SourceFunding.org Builds on Collaboration with Prestigious Maxwell School of Citizenship & Public Affairs, Syracuse University

Photo Credit: Syracuse University

SYRACUSE, NEW YORK (March 6, 2018) - Building on long-standing collaborative efforts and initiatives with Syracuse University, providing over 150 graduate & undergraduate students to date with engaged and experiential scholarship opportunities, SourceFunding.org continues to develop its social enterprise business model with the assistance of the Community Benchmarks Program at SU’s prestigious Maxwell School of Citizenship & Public Affairs.

W. Michael Short, SourceFunding.org Founder, and Director of the International Innovators Initiative (IN2NYC) at Medgar Evers College School of Business, City University of New York (VIDEO LINK).

Highlighted in Forbes, at the New York Stock Exchange, at the White House for economic impact, and in the Business & Management Review for socially responsible innovation in financial technology, SourceFunding.org is at the forefront of a new era of hybrid social enterprises: organizations that pursue social missions that are fueled by market-based business models, integrating social and economic objectives.

"The development strategies and plans evolving from our previous work with the Community Benchmark Program in 2015 helped build a strong foundation for the successful national expansion of our hybrid social enterprise business model," said SourceFunding.org CEO W. Michael Short (SU '10 & SU Engagement Scholar '11). "We're grateful for the opportunity to build on that successful collaboration."

As noted by Huffington Post, in an article highlighting the involvement of SU in the early development of SourceFunding.org with social entrepreneur W. Michael Short, the number of social enterprises in the U.S. has more than doubled since 2006.

“The social innovators leading the hybrid movement have advanced efforts to increase accountability of both for-profit and nonprofit social enterprises by combining the best attributes of each,” writes Chris Miller, CEO of the Mission Center L3C Incubator, in the Stanford Social Innovation Review. “It seems safe to assume that the vanguards of the millennial generation and hybrid movement, respectively, will continue to seek more authentic, transparent, and accountable mechanisms for changing the world.”

Specifically, university, foundation, and investor-backed SourceFunding.org expanded nationally in the U.S. to provide a trusted, transparent, & low-cost alternative to the growing number of predatory online small business lenders that are increasingly using deceptive tactics, misleading fees, and hidden costs to take advantage of entrepreneurs nationwide. 

As noted by the U.S. Treasury Department, big banks cut down on their small business lending following the 2008 financial crisis & online FinTech firms stepped in to fill the unmet demand for credit. As a result, the industry boomed and is on track to lend $90 billion a year by 2020. However, according to Opportunity Fund, FinTech loans come at a substantial price with annual percentage interest rates (APRs) reaching from 94% to as high as 358%.

Karen Mills is a Fellow at the Harvard and a leading authority on entrepreneurship & online lending. She was a member of President Obama’s Cabinet, serving as the Administrator of the U.S. SBA from 2009 to 2013 (Photo: U.S. SBA).

Research published by Karen Mills, distinguished senior fellow at Harvard University who lead the U.S. SBA during the Obama Administration, points to a disconnect between traditional banks, that cite a lack of demand from qualified borrowers, and creditworthy business owners, who describe going from bank to bank unable to get a business loan. As a result, businesses are turning to predatory online lending platforms in record numbers.

SourceFunding.org provides the first & only universal small business loan application system accessing every community bank, credit union, non-profit lender, & community development financial institution (CDFI) in the U.S. with the platform's national Responsible Finance Network™ incorporating a network of over 14,000 of the nation's most trusted, transparent, & low-cost lenders.

SourceFunding.org simplifies the capital search process, streamlines the business financing application process, and eliminates over 100 hours of paperwork for entrepreneurs. Using technology to assess the particular circumstances of each entrepreneur, business venture, or organization, along with advanced matchmaking algorithms, SourceFunding.org identifies the small business lending programs that are a good fit out of all the opportunities available.

The platform’s national financial inclusion campaign and social enterprise business model includes multiple independently operated organizations operating toward a shared mission of leveling the playing field for all entrepreneurs in the U.S. in order to stimulate economic impact, community development, and job creation.

SourceFunding.org Founder Speaks at Brooklyn Navy Yard

Photo Credit: City of New York

NEW YORK CITY (September 3, 2017) - SourceFunding.org founder W. Michael Short spoke today on a panel at the Brooklyn Navy Yard about his work with CUNY Medgar Evers College School of Business (MEC) to support grassroots community-based ventures and entrepreneurs. The panel, part of Brooklyn Music Week, was planned by MEC, the Central Brooklyn Economic Development Council, and community-based organization Forever My City.

