IN THE NEWS: Newhouse School instrumental in expansion of billion dollar economic and entrepreneurial development initiative

Syracuse University’s #1 ranked S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications featured SourceFunding.org in its latest article, which highlights the platform’s recent surge in growth.

“Newhouse School instrumental in expansion of multibillion-dollar economic development initiative”

NEW YORK, NEW YORK (September 19, 2018) - Multi-billion dollar economic development initiatives launched in 2014 and 2015 at Syracuse University’s S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications and with the support of the Public Diplomacy Program in 2016 continue to grow and are now supporting the expansion of over 50,000 startups, small businesses, nonprofits, and community development organizations nationwide by matching them with the best sources of funding for their particular circumstances and stage of growth.

The national economic development initiatives, first recognized in 2014 by Huffington Post (“A New Platform for Social Enterprise Startups in the U.S.”), have evolved into a cloud-based financial and database technology venture known as SourceFunding.org thanks to the early support of over 100 Newhouse students and faculty, both the Maxwell School of Citizenship & Public Affairs and Martin J. Whitman School of Management, Le Moyne College’s Madden School of Business, and numerous other university, foundation, and banking partners nationally.

Founded by technology entrepreneur and Newhouse alumnus W. Michael Short, and with a growing leadership team that includes SU grads Sara Brainard and Brian Cronin, SourceFunding.org was featured as a Forbes Editors’ Pick for leveling the playing field for small businesses, highlighted for economic and community impact at the White House, compared with Amazon as a marketplace for business finance on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange, and noted for socially responsible “FinTech Innovation” in the Business & Management Review.

SourceFunding.org is the only online platform providing a software as a service (SaaS) matching entrepreneurs, startups, businesses, nonprofits and community development organizations with the Responsible Finance Network™, which includes all of the 14,323 community banks, credit unions, non-profit lenders and community development financial institutions in the United States.

Using advanced matchmaking algorithms and artificial intelligence, the platform speeds up the business financing search and application process and provides a trusted and transparent alternative to the growing number of predatory online lenders and brokers that are plaguing the nation's businesses with hidden fees, astronomical rates, misleading information, and hindering broader economic growth, job creation, and business development nationally.

“SourceFunding.org makes economics and finance interesting, fun, and understandable as it offers entrepreneurs an array of funding options so they can avoid online predatory lenders,” said Joe Connolly, host of News Radio WCBS 880 Small Business Spotlight. He then described the platform as “a dating service for entrepreneurs looking for funding” and compared it with popular dating application Tinder, which is operated along with Match.com by $12 billion dollar Match Group, Inc.

One of the many entrepreneurs benefiting from the SourceFunding.org matchmaking platform is Ashley Warmington of Brooklyn, NY, founder of award-winning tech company Cozy Oasis and recent graduate of Medgar Evers College School of Business where SourceFunding.org currently operates a field office.

Using the funding secured with the help of SourceFunding.org, Ashley expanded her company and created jobs in her local community. Ashley’s tech company is now the top ranked AirBnB property management company in New York City.

“Searching for financing to grow my company took a lot of time away from my business and each lender handed me a big stack of application forms,” said Ms. Warmington. “SourceFunding.org matched me with the right funding from the most trusted source on the first attempt, which saved significant time and money.”

This challenge of finding the right lender is experienced by nearly all entrepreneurs, small businesses, and nonprofits in the United States - especially in historically underserved communities. On average, businesses spend over 100 hours completing loan applications without ever knowing if they are applying to a lender that actually matches their particular circumstances. As a result, roughly 8,000 business loan applications are declined in the U.S. every single day, which economists describe as a “massive market failure.”

“Entrepreneurs and small businesses face significant barriers in accessing the financing needed to grow and create jobs especially in underserved communities,” said Dr. Jo-Ann Rolle, dean of the School of Business at Medgar Evers College, City University of New York. “This is a reality we contend with on a daily basis while supporting entrepreneurs both on campus and in the community, and our work with SourceFunding.org is designed to streamline that process in order to level the playing field for all entrepreneurs."

To address this challenge, SourceFunding.org is providing platform access to several thousand chambers of commerce, small business development centers (SBDCs), economic development organizations, and community colleges so that they will be able to help entrepreneurs, businesses, and nonprofits identify funding options on an ongoing basis, with immediate results, through a complimentary account provided by SourceFunding.org.

“The Small Business Development Center at Onondaga Community College in Syracuse, New York, was so crucial in helping me launch and grow several ventures, including SourceFunding.org, and I’m thankful for the support provided over the years by the center and its incredible director Joan Powers,” explained W. Michael Short. “Now we are able to return the favor by providing access to our platform to entrepreneurs, businesses, and nonprofits in order to support communities nationwide.”

This motivation, to support communities and hard-working entrepreneurs throughout the country, is what inspired founder W. Michael Short to build SourceFunding.org.

SourceFunding.org Partnership with Kiva.org to Provide Alternative to Predatory Lenders

NEW YORK CITY (January 15, 2018) - University and foundation-backed SourceFunding.org recently announced a new partnership with Kiva.org to support small business growth and job creation in the US.

