Inner City Capital Connections
Nominate & Apply | Opening Seminar | Webinars | Individual Coaching | National Conference | FAQs
Inner City Capital Connections (ICCC) is a tuition-free executive leadership training program designed by the Initiative for a Competitive Inner City (ICIC) to help business owners in economically-distressed areas build capacity for sustainable growth in revenue, profitability, and employment. It is the only program of its kind to provide three critical elements for sustainable growth:
- Capacity-building education
- One-on-one coaching
- Connections to capital and capital providers.
Aimed at ensuring the long-term growth of inner city businesses, our program helps business owners provide local residents and surrounding anchor institutions with vital services, create jobs, generate wealth, and help drive economic growth in their own communities.
“I can’t wait to get back and start to reorganize and build structure for my employees and have a better customer satisfaction.” Horchateria Rio Luna, 2017 ICCC Los Angeles Participant
Where We’re Headed | Program Structure | Time & Cost | Eligibility
ICCC is designed for busy executives of all expertise levels, and its impact is proven to strengthen businesses and the inner city communities where they operate. It helps bridge the gap for the 70% of inner city businesses that are dramatically undercapitalized, but that cite lack of knowledge and relationships as key barriers to obtaining it.
Read more about ICCC’s regional and national impact in the recently published 2019 Impact Report and overview.
From 2005-2018, 2,894 ICCC alumni have averaged 120% growth in revenue, created 21,390 jobs, and raised $2.23 billion in capital. As our alumni succeed, we promote sustainable business growth in underserved communities across the country.
“This opportunity has put to mind all the things we have tried to accomplish but didn’t know how!” Eggroll Café, 2017 ICCC Boston Participant
Where We Were in 2019
ICCC is a national program offered in cities across the United States. The 2019 program year has ended, but see below for the cities we visited this year. We will most likely visit a majority of these cities next year, so be on the lookout for our 2020 program sites in the coming weeks!
Program Structure
The ICCC Program is divided into four modules designed to maximize the participant’s experience and accommodate their busy schedules.
- Opening Seminar: Full-day in-person training seminar where top business professors present on critical business topics
- Webinar Series: Virtual learning sessions to complement and deepen the learnings from the Opening Seminar
- Individual Coaching: Individual coaching focused on creating and refining capital pitch and/or tackling general business challenges
- National Conference: Culminating conference bringing together participants from across the country to continue their learning, sharpen their capital pitch, and connect with a growing network of growth-minded entrepreneurs and capital providers
Time Commitment
The ICCC program and its four modules require a time commitment of approximately 40 hours over a 3-6 month period. The program incorporates both in-person and virtual learning components to accommodate the busy schedules of all participants, and ensure they receive concise yet informative education.
Cost
ICCC is a tuition-free program. Participants are responsible for travel and lodging expenses related to the Opening Seminar and National Conference, and ICCC will work with business owners unable to cover those costs.
“This is a well-run program. The seminar was a great beginning to address my business needs, and I am extremely grateful to be a part of this initiative.” Brown Farmer Media Group, 2018 ICCC Chicago
Participant Eligibility
A business must meet all of the following criteria in order to be eligible for participation in ICCC: *
- Be an independent, for-profit or non-profit corporation, partnership or proprietorship
- Have its headquarters or more than 51% of its physical operations located in an economically-distressed area OR have more than 40% of employees residing in an economically-distressed area
- Be past the survival stage. We typically work with businesses with annual revenues of at least $500,000
- Have been in operation for two years or more and past the proof-of-concept stage. ICCC does not accept start-up companies
*On a case-by-case basis, ICCC will consider businesses that do not meet all of the specified criteria on the recommendation of a nominator
For questions regarding the nomination process or eligibility, contact us at (617) 238-3019 or iccc@icic.org
Do you know of any businesses that fit this profile? If so, NOMINATE them today encourage them to apply!
Does your business fit this profile? If so, APPLY today!