BUILD SUSTAINABLE COMMUNITY WEALTH THROUGH ENTREPRENEURSHIP

Take a quick glance at the local headlines and you’ll see that our region has been booming economically, with incredible growth all over the area. However, despite that economic boost, significant segments of the population remain in depressed conditions.

Small family businesses make up over 90% of the U.S. economy, and since the 2008 recession they’ve been responsible for most of the U.S. job growth. They’re often owned by ordinary people offering simple solutions to everyday problems.

And yet mainstream business resources tend to focus on already established, bankable businesses or on highly scalable new ventures with high returns. If you are an entrepreneur, but you are low-income and under-resourced, the mainstream would likely consider you to be too inexperienced and your business to be too small, too risky, and not sufficiently scalable.

We know that business ownership increases median income by 24% and, with the right support, 81% of people in poverty starting a business will move out of poverty. As important, these same business owners develop agency, become vested stakeholders in the community, and become community leaders.

Supporting the Center for Inclusive Entrepreneurship builds community wealth. Since our launch in 2013, CIE has contributed to the journeys of over 800 low-income emerging entrepreneurs; 350 have completed our signature First Step training program, 150 have received intensive one-on-one business coaching, and 75 have started, strengthened, or expanded a business.

Thanks to the hard work of our participants, every dollar invested in CIE produces $10 social return on investment annually, often year after year.

Please support our work with a donation today!

SeaTac-Tukwila Food Innovation Network receives a 5-year, $750,000 grant

The SeaTac-Tukwila Food Innovation Network is a broad-based collective impact initiative that now includes the City of SeaTac, the City of Tukwila, Pinchot University, CIE, Global to Local, Healthy Community Planning, LLC, Swedish Medical Services, HealthPoint, Lifelong’s Chicken Soup Brigade, Forterra, Project Feast, Ventures, Highline College’s StartZone program, Lutheran Community Services, the YMCA and others.

CIE continues to play a pivotal role in the direction and activities of the Network. The Network recently received a substantial grant ($750,000 over five years) from King County’s Community of Opportunity program administered by the Seattle Foundation for capacity building support. With CoO funding, the Network hired a full-time project manager, engaged South King County communities in surveys and focus groups, and used stipends to integrate community members into roles on the Network’s steering committee and various working groups. Among many other accomplishments, the Network completed an asset map, a gap analysis, a community survey and community focus groups, which together has culminated in a feasibility study for a facility that will house a distribution hub for aggregating local produce, a commercial kitchen for training, incubating and supporting a variety of new, small-scale, healthy food enterprises, and classrooms and office space for participating community-based economic and business development programs.

What is Community Wealth?

The Democracy Collaborative describes community wealth building as a growing economic development movement that strengthens our communities through broader democratic ownership and community control of business and jobs. Strategies focus on building local talents, capacities, and institutions to strengthen and create locally-owned, family, and community-owned businesses.

At CIE we think the term community wealth means that wealth is more than just dollars. We believe that a community needs relationships, health, food, housing, art, and a sense of purpose to thrive - and that while money is a needed resource to sustain a healthy community, it is not the driving force.

Annie Leonard and the Story of Stuff Project use the acronym G-O-A-L to describe community wealth.

G- Gives people more power.

O- Opens peoples eyes to the meaning of happiness. It teaches that once basic needs are met, happiness doesn't come from buying more stuff. Rather, it comes from our communities, our health, and a sense of purpose.

A- Accounts for all the costs it creates, including the toll it has on people and the planet.

L - Lessens the enormous wealth gap between those who cannot meet basic needs and those who consume way more than their fair share.

Money should support health, community, and purpose, but it shouldn't steal the show. We want to see a community where people have the voice and power to shape their community. Our tool is business, but the goal is much more than money.

Green Cart Cooperative to bring healthy food to King County food deserts

Residents of South King County “food deserts” may soon have a new option for buying healthy, sustainable produce: a green cart.

Green Cart Cooperative, a mobile produce cart cooperative in the Seattle/King County area, will give low-income, underserved people living in food deserts (defined as an area without easy local access to food) access to EBT/SNAP-eligible local produce. Pinchot University’s Center for Inclusive Entrepreneurship (CIE) has received a USDA Local Food Promotion Program (LFPP) planning grant to study the feasibility of the business.

“The SeaTac-Tukwila area experiences great economic and health disparities,” said Mike Skinner, executive director of CIE. “While King County is one of the wealthiest regions in the country, almost 40% of households in the SeaTac-Tukwila area live below 200% of the federal poverty line, and 80% of students are on free or reduced lunch.”

The social enterprise cooperative of independent mobile produce cart operators will operate in LFPP-priority census tracts in SeaTac, Tukwila and South Seattle, giving low-income, underserved communities in South King County increased access to locally produced fruits and vegetables and develop new market opportunities for local farmers. As part of CIE’s Food Enterprise Development Program, Green Cart Cooperative would also connect low-income residents to economic opportunities in the food sector. 

One recent immigrant from East Africa was excited about the idea of a food cart in her neighborhood. “Back home, there were lots. They sold organic. That was important.” Fresh, affordable produce is difficult to find in her SeaTac neighborhood.  “Especially for me, because I do not drive it would be nice to have a food cart.”

CIE is partnering with Global to Local, members of the Food Innovation Network, Pinchot University, and local governments to conduct a series of listening sessions and surveys that will guide and inform the structure of the cooperative business model. The feasibility plan will include a market assessment and business plan for the cooperative.

Want to help? A short survey is available at http://tinyurl.com/CIE-survey and listening sessions are currently being scheduled. Community groups interested in hosting a listening session at their location should contact Mieka Briejer.