The Aspen Institute

"State of the Field". This major new publication from FIELD examines the state of the microenterprise industry in the United States. Read more.

Donor Resources. FIELD offers two resources for donors interested in the U.S. microenterprise field. FIELD's Funder Guide Series provides donors with insights into the field and effective ways in which it can be supported. FIELD also staffs a Microenterprise Funders Group that provides opportunities for exchange and learning among donors. Learn more about these donor resources.

Performance buzz. There's plenty of talk in the industry today about the importance of tracking performance and client outcomes to demonstrate program effectiveness. Consultant Jason Friedman makes this point in a recent edition of his electronic newsletter, Sustainability in Action! He writes: "If you want to be a player in economic development in your community, then it's time to develop an outcome monitoring and evaluation survey instrument and system." MicroTest was designed to help programs take a giant step in that direction. Learn more about MicroTest products, services and membership.

MicroTest training June 19-20, 2008. A two-day, hands-on training will be offered in Washington, DC in June to provide members with the skills and tools needed to incorporate performance management into their program using MicroTest. The training is required for new programs wishing to join MicroTest, and is open to existing MicroTest members looking to refresh their data collection skills. Get additional details.

MicroTest expands membership. In 2007, MicroTest crossed the 100-member threshold and was pleased to extend membership to MIS vendors for the first time. View a complete membership list.

Access MicroTest data. MicroTest annually produces reports from program performance and client outcomes data collection efforts, as well as data collected through the CDFI Data Collection Project. Learn more about the kind of findings you can access.

Webcast trainings on MicroTest’s Performance and Outcomes products.
Live and archived versions of MicroTest's hour-long sessions provide an opportunity for MicroTest members to train new staff, or refresh the skill of existing staff members, while they fill out their workbooks for FY2006. Read more.

Microtest Intermediary. MicroTest’s newest product offers a cost-effective tool for collecting and analyzing high-quality data on a number of microenterprise programs. Georgia Microenterprise Network is the newest user. Read more about this product.

Media Spotlight. With the bank credit crunch making it more difficult for some entrepreneurs to secure financing, are microlenders helping fill the void? That’s the question a St. Louis Post-Dispatch reporter put to FIELD Director Elaine Edgcomb as part of a recent story titled: “Small businesses find it tougher to get tiny loans.” Also featured in the story is Justine Petersen, one of eight organizations participating in the FIELD-led Scale Academy for Enterprise Development. Read article.

New funder guide released. The latest edition in FIELD’s series of funder guides explores how some microenterprise programs are creating social enterprises to deliver client services more sustainably and what funders can do to support these efforts. The guide, the eleventh in the series, considers the experiences of various microenterprise practitioners who have started such enterprises, identifies lessons learned and pinpoints specific investment opportunities for donors. Read free PDF.

Two microenterprise leaders chosen for fellowship.Two innovative leaders in the microenterprise field have been selected to receive fully paid fellowships to attend the 2008 Aspen Ideas Festival, an annual summer event that attracts hundreds of notables each year. Nominated by FIELD and awarded fellowships by the Aspen Institute were: Tanya Fiddler, executive director of the Four Bands Community Fund in Eagle Butte, N.D., and Eric Weaver, executive director of Lenders for Community Development in San Jose, Calif. They will join approximately 70 other Fellows at the festival, which begins June 30 in Aspen, Colo. Through discussions and events, the festival is designed to stimulate intellectual exchange on a variety of timely issues. Learn more about the festival.

FIELD workshops at AEO conference announced. FIELD staff will conduct three workshops during the Association for Enterprise Opportunity’s annual conference, scheduled for May 20-23, 2008 in Anaheim, Calif. Sessions will focus on: how to understand and use client outcomes data effectively; promising scale-up strategies that are emerging from the FIELD-managed Scale Academy; and the practicalities of designing, managing and evaluating regional flavor/buy local initiatives. Learn more about FIELD's sessions and see conference agenda.

Listen to our recent Webinar. Missed our recent Webinar on how microenterprises are using social enterprises to increase sustainability? Now you can listen – anytime – to a recorded version. The experiences of three microenterprise programs that have created social enterprises are featured. Listen now.

New FIELD forum focuses on social enterprise. Increasingly, social enterprises are capturing interest as a way for microenterprise programs to increase their sustainability. The latest edition of FIELD forum explores this innovative strategy, taking an in-depth look at how one program – Mountain BizWorks in North Carolina – created a retail store as a way to market clients’ artistic products, while also generating revenue for BizWorks. Read PDF.

Citi Internship awards announced. Twenty microenterprise organizations have been selected to receive funding through the Citi Microenterprise Researchers Program to hire a graduate student in summer 2008 to help collect data on clients. Each program will recruit and hire its own intern; FIELD will train the interns in MicroTest data collection methods. Read more.

Mott, Citi renew grants for Scale Academy. The two major funders of the Scale Academy for Microenterprise Development have renewed their support for 2008. The Charles Stewart Mott Foundation has made a new $500,000 grant, after awarding $250,000 in 2007. The Citi Foundation helped launch the Academy with a $250,000 grant last year, and has granted $250,000 again for 2008. The eight programs participating in the Academy are pursuing strategies aimed at significantly expanding their operation. Learn more.

Grant allows FIELD, EOP to examine trends in CDFI sustainability. A $100,000 grant from the CDFI Fund's Research Initiative will allow FIELD and its colleagues in the Economic Opportunities Program at the Aspen Institute to examine the issue of sustainability as it relates to CDFIs. The research is designed to produce a better understanding of the characteristics and stages of sustainability, while also documenting innovative sustainability approaches being used today that can serve as guideposts to other CDFI's seeking to grow their programs. Learn more.