Serving as a Kiva Trustee, SourceFunding.org will be recommending entrepreneurs and small businesses for priority access to 0% interest small business loans.

The new partnership demonstrates growing momentum behind SourceFunding.org’s national campaign for the financial inclusion and empowerment of all entrepreneurs in the US.

The partnership also represents further expansion of SourceFunding.org’s Responsible Finance Network™, which has grown to include several thousand trusted, transparent, and low-cost community lenders within the last year.

“This is yet another exciting step forward in our commitment to level the playing field for all entrepreneurs and small business owners in the US so they can easily find and secure the quality, low-cost, and transparent financing needed to expand & create jobs,” said Sara Brainard, Brooklyn-based entrepreneur and VP of Corporate Operations for SourceFunding.org.

One entrepreneur already benefiting from the new partnership is Ashley Warmington, a student entrepreneur at Medgar Evers College School of Business who is working on her MWBE certification with the support of the College’s nationally recognized Entrepreneurship & Experiential Learning Lab.

Using SourceFunding.org, Ashley’s AirBnB management and concierge company, Cozy Oasis, was matched with Kiva and recommended for funding. The funding will accelerate the company’s growth globally into three new countries, which will create several new jobs in the Brooklyn community.

"Our entrepreneurs and small businesses face significant barriers when seeking financing to grow and create jobs,” said JoAnn Rolle, dean of the Business School at Medgar Evers College. “Entrepreneurship is an an important self directed career pathway for many of our students after they graduate and access to funding is crucial.”

To learn more about the positive impact SourceFunding.org is having, click here.

Our Commitment to Action: Financial Inclusion & Economic Empowerment

Photo: Atlanta Mayor Kasim Reed Speaking at Opening Plenary of Clinton Global Initiative.

Press Release via Global Social Enterprise Institute:

ATLANTA, GEORGIA (JUNE 2016) — Entrepreneur and economic development specialist W. Michael Short was invited to the Clinton Global Initiative Summit in Atlanta, GA, to announce the expansion of SourceFunding.org and the FundingNavigator℠ as a 2016 Clinton Foundation-sponsored "Commitment to Action."

Pictured: W. Michael Short, founder of SourceFunding.org , with President Clinton.

Recognized for socially responsible "FinTech Innovation" in the Business & Management Review and highlighted at the Obama White House, SourceFunding.org is a tech-enabled venture focused on bridging the opportunity divide for the 28 million small businesses in the U.S. so they can expand, create jobs, & transform communities.

SourceFunding.org is the nation's first low-cost matchmaking platform connecting small businesses with the 14,000+ responsible community banks, credit unions, CDFIs, & economic development financing opportunities in the U.S.

SourceFunding.org merges unparalleled access to the nation's financing opportunities with the nation's first universal e-application for small business funding. The proprietary system improves loan application outcomes, reduces friction for businesses seeking financing, protects the credit scores of small business applicants, and provides the nation's first viable alternative to the many predatory online lenders.

SourceFunding.org is scaling up the successful SourceFunding.org pilot by GSEI and award-winning Short Enterprises from 2011-2015, which facilitated access to $10 million in capital for high impact ventures and initiatives in a community with the nation’s highest levels of poverty concentration.

The platform's national expansion was planned in collaboration with university partners in the Ashoka U Accelerator and with the support of founding investor Janet Davas, mentor with the W.K. Kellogg Foundation and founder of Hatch, LLC, & nationally recognized Liberty's Kitchen.

"We're especially thankful for the support of the brilliant team at the White House Office of Social Innovation and Civic Participation like David Wilkinson and fellow Syracuse University graduate Laura Tomasko," said W. Michael Short. "We're also very thankful for the incredibly inspiring team at Clinton Global Initiative and the Clinton Foundation like Dan Goldberg, Stacey Pellegrino, Geoffrey Wnuk, Rose Tobiassen, Shital Patel, Ruchi Bhargava, Kimberly Lovett, and many others."

"The national expansion announcement was also made possible by our involvement in the Ashoka U Accelerator, which helped us refine our model and formulate our CGI Commitment to include a significant focus on empowering the next generation of high impact entrepreneurs that are unable to access the funding needed to launch and grow their ventures," said Short. "The Ashoka U Commons Accelerator is a world-class program."

Click here to read the original article from Global Social Enterprise Institute.

$100 million SourceFunding.org Launch Announced at Clinton Global Initiative

W. Michael Short, FinTech entrepreneur and president of the Global Social Enterprise Institute (GSEI), announces a new $100 million Clinton Global Initiative sponsored "Commitment to Action" at the 2016 CGI America Meeting in Atlanta, GA.

ATLANTA, GA (June 13, 2016) - In June 2016, award winning social entrepreneur W. Michael Short, the Global Social Enterprise Institute (GSEI), and university partners committed to the national expansion of the nation’s first low-cost financing platform for small businesses.

