In 2016, over 626,000 individuals in the U.S. were released from state or federal prisons. Often released with nothing more than a bus ticket and a check for less than $200, the formerly incarcerated face serious economic challenges. They struggle securing necessities such as housing and transportation, let alone finding employment. Employers are often unwilling to hire individuals with criminal records and the jobs that are available often pay them lower wages. Read More

Through more than two decades of research and practice, ICIC has recognized the importance of small businesses in growing urban economies, revitalizing inner city neighborhoods and creating jobs and wealth for inner city residents. Encouragingly, small businesses continue to grow and hire new employees across the U.S. Read More

Over the past year, ICIC has partnered with JPMorgan Chase to research the opportunities and challenges associated with incubators and accelerators. In this blog we share our approach and new data that we collected from eight high-tech incubators and accelerators in the U.S. Read More

On May 23rd, ICIC released our newest report, Creating Inclusive High-Tech Incubators and Accelerators: Strategies to Increase Participation Rates of Women and Minority Entrepreneurs, in partnership with JPMorgan Chase and Co., at a panel called Expanding Opportunity through Inclusive Entrepreneurship at Detroit Startup Week. The following is a summary of the panel's conversation. Read More

In 2014, JPMorgan Chase & Co. launched Small Business Forward, a five-year, $30 million initiative to support small businesses by connecting them to critical resources to help them grow faster, create jobs and strengthen local economies. Read More