The panel was held at the Brooklyn Navy Yard Center BLDG 92, a recently renovated facility "designed to engage with the community and inspire future generations to become industrial innovators and entrepreneurs."

Mr. Short spoke about financial inclusion and the launch of SourceFunding.org. He also discussed the International Innovators Initiative (IN2NYC) on MEC's campus.

IN2NYC, an initiative of the New York City Economic Development Corporation (NYCEDC) in partnership with the City University of New York (CUNY), is the first municipal program in the nation helping international entrepreneurs access visas so they can create jobs in the U.S. IN2NYC is helping selected entrepreneurs gain access to the visas they need to grow their businesses in New York City, and will create more than 700 jobs for New Yorkers in the first three years alone.

"Dr. Jo-Ann Rolle's strategy of creating an experiential and inclusive entrepreneurship program at MEC's School of Business is proving incredibly effective with a number of compelling success stories," said Mr. Short. "By engaging with communities locally and globally, Dean Rolle creates truly unique opportunities for her entrepreneurship students."

To learn more about about entrepreneurship programming at MEC, click here.

SourceFunding.org Founder Invited to UN for Global Summit Hosted by MIT

Pictured on the right: SourceFunding.org Chairman & CEO W. Michael Short

NEW YORK CITY (March 7, 2017) - SourceFunding.org Founder W. Michael Short was invited to the United Nations to participate in a summit hosted by MIT's SOLVE Initiative. 

SOLVE was founded at MIT in 2015, a natural offshoot of MIT’s commitment to open technological innovation, and its long commitment to actionable thought leadership in the public sphere. The mission of SOLVE is two-fold: (1) Identifying the best solutions to specific, actionable challenges through open innovation, & (2) Building and convening a community of leaders and change-makers committed to partnering together to pilot and implement these solutions. To learn more about MIT's SOLVE initiative and their work, click here.

SourceFunding.org Featured by SMN Weekly

NEW YORK CITY (November 11, 2016) - SourceFunding.org, a new low-cost lending platform developed by the Global Social Enterprise Institute (GSEI) and entrepreneur W. Michael Short and backed by the Clinton Global Initiative, announced it is inviting participants in its beta testing phase. The platform has also been highlighted at the White House.

The platform is using a proprietary application and matchmaking software to connect individuals, businesses and organizations with a national network of partner community banks, credit unions and economic development organizations.

SourceFunding will generally serve small businesses and “non-traditional entrepreneurs” still struggle to get access to low-cost capital along with real-time technical assistance.

Can SourceFunding.org Level the Playing Field for Entrepreneurs?

Pictured: Janet Davas, founder of Hatch consultancy.

Excerpt from 11/4/2016 article by Janet Davas at Hatch consultancy.

Small businesses have the power to be a catalyst of transformation for our communities – and our economy. They also employ half of the nation’s private sector workforce and have created roughly two-thirds of net new jobs since 1995. Although interest rates have been kept at historically low levels by the Federal Reserve since the Great Recession began in 2008 in order to spur loan activity and borrowing to grow the economy, a major barrier cited by small businesses – especially non-traditional entrepreneurs – continues to be access to low cost capital.

“These barriers are especially true for women, veteran, and minority-owned companies who tend to be denied credit, receive lesser loan amounts, pay higher interest rates, and continue to remain in need of funding.”

SourceFunding.org National Launch Planned in Ashoka U Commons Accelerator

Photo Credit: Ashoka U Commons

ARLINGTON, VA (March 1, 2016) - The SourceFunding.org national expansion and announcement at the Clinton Global Initiative was planned in collaboration with university and foundation partners in the Ashoka U Commons Accelerator.

SourceFunding.org Founder W. Michael Short, president of the Global Social Enterprise Institute (GSEI) who at the time was serving as Social Entrepreneur in Residence at Le Moyne College, was specifically focused during the Commons on student entrepreneurial pathways and inadequate access to small business funding throughout GSEI's global network of 250+ collaborating universities and institutions. 

The Ashoka U Commons, described as a "virtual accelerator for changemaking education," is an online professional development program for universities engaged in social innovation education initiatives. Over the course of a semester, accelerator participants are grouped into university cohorts as they work to advance a core component of social innovation education such as creating a new course, curriculum, or mapping student pathways at their institution.

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.”