Happy Independence Day! At Women's Initiative, Independence Day has a special meaning as we celebrate women's financial independence. As the women we serve launch businesses and become economically self sufficient they get their first taste of freedom. Financial independence means they no longer rely on government assistance or a dead-end job and small paycheck to survive. Financial independence means they are strong, powerful women who have the means to support themselves and their families. It means they have the power to live their dreams. As you celebrate with barbecues and fireworks this Independence Day, think of the women that you have helped achieve financial independence through your support of Women's Initiative.

Julie Castro Abrams
Women's Initiative CEO

Connecting Women on the Rise Annual Gala

We will accept nominations for the 2011 Woman Entrepreneur of the Year Awards until July 15th. The awards seek to recognize women entrepreneurs throughout the Bay Area who demonstrate the following:

• Have been successful despite the barriers that exist for woman business owners,
• Exemplify how business ownership and leadership is beneficial for women and their families,
• Have a positive impact on local community or the community at large and/or
• Advance their business through innovation.
  

Nominees will be asked to complete an entry form asking for information about their business. A Leadership Committee from each region will determine the Woman Entrepreneur of the Year based on information provided by the nominee. Winners will be announced in August and honored at one of five regional award celebrations in October. In addition, winners will be recognized in local media and featured on the Women's Initiative website and newsletter.

For information on the power of women business owners, check out this blog post. For more information and to submit a nomination, go to www.womensinitiative.org/wey.html

Women's Initiative takes home prize in Morgan Stanley Strategy Challenge
Women's Initiative received a $25,000 grant at the 3rd Annual Morgan Stanley Strategy Challenge. The organization will leverage the grant to prepare for national expansion. A team of Morgan Stanley professionals worked with Women's Initiative on the strategic question, “How should Women's Initiative approach national expansion?” The result is an organizational plan that will serve as the organization's roadmap for increasing stability in its core operations so that it can prepare itself for growth.

Women's Initiative will use the $25,000 grant from Morgan Stanley to implement the strategic plan. Women's Initiative was one of 15 nonprofits, selected from hundreds in New York, Chicago and San Francisco, to participate in the Challenge, which pairs teams of Morgan Stanley professionals with the nonprofits to provide pro bono strategic advice. The teams presented their final recommendations in a competition at Morgan Stanley's New York headquarters on June 15.

The nonprofits associated with the top three teams were presented cash grants by Morgan Stanley President and CEO James Gorman. The team of advisors to Women's Initiative came in first place. Women's Initiative has been providing low-income women in the San Francisco Bay Area with the training, funding, and support to launch businesses and become financially self sufficient for 23 years.

The organization has a proven model for poverty alleviation and job creation in the Bay Area and now possesses key financial and organizational benchmarks from the team of Morgan Stanley experts that will help it prepare it for growth beyond the Bay Area.

“Taking operations to scale is exciting – but potentially dangerous – so having Morgan Stanley experts providing us with the triggers and the safe pathway to achieve that scale was invaluable, and will lead to thousands of women finding economic security as well as job creation when our country needs it the most,” said Julie Abrams, CEO of Women's Initiative. Click here to read the press release about the Morgan Stanley challenge.

Encourage Congress to support funding for microenterprise development
Congratulations and special thanks to all of our graduates who were involved in the success of the letter of support we sent to the House in May! The House Appropriations Sub-committee has recommended $33.5 million in support of microenterprise development. The fight is not over – this budget still needs to be approved by both the House and Senate. To show your support of funding for microenterprise development (a proven strategy for job creation and economic recovery) please contact Dian Feinstein at 331 Hart Senate Office Building, Washington, D.C. 20510 or Fax: (202) 228-3954. A sample letter is below.

Dear Senator Feinstein,

I am writing to ask for your support for three critical microenterprise programs: Microloan Program, Program for Investment in Microentrepreneurs (PRIME), and Women's Business Centers (WBCs). I have seen first hand the positive impact microenterprises have on our communities and recommend that the FY2012 funding levels be set at FY2010 levels to meet the continuing demand for microenterprise services. A report released by the Association for Enterprise Opportunity in May, shows that if just one in three microbusinesses hired a single employee, the US would be at full employment. It will require support for entrepreneurs to achieve this.

Sincerely,
[Your name]

Mirna Robles Betancourt
The oldest of four children, Mirna Robles grew up in a middle-class family in Villa Juarez, Mexico. Her family instilled in her the values of hard work and perseverance. Since she was a young girl, she enjoyed learning about art, draying, and always felt love for the camera.

As a child she began taking photos of the people in her hometown and by the age of 13 she was photographing social and religious events around town and became known as Mirna La Fotógrafa (Mirna the Photographer.) It gave her such joy to deliver the photos to her subjects; she felt happy that people would have a good memory of the good day. Her work as a photographer also helped her overcome her timidness.

