The use of liquor licenses as an economic development tool is a comparatively recent consideration among practitioners and policymakers, driven by an increased focus on equitable economic growth and growing recognition of antiquated public policies that underlie licenses’ distribution in many cities. In roughly half of US states, liquor license distribution is controlled or capped at the state-level. Read More

Youth UpRising, of Oakland, California, was created in 2003 in response to heightened racial tensions driven by decades of poverty and strife. They opened in 2005 with programming focused on direct service, community relations, and a unique public/private partnership between themselves, government, foundations, and other local service agencies. We sat down with their CFO, John Payne, to hear more about Youth UpRising and how ICCC helped them to scale the impact of their program. Read More

There’s one thing Jim and Kathy Turner always say about their seafood, “if it were any fresher, it would still be swimming,” and as a fourth generation family business, Turner’s Seafood is now looking for ways to keep their business strategies as fresh as their fish. In October, the Turner’s traveled from Massachusetts to attend the Inner City Capital Connections (ICCC) culminating conference in New York. Read More

As part of our partnership with JPMorgan Chase's Small Business Forward program, ICIC has been working closely with a group of entrepreneurial support organizations (ESOs) focused on the high-tech sector to better understand their impact on early-stage businesses. As the field of entrepreneurial support continues to mature, our evaluation provides a critical opportunity to better understand what effective support for high-tech, early-stage businesses looks like. Our findings also start to fill a critical data gap for ESOs. Read More

While at Inner City Capital Connections' culminating conference, we interviewed VetCor, a veteran owned and operated Florida-based company providing 24/7 emergency services for property restoration of water and mold damage. While they await their ICCC program start in early 2018, they continue to understand ways to grow their small business while maintaining their mission to provide veterans with fulfilling work after their military services. Read More