Northeast Entrepreneur Fund



"Promoting the entrepreneurial spirit and creating economic wealth and diversity."

	*History*
		The Northeast Entrepreneur Fund was conceived in the mid-1980s when our region, long dependent on natural-resources industries such as iron mining and timber, underwent a difficult period of recession. Although the region has gone on to regain much of its strength, many of the jobs associated with those industries have not returned. Our service is a predominately rural region that includes 11 counties covering nearly 30,000 square miles and a population of 470,000. Historically, residents of this region have generally seen themselves as employees rather than employers. We have often looked to large business outside the region and to government to provide solutions and job opportunities. The devastating economic restructuring and permanent job loss the region experienced in the 1980s left people feeling that they had few options. We saw a need to build a sense of self-reliance by creating our own locally owned businesses and jobs. The vision for NEF, which was launched in 1989 as a nonprofit community development financial institution (CDFI), was that it would provide technical assistance and financing to individuals to start and grow their own businesses and create their own jobs. This would also help to create role models for entrepreneurship and a source of inspiration for others. The lasting legacy of NEF will be to instill self-reliance and self-determination by creating economic opportunity through entrepreneurship. Over the last two decades, NEF has served 9,000 individuals through its training, consulting and financing programs. In 2007, more than 605 people participated in one or more of our training opportunities, and 33 business owners received new loans totaling $334,953. In early 2008, after several years of planning with many other regional economic development partners, the Greenstone Group was launched. This initiative aims to enhance the professional development of area entrepreneurs through business performance coaching, peer support and access to a variety of business services. Looking to the future, NEF is committed to being a sustainable institution that can support long-term economic solutions for the region. By focusing on building tools and strategies to meet the needs of small-business owners, we seek to be a model of excellence for other organizations in our region. Designations, memberships and recognition In 2004, the Northeast Entrepreneur Fund was designated an SBA Women’s Business Center. The Entrepreneur Fund is a certified Community Development Financial Institution. NEF has been an SBA Microlender since 1992 and a member of Opportunity Finance Network since 1995. NEF is a core (founding) member of MICROTEST, a practitioner-driven project of the Aspen Institute developing perfomance measures for the microenterprise industry. NEF is nationally recognized for its efforts in entrepreneurial training, lending, and evaluation. In 1999 NEF received a Presidential Microenterprise Award for Excellence in Developing Entrepreneurial Skills. While sponsored by President Clinton, industry peers and leaders judged the prestigious award.