The 2009 microenterprise survey was closed on November 13, 2009. With 364 responses, we had the highest participation ever!
We would like to thank all the organizations that participated in the survey and our partners, who spread the word, notified the microenterprise community of this important survey, and offered some amazing gifts to randomly selected survey respondents.
Since 1992, FIELD has conducted periodic, broad surveys of the microenterprise field, published most recently as the Directory of U.S. Microenterprise Programs in 2005. As the new Administration and current financial crisis have focused important attention on the U.S. microenterprise field, FIELD, in partnership with the Association for Enterprise Opportunity (AEO), CFED, Credit Builders Alliance and state microenterprise programs (SMAs), launched a new, comprehensive survey of the U.S. microenterprise field in 2009. The goal is to produce updated, quantitative information on the scope and scale of the industry, and to track the evolution of its products and services.
The survey targeted microenterprise development organizations that provide direct services to clients. Survey results will be available to the public in a searchable directory on the FIELD Web site in early 2010. Click here to view a pdf of the survey.
"Our organization completed the Web survey because the compiled results will provide current and valuable information for our industry to use for advocacy and funding efforts. The survey was simple and quick to complete."
Data collected in the survey will allow us to answer the most frequently asked media questions regarding the U.S. microenterprise field:
- How many aspiring entrepreneurs does the field assist?
- How many microloans were made in the last year?
- How many microenterprise programs are there? And where are they?
Additionally, the survey and resultant Directory will allow us to further increase awareness of individual microenterprise programs, given that media representatives, funders, practitioners and researchers are all prime users of the data.
Weekly drawings were held throughout the survey as a thank-you to those that completed surveys. Winners of the random drawings were:
2009 Field-Wide Survey Partners:
Association for Enterprise Opportunity, Arlington, Va.
Alabama Microenterprise Network, Birmingham, Ala.
California Association for Microenterprise Opportunity, San Francisco, Calif.
Central Vermont Community Action Council, Barre, Vt.
Credit Builders Alliance Washington, DC
Georgia Micro Enterprise Network, Atlanta, Ga.
Michigan LISC, Kalamazoo, Mich.
Mississippi Micro-Enterprise Association Network, Jackson, Miss.
Nebraska Enterprise Fund, Oakland, Neb.
Neighborhood Economic Development Corporation, Mesa Ariz.
Oregon Microenterprise Network, Portland, Ore.
Partners for Entrepreneurial Advancement in Kentucky, Frankfort, Ky.
Pennsylvania Microenterprise Coalition, Philadelphia, Pa.
South Carolina Business Initiative, Columbia, S.C.
Virginia Microenterprise Network, Peru, Va.
Washington State Microenterprise Association, Federal Way, Wash.
What others are saying about the importance of the Microenterprise Field-Wide Survey..
Elinor Mattern, Oakland Program Manager, C.E.O Women, Oakland, Calif.
“Our organization completed the Web survey because the compiled results will provide current and valuable information for our industry to use for advocacy and funding efforts. The survey was simple and quick to complete.
“There is still much work to do to build our field, so that we can effectively serve more of the potential market of 10 million micro-entrepreneurs facing barriers to training and capital resources in the U.S. We know that only with the collaboration of peer organizations can the microenterprise field offer increased opportunities for the business owners and aspiring business owners we serve. Our compiled statistics will be far more compelling than what any of us alone can provide. Please complete the survey today.”
Manny Hidalgo, Executive Director, Latino Economic Development Corporation, Washington, D.C.
"LEDC completed the Field-Wide Survey because we're proud to be a part of projects like this that help us measure our impact. The better we can show the difference that our services make for our clients and our communities, the brighter the future for microenterprise development."
Jeff Reynolds, REAP Program Director, Center for Rural Affairs, Plymouth, Neb.
"I would strongly encourage every microenterprise program in the U.S. to fill out the Aspen Institute's FIELD Program microenterprise field-wide survey. The end result will be increased visibility and much needed promotion for the microenterprise field through a detailed program directory and many other benefits. Through difficult times, the microenterprise industry in the U.S. continues to gain momentum. Our industry will greatly benefit from the microenterprise field-wide survey, which is the reason we filled it out."
Alex Forrester, Chief Operations Officer, Rising Tide Capital, Jersey City, NJ
“At Rising Tide Capital, we made sure to participate in the FIELD survey because we believe that it will directly impact our bottom line over the long-term. Funding will come to our industry only if the value of our work is rigorously researched and promoted. None of us individually can play this role. Strengthening AEO and FIELD are our best chances to make micro-enterprise development a standard part of every community’s economic development infrastructure. Filling out the survey is a small price to pay. Besides, it’s a great way to procrastinate for a couple minutes, and it is important to remember that each of us tries to conduct surveys of our own. If we don’t fill out other people’s surveys, we contribute to a world where people won’t fill ours out either!”
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