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Microenterprise Network of Michigan

Wednesday, October 26th, 2011
CEDAM is proud to host a new collaborative network supporting Michigan microenterprise: the Microenterprise Network of Michigan (MNM). Continue reading for information about the network and to find out how to get involved.

The Microenterprise Network of Michigan is a new resource for microenterprise development organizations across the state. MNM supports and promotes those who foster job creation, asset building, access to capital and economic growth. MNM members include practitioners who offer microlending services, technical assistance and training. Members work on the policy side of microenterprise or represent organizations supporting microentrepreneurs or lending organizations.

Currently, MNM Coordinator Amber Paxton and MNM Intern Claire Glenn are redeveloping and strengthening the capacity, services and outlook of the network. In the near future, MNM plans to expand its membership base, increase networking and referral opportunities for practitioners, provide free webinar and best practices trainings and advocate for increased awareness of the microenterprise movement. We are more than a list of contacts – we are a tool that tangibly improves the climate for microenterprise in Michigan.

Nationally, Michigan ranks low in the amount of state support for microenterprise development. As shown in the CFED Scorecard, the Michigan government has not codified its support, or allocated any resources to microenterprise lending, training, or technical assistance. Yet microlending and microbusinesses represent an imperative part of the Michigan economy. Microbusinesses represent 87% of businesses and 17% of jobs statewide. According to the Association for Enterprise Opportunity, if just one in three microbusinesses hired one additional employee, the U.S. economy would achieve full employment.

In light of these staggering statistics, MNM aims to join our members in a collective voice to show the impact of microenterprise in revitalizing the Michigan economy. To learn more about MNM or to become a member, please contact MNM Intern Claire Glenn. Currently membership is free and includes a subscription to monthly e-newsletters, notification of relevant events, trainings, and funding opportunities, and sharing of best practices. MNM also plans to offer free webinars, referral sources, and a speakers’ bureau in 2012.

Don’t forget to visit the MNM website and like us on Facebook. Share MNM with your friends and networks and spread the microenterprise movement. To donate to the Microenterprise Network of Michigan via PayPal, visit our website.

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CEDAM Announces TV Show Theme Song Contest

Wednesday, October 5th, 2011

NEWS RELEASE

Contact: Tiffany Lemieux-McKissic
Manager, Membership & Communications
Telephone: (517) 485-3588 x1941
Email: tiffany@cedam.info

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
October 5, 2011 

CEDAM Announces TV Show Theme Song Contest

Lansing, MI – The Community Economic Development Association of Michigan (CEDAM) is pleased to announce a contest for a theme song. The song is for their monthly television show, The Bright Side, highlighting inspiring, interesting stories from across Michigan. The program features everything from a youth theater group in Detroit to a drop-in art center for the homeless in Grand Rapids and a dog sled race in Calumet.

The contest begins October 4, 2011 and is open to all musicians in any genre of music. The top three entries will be selected by committee after December 31, 2011, and the winner will be decided by a vote through social media. The winner will receive, in addition to having their song featured in each episode of the show, studio time in a Lansing recording studio and/or a music video produced by CEDAM.

“The Bright Side puts the focus on all of the great stuff happening in Michigan and tells the stories that don’t get enough attention in the traditional media,” says emmy-winning PBS television producer Cato Weatherspoon. “This show is interesting, timely, well produced and very important for Michigan.”

The show is made possible by a grant from the Lansing Office of Community Media. The Bright Side currently airs online at brightsidetv.com, on channel 12 Lansing CityTV and is expected to launch on Comcast Cable channel 16 soon. To find out more, enter the contest, become a sponsor or watch episodes, please visit brightsidetv.com.  Michigan TV stations interested in airing The Bright Side should contact Tiffany at CEDAM (517-485-3588). CEDAM releases a new 30 minute episode each month.

