco Seedco is a national nonprofit organization that helps low-income people and communities move toward economic prosperity. Visit Our New Web Site Press Room Comments/Questions |
 Andres Frias has been searching for a job for the past three months. Daily News-Sabo/News |
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Low-Income Jobseekers Struggle Harder to Find Jobs |
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As the job market becomes more competitive with rising unemployment, it has become increasingly difficult for low-income workers to find employment. Francine Delgado, vice president of New York City Programs, says employers can be choosier with more available applicants, and the low-income population who have preexisting hurdles to cross struggle to compete with higher-qualified applicants for jobs. Seedco is taking steps to ensure more people do not become unemployed in the recession by increasing engagement with workers after placement and streamlining public benefit screenings through EarnBenefits. Seedco is also offering help to access tax season benefits and reaching out to clients on how to avoid predatory tax preparers. Read more about employment in the current economy. |
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EarnMore Achieved Nearly 200 Career Upgrades in Year One With high enrollment and nearly 200 career upgrades, the first year of the EarnMore career advancement pilot program was very successful. Average weekly earnings increased by 39 percent, and many clients continue to be engaged in the program in the second year of operations to pursue longer term career advancement opportunities. In the end, although training was a key intervention, almost 40 percent of clients achieved an upgrade through career coaching and supportive services alone. Additionally, most clients enrolled in the program already had a GED. This resulted in lower than expected training enrollment numbers for the first year. More than half of enrolled clients were either already enrolled in work supports at the time of enrollment or did not qualify for work supports. During Year Two Seedco will focus on increasing the number of clients enrolled in the program without a GED since the career advancement potential for these individuals is very limited without continued education. Seedco looks forward to an even more successful year in New York City and the expansion of EarnMore to Memphis, Tennessee. Visit our Web site for a new policy report on EarnMore and related news. |
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Small Businesses Turn to Alternative Lenders in Credit Crisis
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ONYC Family Rewards Celebrates Successful First Year Deputy Mayor Linda Gibbs and Seedco President Diane Baillargeon talk with staff from Opportunity NYC partner organizations. The Opportunity NYC Family Rewards program celebrated the completion of its first year with a gathering this November. Participating families have received $6.6 million dollars in rewards payments to date. More than 1,200 families have already submitted coupons for the next round of payments. The event included New York City Deputy Mayor of Health and Human Services Linda Gibbs, Veronica White and Héctor Salazar-Salame of New York City's Center for Economic Opportunity, and James Riccio, Donna Wharton Fields and David Greenberg of MDRC. A special thanks go to the staff from Groundwork Inc., Brownsville Multi-service Family Health Center, Citizens Advice Bureau, Catholic Charities Community Services, Union Settlement Association and Urban Health Plan for their strong contribution to the success of the program. |
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Business Solutions Center Connects Businesses to Lenders Seklou Crawford (right) discusses lending options with Joseph Middleton of Upper Manhattan Empowerment Zone’s Business Resource & Investment Service Center. In an innovative effort to ease the credit crunch on small businesses, the Upper Manhattan Business Solutions Center brought together 123 small businesses with 24 lenders during two Business Financing Fairs in November and December. The connections made possible by the fairs produced approximately 60 loan applications with 18 reporting lenders. Nearly 75 percent of small business owners attending said they were seeking financing to cover operational expenses, most likely due to cash gaps created by reduced sales. The Business Financing Fair was created to connect businesses to available alternative and traditional commercial lending in New York City. In 2009, Seedco plans to replicate the fair at the other Business Solutions Centers throughout New York City in collaboration with the New York City Department of Small Business Services. |
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