The issue of economic opportunity for the disadvantaged has grown in importance. We’ve witnessed healthy job creation rates in recent years, and by almost all measures American workers, overall, have gained economic ground. Yet, at the same time, it’s also well known that inequality in economic outcomes has increased. Those at the bottom of the income distribution have not grown as fast as those on the top, and may even be stagnating. These trends imply that segments of the labor force have relatively more limited chances for economic mobility.
On a snowy February day in 1996, company officials at Advance Transformer (Advance) in Platteville, Wisconsin, gathered their workforce together for an unexpected announcement. One of Platteville’s largest employers would be closing its doors permanently.
The IFF (formerly Illinois Facilities Fund) became a regional community development financial institution (CDFI) in 2007, extending its reach beyond Illinois to include Iowa, Missouri and Wisconsin. This year, the expansion has continued into Indiana. In January 2008, the IFF added a new office in St. Louis at 1221 Locust Street to augment the local service of existing offices in Chicago and Peoria. The new office helps support the mission of meeting the real estate financing needs of nonprofits across the region.
Native Capital Investment, Inc., (Native Capital) was established in 2003 to develop self-sustaining businesses in American Indian communities throughout the United States. It is a full service, research-driven, investment organization that seeks to create fair trade business development. Current services include: business valuation analysis, mergers/ acquisitions, creation of transparent financial reporting processes and private equity investments.
