2009 NEW

Financial Resources for Business Ownership Webinar
Hosted by Nebraska Enterprise Fund during Nebraska Money Smart Week - 11-10-09
https://canhelp.webex.com/canhelp/lsr.php?AT=pb&SP=MC&rID=58206977&rKey=3fe5e5feb3f41ade
This webinar (51 minutes) provides  information to current and potential business owners about Nebraska microenterprise statewide resources. Included is discussion on financing a small /micro business, along with saving and building credit for business ownership. Guest speakers were Jeff Christensen of NED, Inc., and Jeff Reynolds of REAP, along with Rose Jaspersen, Executive Director and Glennis McClure, Program Manager of NEF.
 

Nebraska Enterprise Fund has article featured in Public Sector Digest.  Rose Jaspersen, Executive Director of Nebraska Enterprise Fund, recently had an article on Nebraska microenterprise development work featured in the Canadian publication - Public Sector Digest.  This publication is read by municipal employees across Canada in both rural and urban areas. Learn More

Nebraska Enterprise Fund Participates In Get On Board Conference
The 3rd Annual Get On Board …. Moving Nebraskans Toward a Better Tomorrow Conference was conducted on August 5, 2009 in Lincoln. The Nebraska Enterprise Fund (NEF) played an active role in the development of the conference, helped sponsor the conference, and facilitated a conference session. The conference’s purpose was to examine issues and trends in financial education and asset building and the impact they have on the workplace and community. Conference participants discussed strategies to promote financial stability among diverse consumers. Learn More


Celebrate Microenterprise Event, April 2, 2009

Nebraska Enterprise Fund Board Chairman, Ed Kentch, welcomed guests to the 'Celebrate Microenterprise' Breakfast on April 3, 2009 in Lincoln.  Participants included State Senators; bankers Mark Joy of Table Rock State Bank in Humboldt and Craig Madson, Senior Vice President of US Bank in Lincoln; micro program partner staff; NET Force members; NEF board representatives and other supporters.  Chairman Kentch and Rose Jaspersen, NEF Executive Director, provided an overview and historical background of microenterprise work in Nebraska. Learn More

           Karrie Bischoff
100th Meridian Manufacturing, Inc.

NEF joins Citi Foundation funded project.
Nebraska Enterprise Fund will get some valuable help collecting information about clients’ needs, experiences and accomplishments thanks to a grant from the Citi Foundation to hire a summer intern. Recruitment of a graduate student for the internship will begin immediately. Learn More


NEF Shares Expertise with Michigan

Rose Jaspersen shared the Nebraska microenterprise story at a convening in of programs serving microbusinesses across Michigan on February 19th. The meeting, held in Southfield, was organized by LISC Sustainable Communities Initiative and brought practitioners together around the topic of forming a state microenterprise association and/or intermediary. Other national and state leaders spoke on the benefits of an organized approach to networking programs in the future. It was decided at the end of the day to move forward with these discussions.





NEF Staff Invited to Visioning Meeting at CFED
NEF Executive Director, Rose Jaspersen, participated in a daylong discussion at the offices of the Corporation for Enterprise Development in Washington, DC on February 13th. CFED and the Aspen Institute brought together 33 practitioner programs, state microenterprise intermediaries, funders, and others to discuss the opportunities presented by the new administration and directions for the Microenterprise field in the future. CFED and Aspen Institute staff will be processing this discussion for future sharing with the broader microenterprise industry.


Entrepreneurship Week

1/09     Governor Heineman recently signed a proclamation recognizing the week of Feb. 21 - 28, 2009 as Entrepreneurship Week in Nebraska.  Members of the Nebraska Entrepreneurial Task Force (NET Force) met at the Capitol in January to receive the signed proclamation from Lt. Governor Rick Sheehy. Nebraska Enterprise Fund Program Partners representing microenterprise programs in Nebraska were among those in attendance. Nebraska Enterprise Fund and Nebraska microenterprise program staff will be involved in various special events and training activities during Entrepreneurship Week.  Learn More

Micro /Small Business Development Funding Awarded to Programs for 2009
LINCOLN (December 18, 2008) – Nebraska Enterprise Fund (NEF) announces the award of $597,750 in state funds to ten Nebraska microenterprise programs. These programs provide lending, pre- and post-loan technical assistance, and training to self-employed businesses (five or fewer employees) in urban and rural areas of Nebraska. This funding is made possible through the Nebraska Microenterprise Development Act, which was enacted by the State Legislature in 1997. Learn More