Theme Song Contest Specifics:

-Format: .mp3 or .wav
-Song length: 2:00 minute minimum – 3:30 minute maximum
-Genre of music:  Any

The strongest entries will stylistically fit the animated introduction and suit the positive tone of the show overall. Contestants can have lyrics in their song, but must also submit an instrumental version of the song. Entries should be submitted to courant@cedam.info and will be accepted until 5 pm EST, December 31, 2011.  

The Community Economic Development Association of Michigan (CEDAM), a nonprofit organization, represents hundreds of organizations and individuals committed to rebuilding our neighborhoods and revitalizing communities throughout Michigan.  CEDAM is a membership association of primarily nonprofit community development corporations (CDCs), community action agencies, and other nonprofits that provide affordable and supportive housing to our most vulnerable citizens, encourage downtown and commercial corridor revitalization, provide workforce and entrepreneurship training, and help families develop and maintain assets. For more information about CEDAM, please visit www.cedam.info.

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Updates to Training Program (reduced price, new dates)

Wednesday, October 5th, 2011

A quick announcement about a few recent changes to CEDAM’s Comprehensive Community Development Institute (CCDI):

  • Please note there is a deadline to register for any of the 10 CCDI trainings. Deadlines are listed in training descriptions.

Nonprofit Advocacy Day
Date: November 3, 2011
Time: 8:30 am – 1:00 pm
Cost: $25 CEDAM members, $125 non-members (includes breakfast)
Location: Capitol Building, Lansing
Registration deadline is October 14, 2011.

Join CEDAM members and other nonprofits from around the state at the Capitol for a lobbying and networking morning. You will attend an issue briefing on a topic of your choice, learn the latest details on bills that affect your work and meet with your state representative and senator to advocate for your interests. In addition to advancing your cause and gaining hands-on lobbying experience, you’ll have the opportunity to network with others who share your concerns. Lunch on your own in Lansing (list of great places to eat coming soon). Register for this session.

 

Real Estate Development + Commercial Real Estate Development
Date: May 8 – 11, 2012 (four days)
Cost: $550 CEDAM members, $1,250 non-members
Location: Faholo Conference Center, Grass Lake
Registration deadline is April 20, 2012.

The two comprehensive real estate development trainings will share the same new date, May 8 – 11, 2012. Participants will be able to choose to take either the real estate development track or the commercial real estate development track. Registration cost covers meals, lodging and activities for the four day retreat. Register for this session.

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Statewide Coalition Celebrates Summer-Long Community Service Initiative

Wednesday, September 21st, 2011

NEWS RELEASE

Living in Michigan Coalition and Legislators Building CommunitiesContact: Sandy Pearson
Habitat for Humanity of Michigan
President & CEO
Telephone: 517.485.1006

Jamie Schriner-Hooper
CEDAM, Executive Director
Telephone: 517.927.8629

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
September 21, 2011

Statewide Coalition Celebrates Summer-Long Community Service Initiative

Lansing, MI: Today, legislators from across the state came together to celebrate their efforts to help revitalize Michigan communities. Through the Legislators Building Communities initiative (LBC), sponsored by the Living in Michigan Coalition, more than eighty legislators, coming from all four caucuses, volunteered on a housing or community development project. The legislators volunteered more than 300 hours of their time during the course of the summer with additional projects scheduled throughout the fall.

“The LBC provided a tremendous opportunity for legislators to get to know their local nonprofits,” said Sandy Pearson, president and CEO of Habitat for Humanity of Michigan, and co-director of the Living in Michigan Coalition. “In addition to rolling up their sleeves and improving their communities, they were able to work side-by-side with their constituents.”

Legislators worked on a wide variety of projects, including restoring a historic church in Saugatuck; planting and harvesting vegetables at community gardens in Southeast Michigan; setting up for a classic car and bike show in downtown Clare; sprucing up homeless shelters in Hillsdale and Detroit; chopping down a dead tree at a senior housing building in Fremont and distributing the firewood to an area family; building or rehabilitating dozens of Habitat for Humanity homes around the state; and much more.

