FREE TRICKLE UP GRANT APPLICATION WORKSHOP

BROOKLYN, NY-January 9, 2003-Brooklyn Economic Development Corporation and the Trickle Up Program-USA will hold a free workshop from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., Saturday, January 25, 2003, to help entrepreneurs prepare their applications for a $700 Trickle Up grant. Trickle Up provides seed capital grants to economically disadvantaged people so they can start or expand their own micro-businesses.

The workshop will be held at BEDC's offices 175 Remsen Street, Suite 350, downtown Brooklyn between Court and Clinton. Registration is required by January 21, 2003. To register, call BEDC at 718-522-4600, ext. 24. Seating is limited.

The hands-on workshop is designed for entrepreneurs who meet the income criteria and are interested in applying for a Trickle Up grant. As part of the application process, entrepreneurs will be asked to indicate how a $700 seed capital grant, disbursed in two installments of $500 and $200, will have a measurable impact on the scale of their businesses.

At the workshop, participants will receive the Trickle Up program grant application and will be offered assistance to complete and submit it that same day. Entrepreneurs interested in applying must bring proof of income such as pay stubs, tax returns, or unemployment/public assistance letters. For a family of one, the annual income requirement is $15,505; for a family of two, $20,895; for a family of three, $26,285; for a family of four, $31,675, and for a family of five, $37,065. Applications will be collected at the end of the workshop for processing.

"BEDC held its first Trickle Up workshop in November and it was so successful that we decided to schedule additional workshops," said Joan Bartolomeo, president of BEDC, adding that in addition to the January 25 workshop, BEDC will hold Trickle Up workshops on March 22 and May 24. "Fifteen entrepreneurs attended our initial workshop and of those, 12 qualified for a Trickle Up grant and ten have already received funding."

"For many Trickle Up entrepreneurs, this seed capital grant is the first formal financing they have ever received," according to Darius Kenyatta Ellis, Trickle Up’s U.S. program director. "Hence, one of our goals is to help them become bankable so they can go on to access micro-credit or other financial tools in the future."

Trickle Up has started or expanded over 110,000 businesses, benefiting more than a half-million people in 120 countries since Mildred Robbins Leet and Glen Leet started it in 1979. By providing conditional seed capital grants and basic business skills training, Trickle Up provides the lowest-income people in the U.S., Africa, Asia and the Americas an opportunity to re-direct their lives toward economic growth and security. Trickle Up has been working in the U.S. since 1994 and has assisted more than 2,000 low-income entrepreneurs in 14 states to start or expand their own businesses. For more information, see www.trickleup.org.

BEDC, a private, nonprofit organization, was established in 1979 to stimulate Brooklyn's economy and create job opportunities for the borough and its residents. BEDC has evolved into a multi-service, business-consulting agency, serving more than 1,000 clients annually and offering comprehensive economic development services. More information is available at www.bedc.org.