Economic Growth United States Project #8069

Microfinance for Low-Income Entrepreneurs in U.S.

by Lending for Evanston and Northwestern Development

Microfinance for Low-Income Entrepreneurs in U.S.

Project Report | Nov 22, 2011
New Year! New Staff!

By Sahil Mehta | Director of Internal Strategy

To our generous donors,

Thank you for your continuing support. Thanks to the financial and emotional support that you have given us at LEND, we have been able to complete our first year of operations and move into the future. However, due to the fact that we are a college based organization, our staff graduates. However, the traditions, excellence in operations, and commitment to our community will never graduate.

In an effort to replenish our ranks, we've ran an aggressive recruiting campaign on campus. Nearly 70 applicants submitted their credentials. We interviewed many and were impressed by the talent, passion, and enthusiasm that these young leaders demonstrated.

When the dust settled, we have a new staff of bright and passionate students ready to take LEND into the next generation. The members are hitting the ground running, going through training with older members, working with entrerepreneurs, and expanding our outreach; both to clients and community. As we move into 2012, the clubs strategic priorities involved building better relationships in the community, and bring more entrepreneurs into our services.

Our team will be led by Gaurav Kikani, formerly the Director of Fundraising of LEND. Gaurav has interned with the Mercy Corps as an Aspen Microenterpise Intern this past fall. The former executive board, and the LEND Board of Directors are confident in Gaurav's ability to lead the organization into the future.

As we graduate members, we expand our LEND community. You all were some of the first members of our community, and we value your contributions. We thank you for your continued support, and hope to be able to count on you as LEND expands in the future.

If you ever have any questions for us, please feel free to contact our executive board at lend@u.northwestern.edu.

Happy Holidays, and Best Regards.

Thanks,

Sahil Mehta

Director of Internal Strategy, Outgoing

LEND

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Aug 8, 2011
LEND Project Update: 8/7/2011

By Sahil Mehta | Director of Internal Strategy

To all who have followed and supported in our past:

First off, thank you. With your financial support, we’ve been able to mobilize a base and build a strong presence in our community. Your donations have given us more than financial vitality; they offer us greater legitimacy through which we can improve the impact of our work.

As an organization entirely staffed by Northwestern undergraduates, summer serves as a unique challenge to our organization. Many members spend summers away from Chicago, which limits their impact, and our overall ability to work in the field. Despite a thinner staff for this summer, we’ve made plenty of strides.

One order of business was building a strong organizational infrastructure to ensure that our organization will stay strong long after the original staff is gone. To do so, 15 pages of bylaws have been drafted. Additionally, we have increased our work in the community. We are specifically looking to use our programs to help empower ex-offenders in our community. Members of LEND have met with Mayor Elizabeth Tisdahl of Evanston to discuss a program in this area. Additionally, we have met with members of the Evanston ex-offender community to assess the needs and resources for this community, so we can design the best training and loan program to serve them.

In addition to these new ventures, we’ve made sure to maintain excellence in our current projects. We’ve collected regular repayments on our two outstanding loans, and have issued an application for a third loan, which may be issued by the fall. LEND has created a detailed strategy document for one of our clients, an email marketing campaign for another client, and advised a community theatre.

All in all, its been a busy summer - and its going to be a busier fall. We’re looking to rapidly scale up our operations. To do so, we’ll be leveraging our relationships with local government and business leaders to add more clients to our program, and leverage the attention we captured during our fundraising and outreach campaign on campus to recruit more talented and passionate staff members.

We look forward to your continued support. Please feel free to get in touch with us if you have any questions, concerns, or suggestions. We look forward to hearing from you.

In solidarity,

Sahil Mehta
Director of Internal Strategy
LEND

Links:

Our Spring Campaign, Invest Evanston

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