What's New at ICIC
Intuit More with AI Tour
ICIC and Intuit have partnered to launch the More with AI Tour, a nationwide roadshow to educate small and mid-market businesses about the transformative potential of artificial intelligence (AI). Kicking off in 2025, the tour includes six in-person events held across the U.S. that will provide small and mid-market businesses with actionable insights and hands-on experience on a range of small business AI tools from Intuit and other companies.
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Meet the 2024 IC100 Award Winners!
Since 1999, ICIC has identified and celebrated the 100 fastest-growing businesses in under-resourced communities across the nation. The 2024 winners were unveiled in December at ICIC's Virtual 30th Anniversary Celebration. View the list to learn more about these incredible businesses.
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Why I Give
Join the Alumni Network in celebrating ICIC’s 30th anniversary through the Why I Give campaign! Your generosity will help us break down barriers, expand opportunities, and empower more entrepreneurs to reach their full potential.
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Holiday Gift Guide
Get ready for the season of giving with ICIC’s annual Alumni Gift Guide! This year, we’re excited to showcase more than 300 small businesses, making it easy for you to discover the perfect holiday gift for everyone on your list.
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Structural Barriers to Small Business Success
Explore our interactive tool, created in partnership with Small Business Majority, that illustrates how structural racism affects the small business landscape in the U.S.
View the tool webinar replay
Racial Equity in America's New Industrial Transformation
ICIC recently published "Racial Equity in America's New Industrial Transformation," a first-of-its-kind report that details the impact of the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, CHIPS and Science Act, and Inflation Reduction Act on Black- and Hispanic-owned manufacturers. This pivotal study maps out the current landscape and charts a course for significant change to ensure that the benefits of America's industrial renewal are equitably shared.
read the report webinar replay
Regional Economic Connectivity: A Strategy to Build Opportunity in Distressed Communities
This report by ICIC and SRI describes regional economic connectivity as an economic development strategy for under-resourced communities.
read the report
What's Your Why?
To commemorate ICIC’s three decades of fostering economic growth and opportunity in underserved communities through groundbreaking research and programs, we are asking program participants, funders, nominators, and staff, “What’s Your Why?” Members of our ecosystem are responding by sharing what motivates them and how their “why” connects them to ICIC. These varied and impactful stories help us to reflect on our journey, fuel our mission, and shape our future.
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Our 2024 Impact Report is Here!
We are thrilled to unveil our 2024 Impact Report themed “What’s Your Why?” This year’s report encapsulates our core mission: to drive economic growth in under-resourced communities by empowering small businesses and promoting sustainable, equitable development. We invite you to delve into the inspiring narratives of resilience, innovation, and determination shared by our program participants, funding partners, and ecosystem allies, showcasing the profound impact of our collective efforts.
Impact Report
Supporting Small Business Growth
ICIC offers seven tuition-free development programs that serve small businesses throughout their lifecycle—from startup to succession. Learn more about how our programs can help your small business grow.
View video descriptionsThe Authority on Inclusive Economic Prosperity
Initiative for a Competitive Inner City (ICIC) drives inclusive economic prosperity in under-resourced communities through innovative research and programs to create jobs, income, and wealth for local residents.
Founded in 1994 by Harvard Business School Professor Michael Porter, the Initiative for a Competitive Inner City is a national nonprofit research and advisory organization and the leading authority on U.S. under-resourced economies and the businesses that thrive there.
Learn More About ICIC
Work with ICIC
Underserved communities are rich with opportunity. We help business, government and philanthropic leaders leverage local assets to transform communities. Our research team has helped to shape economic development strategies in more than twenty inner cities.
ICIC delivers the knowledge and the know-how to achieve sustainable economic and job growth.
Support ICIC
Whether supporting one of our high-impact urban business programs or the entire organization, our partners know they are choosing to support an organization dedicated to transforming inner cities across the country. Our partners include Bank of America, Chevron, Kaiser Permanente, various foundations and individual donors.
Learn how you can support ICIC’s work
What is an Inner City?
Inner cities are distressed urban and suburban areas of concentrated poverty and low income. Inner city residents represent 14% of the population—that’s 45 million people. Of U.S. residents living in poverty, 31 percent live in inner cities.
Blog
The Evolution and Landscape of Under-Resourced Communities
In the past forty years, the landscape of concentrated poverty in the United States has changed. The Evolution and Landscape of Under-Resourced Communities in U.S. Metropolitan Areas, published in the journal Economic Development Quarterly, traces the evolution of under-resourced communities in U.S. metropolitan areas from 1980 to 2019. The article describes in depth the changes seen in under-resourced communities, including:
- The share of metropolitan residents who live in under-resourced communities has grown.
- Under-resourced communities have become more racially diverse, with expanding shares of white and Hispanic/Latino residents. Though the share of Black URC residents has fallen, Black residents continue to make up a substantive share of the under-resourced community population.
- Under-resourced communities have become more suburban, although most of their residents still live in central cities.
ICIC drives inclusive economic prosperity in under-resourced communities through innovative research and programs to create jobs, income, and wealth for local residents.
Contact
PO Box 191297
Roxbury MA 02119
Phone: 617-238-1740
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