Although her first love was photography, when she was at University, her father encouraged her to study something more serious. Motivated by the injustices and losses that she had seen in her hometown and other small towns like it, she decided to study law. After graduating and working for the government for four years, Mirna decided to pursue her passion of photography. After making photography her focus, Mirna got to know many different cities, and decided to settle down in San Jose. She began to pursue her dream of being a professional photographer in the United States, knowing that it would not be easy. She began learn everything she could from tutorials on the internet, until she had the opportunity to work with Simon Ho, a Korean photographer, who, with his 25 years of experience, taught her all the techniques and guided her in her passion. After being inspired by such a master teacher who always said money was not important when you have your passion for your job, she began to earn money and became a professional photographer.

With the photography skills she needed, Mirna decided to make photography her business and enrolled in the Women's Initiative ALAS program. Within ALAS she nurtured her dream, to have a photography studio and to be her own boss.

Monica Bass
Monica Bass was introduced to Women's Initiative in 2010 and thought, "Perhaps this is where my volunteering efforts could make a difference!” Monica started her involvement with Women's Initiative as a Business Connector, supporting the success of the entrepreneurial clients and graduates by attending events and patronizing their businesses.

Before she knew it, Monica became a facilitator for the new LEAP into SuccessLink program. “Women's Initiative is so fortunate to have Monica as one of our advocates,” said Norma Gaitan, SuccessLink Specialist. “She is an unmatched resource for our clients, spending time to open up access to markets for our clients, in addition to all of her assistance reworking the logistics of LEAP.”

Monica has a background in consultative sales and has always taken advantage of her enjoyment working with people and building relationships. After graduating from Baruch College in New York City, she began her career in the printing industry achieving her accreditation as a Certified Forms Consultant. In 2004 Monica became a Realtor and Accredited Staging Professional, and maintains her real estate license as a Referral Agent with RNI, Inc. Most recently Monica obtained her California State Accident & Health License and credentials to practice as a Long-Term Care Insurance Agent. In 2010, Monica joined the Coldwell Banker Relocation division as a Referral Agent with RNI, Inc.

In her spare time, Monica enjoys walking the Lafayette reservoir and considers herself a political news junkie.

Governing Board
Joan Dea
Board Director of numerous public companies
Debbie Messemer
Managing Partner, KPMG
Naureen Hassan,
COO, Charles Schwab Bank

San Francisco Regional Board
Jim Sheppard,
CFO, Charles Schwab Bank

Contra Costa Regional Board
Linda Zaiss,
VP/Mortgage Advisor, RPM Mortgage
Darlene Espinoza
Certified Mortgage Planner, RPM Mortgage

Alameda County Regional Board
LaNiece Jones
LaNiece Jones & Associates

Silicon Valley Board
Veronica Calzada
Owner, Vero's Facilities & Maintenance Services

New York Regional Board Nancy Chassman
Global Tax Partner, AIG
Lori Massad
Partner, Alliance Bernstein

Abrams speaks at Women Mayors Convention
Julie Abrams spoke alongside Jane Oates, assistant secretary of employment and training administration for the U.S. Department of Labor, at the National Convention of Women Mayors about job creation through microenterprise development. The mayors were impressed with the results Women's Initiative graduates are having with job creation and encourage the Department of Labor to respond to the current economic and employment environment by investing in entrepreneurship.

Find graduate businesses in our improved and updated Orange Pages directory

When you donate to Women's Initiative, your resources are helping women turn their dreams into a reality. But the impact doesn't need to stop there. Check out the Orange Pages, an on-line directory of local businesses owned and operated by graduates of the Women's Initiative business training program. Are you looking for a hair salon in San Francisco? How about a place to grab lunch in downtown Oakland? Women's Initiative graduates have opened up hundreds of thriving businesses throughout the entire Bay area, and by using our convenient on-line directory you can locate them and become one of their newest clients or customers. You can search by region, city, zip code, graduate name, business type, and business name. It's really that simple! You'll be amazed by the number and diversity of businesses open in any given area, and by taking advantage of all that they have to offer you will not only see the impact your support has made, you can experience it.

Click here to find businesses now in our Orange Pages.

Congratulations to Women's Initiative graduate business Urban Bazaar for winning the SF Weekly Reader's Poll for Best Boutique of 2011!

Contra Costa Client Business Tour
Friday, July 8, 2011
3pm - 5pm
Starts at Women's Initiative Contra Costa Office
1465 Enea Bldg E. Suite 900, Concord, CA
RSVP to Mariane Van Duijn

San Francisco Client Business Tour
Saturday, July 9, 2011
10:30am - 1:00pm
Starts at Women's Initiative San Francisco Office
1398 Valencia Street, San Francisco, CA
RSVP to smonfared@womensinitiative.org

San Jose Graduation Ceremony
Thursday, July 7, 2011
6:00pm-8:00pm
Willow Glen Library
RSVP to Annika Stimman at (408)282-4348 or astimman@womensinitiative.org

ALAS Graduation Ceremony
Thursday, July 14, 2011
6:00pm-8:00pm
San Jose Unified School District
RSVP to Annika Stimman at (408)282-4348 or astimman@womensinitiative.org

Oakland Connect Event
Wednesday, July 27, 2011
6:00pm-9:00pm
La Cocina Poblana, Jack london Square
RSVP to Christiane Gonzalez cgonzalez@womensinitiative.org

For more information about our upcoming events please visit www.womensinitiative.org