“Nonprofits around the state benefited from the legislators’ efforts,” said Jamie Schriner-Hooper, executive director of the Community Economic Development Association of Michigan (CEDAM) and co-director of the Living in Michigan Coalition. “The LBC is bipartisan, apolitical and helps many Michigan citizens. Our hope and intent is that the legislators continue to volunteer in their communities long into the future.”

The LBC was cosponsored by Senators Rebekah Warren and Mark Jansen and  Representatives Wayne Schmidt and Lisa Howze. ”It is my honor and privilege to take part in the Legislators Building Communities initiative,” said Senator Jansen. “Habitat for Humanity, CEDAM and other nonprofit members of the Living in Michigan Coalition are leaders in successful transformations of the lives of people, neighborhoods, and communities by encouraging people to believe in themselves and their futures.”

For additional information on Legislators Building Communities, see: http://legislatorsbuildingcommunities.org
or visit: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Legislators-Building-Communities/145159195553041

The Living in Michigan Coalition brings together over 30 statewide and regional organizations, including the Michigan State Housing Development Authority (MSHDA), to promote quality affordable housing and strong community development throughout the state. Living in Michigan strives to educate policy-makers and the public on the importance of investing in our communities. The coalition is led jointly by CEDAM and Habitat for Humanity of Michigan.

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LBC picture

(L to R) Gary Heidel (MSHDA), Rep. Wayne Schmidt, Rep. Lisa Howze, Sen. Rebekah Warren, Sen. Mark Jansen, Sandy Pearson (Habitat for Humanity), Jamie Schriner-Hooper (CEDAM)

 

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Me? Do people’s taxes? Definitely not.

Tuesday, September 13th, 2011

Looking for a unique way to help out in your community? You should think about serving as a volunteer tax preparer this tax season!

Not only will you save families in your community a lot of money on tax preparation, you’ll help bring thousands of dedicated federal dollars to your local economy through take-up of tax credits by the clients you serve.

I know what you’re thinking, “Me? Do people’s taxes? Definitely not.” Even if you have some burning interest to figure out the forms, technical jargon, and other complexities of the U.S. tax code or just want to save money doing your own taxes, why would you choose to spend time completing returns from Feb. 1 – April 15 unless you’re getting (well) paid for it?

Funny as it may seem, doing taxes is pretty easy and even enjoyable, especially when you help people who are truly in need and may have been preyed upon in the past by high cost paid preparers. Volunteer tax preparers get to directly touch the lives of their neighbors, providing free assistance to help individuals and families make use of the tax benefits (like the refundable Earned Income Tax Credit) that they deserve.

When you hear about the things predatory preparers in Michigan will do (like charge upwards of 800% interest on a Refund Anticipation Loan) and find out how simple it is to help someone get the refund they deserve (by claiming tax credits like the EITC, home heating credit and the homestead property tax credit), the opportunity to serve as a volunteer preparer resonates as a truly impactful means of producing tangible benefits for your community.

Becoming a volunteer preparer builds skills you can use for the rest of your life (you will never have to pay someone to do your taxes again!) and looks great on a resume. You also get a chance to meet really cool people who, like you, want to be active and contributing members of their community. My first year as a tax preparer, I couldn’t believe how much fun the tax site became once I got to know the other preparers and experienced the camaraderie you find in a group of diverse people all coming together for a real purpose.

Check out the Michigan Earned Income Credit Coalition (MEIC) website to learn more about becoming a VITA volunteer preparer: www.michiganeic.org/. You can also call or email me to find out more.

Want to get started? To become a preparer, you must become IRS certified through an online or classroom training process. To check out the online training modules from the IRS go to: http://www.irs.gov/app/vita/. Contact your local VITA group to learn more about classroom training opportunities. You can find information on your local VITA program here.

This coming tax season, I hope you will join me and the hundreds of other volunteers across Michigan who provide such a valuable resource to their communities as volunteer tax preparers!

Megan Kursik, CEDAM, kursik@cedam.info; 517-485-3588 x1942

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