It is anticipated that this new national financial technology (FinTech) platform, SourceFunding.org, will deploy $100 million in business financing by year end 2018 utilizing a universal application system and matchmaking algorithms to more rapidly facilitate access to low-cost financing through the 14,000 community banks and credit unions in the U.S.

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Ceremony at Le Moyne College Highlights Launch of SourceFunding.org

SYRACUSE, NY (November 11, 2015) - The Global Social Enterprise Institute (GSEI), founded at the Madden School of Business by Le Moyne College's inaugural Social Entrepreneur in Residence W. Michael Short, will highlight at Wednesday’s ceremony the launch of SourceFunding.org - the nation's first socially responsible, transparent, and low-cost financing platform for businesses and community organizations.

Photo: Jim Joseph is the Dean of the Madden School of Business at Le Moyne College.

The online financing platform uses advanced technologies to streamline the small business loan application process and match entrepreneurs of all backgrounds with the qualified community banks and loan programs that are most likely to provide financing. The platform will be working to empower veterans and other underserved entrepreneurs in particular.

SourceFunding.org Founder W. Michael Short

What sets SourceFunding.org apart existing online financing platforms, viewed by many to be "predatory lenders," is that it utilizes an innovative process tapping into the complete national network of 14,000+ community banks, CDFIs, & credit unions in the U.S., which typically offer lower and more competitive interest rates that save applicants money. Additional benefits include pursuing multiple financing opportunities simultaneously, saving considerable time, and also protecting the credit scores of entrepreneur applicants.

IN THE NEWS: Newhouse School & Alumnus Develop National Entrepreneurship Initiative

The S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications at Syracuse University and boutique management consultancy SHORT ENTERPRISES have partnered to establish a network supporting entrepreneurs throughout the U.S. The Initiative's primary focus will be the launch of a new funding platform streamlining access to financing from community lenders. The platform is designed to provide a transparent alternative to expensive predatory online lenders and is focused on financial inclusion and economic empowerment in underserved communities.

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Newhouse partners with alumnus on CGI-sponsored project to support entrepreneurship across the U.S.

Via Newhouse School Press Release (October 22, 2014) - The Newhouse School at Syracuse University has joined forces with entrepreneur and Newhouse alumnus W. Michael Short on his firm’s latest endeavor with the Clinton Global Initiative America (CGI-A).

Short will announce the launch of this new venture, the Startup Insider Initiative, at the 4th Annual Entrepreneurship Bootcamp for Veterans with Disabilities (EVB) Conference at the CNN Center in Atlanta, October 24-26.

The Startup Insider Initiative, a CGI-A Commitment to Action, will involve the launch of a new e-publication and web platform for entrepreneurs and small business technical assistance and resource providers throughout the United States. CGI-A Commitments to Action are projects that aim to address significant global, national or local challenges.

Newhouse students began working with Short Enterprises on the project in early September and the school’s student-run PR firm, Hill Communications, will assist with the implementation of the public relations campaigns during the roll-out of the project.

“Our students are thrilled to take part in this exciting endeavor,” says Robert Kucharavey, a professor of practice in public relations at Newhouse. “The initiative is giving our students an opportunity to showcase their talents on a high-profile project while learning from a phenomenal social enterprises company started by one of our alums.”

The initiative will feature the best and brightest entrepreneurs and businesses from across the U.S and build a network among participants in order to facilitate opportunities for growth, expansion and job creation. In addition to providing a space for entrepreneurs to connect, Startup Insider Initiative will focus on engaging young women in the entrepreneurial process, supporting social and civic entrepreneurs, fostering an online support community and cross-sector global coalitions in support of youth entrepreneurial programming and supporting the economic empowerment of veterans through entrepreneurship.

“We’re very pleased to have the Newhouse School on board,” says Short. “Bob Kucharavey is one of the most talented and knowledgeable professors I have ever had the privilege of working with and his phenomenal students have already begun to identify effective strategies to engage the project’s key constituencies and I’m so very impressed with the work the students have done so far.”

Short Enterprises is also collaborating and partnering with a number of other organizations on the initiative including the New York State Family Business Center at Le Moyne College, New York State Small Business Development Center at Onondaga Community College and the Martin J. Whitman School of Management at Syracuse University.

The launch of Startup Insider was inspired by Short’s participation in the Clinton Global Initiative America Community Investing Working Group, which is focused on developing actionable strategies to broaden the domestic social finance market in order to use private capital in areas of small business lending, affordable housing, health and community and economic development.

The working group includes leaders from the MacArthur Foundation, Bush Foundation, Ford Foundation, Global Sustainable Finance at Morgan Stanley, Urban Investment Group at Goldman Sachs, U.S. Community Reinvestment Fund, Federal Reserve Board and U.S. Treasury Department, among others.

“Startup Insider presents a unique opportunity to support budding entrepreneurs and assist them with gaining traction and exposure, sharing ideas and accessing crucial resources,” says Short. “We’re fortunate to have the support of a number of great organizations and the EVB conference is the perfect venue to announce the launch of our first Clinton Global Initiative Commitment to Action.”