2012 ANNUAL REPORT CHICAGOTitle Accion Chicago is a nonprofit organization providing small business loans a Contents Portfolio & Impact 2 Who We Are 3 Highlights 4 Clients at a Glance 5 Accion Entrepreneurs 6–14 Board members & Volunteers 15 Donors & Investors 16 Staff 17 ON THE COVER Read about Pamela Jones of International House of Sauces & Seasonings and her Charboy’s brand on page 6. To Our Partners, Friends & Supporters Every working day in 2012 Accion loaned $12,300 to small business owners throughout Illinois and Northwest Indiana and counseled 11 entrepreneurs on their next step toward success. Our record-setting 367 loans totaling more than $3 million created or retained an estimated 1,197 jobs that generated $15 million in local payroll. Our clients’ small businesses anchor and build neighborhoods. Whether it is Advanced Climate Solutions, Mr. Taco’s Restaurant, or Zen Cuts Landscaping, our clients provide needed products and services for local residents and customers around the world. Accion’s significant impact on small businesses in the region – a 22 percent increase in the number of loans and 52 percent increase in dollars loaned over 2011 – was matched by considerable progress in other areas. We enhanced our balance sheet strength, outreach, staffing, development, and governance and stand poised to enter our 20th year in 2014 stronger than ever. ANDY SALK In 2012 we extended our service area to include all of Illinois and strengthened BOARD CHAIR our presence in Lake and Porter Counties in Indiana. We increased our maximum loan size from $25,000 to $50,000. To effectively manage this growth in products, services, and communities, we raised 43 percent more in donations than in the previous year and hired more lending staff. We also expanded senior management and the Accounting & Operations and Development & Communications teams. The best part of our 2012 story is the success of our clients. To give you a good sense of what Accion is all about we have profiled 12 of them, sharing with you their experiences, learnings, and triumphs. We hope you find their stories inspiring and will think of them when you need a product or service. As you read about clients like LaShaunessye, Carlos, Tigist, Aniceta, Clyde, Pamela, and Niall, you will see how your dollars help make dreams come true, stabilize neighborhoods, create jobs, and provide security for the next generation. On behalf of all the small business owners Accion serves every day, thank you for your ongoing support. Sincerely, JONATHAN BRERETON CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER Andy Salk Jonathan Brereton Board Chair Chief Executive Officer 1 Our 2012 Portfolio & Impact 367 Loans $3,087,386 Loaned 2,888 Clients Served 1,197 Jobs Created or Retained $15 Million in Wages 22% Increase in Number of Loans over 2011 52% Increase in Dollars Loaned over 2011 481 Active Accounts 5.1% Loss Rate 2 WWW.ACCIONCHICAGO.ORG Who We Are Accion Chicago champions the microlending industry throughout Illinois and Northwest Indiana by providing financial tools, services, and support to entrepreneurs who lack access to traditional sources of credit. About Accion Chicago A Member of the Accion U.S Network We are an alternative lending organization that considers Accion Chicago is an independent member of the Accion a client’s personal character as well as credit history, U.S. Network (us.accion.org), the largest micro- and small experience, and profitability. A loan officer works business-lending network in the United States. Since 1991, with each client to find the right product and guides the five members of the U.S. Network have collectively entrepreneurs through the application process. From a made more than 45,000 loans totaling more than $350 $500 Credit Builder loan for establishing or fixing credit to a million. Additionally, more than 400,000 business owners $50,000 loan for business expansion, we have the financial across the nation have turned to Accion for financial and tools that entrepreneurs in Illinois and Northwest Indiana business advice via workshops, online tools, and one-on- need to launch, operate, or grow. one consultations. Globally, Accion (www.accion.org) is a pioneer in microfinance, reaching millions of individuals Accion represents an estimated 90 percent of through its international network of partners. microlending in the area and since 1994 has made nearly 3,000 loans totaling more than $23 million. Our clients are The five members of the Accion U.S. Network: motivated and dedicated individuals. Their businesses Accion Chicago; Accion East and Online; strengthen neighborhoods and make a difference in their Accion New Mexico ∙ Arizona ∙ Colorado; communities. Their hard work changes their lives, opening Accion San Diego; and Accion Texas. opportunities for future generations. 3 2012 Expansion Highlights Territory Partnerships Loan size In July we expanded our service With more territory to cover and We doubled our maximum loan size area to include all of Illinois. We growing demand throughout the from $25,000 to $50,000. also strengthened our presence in region, we certified an additional Northwest Indiana with dedicated seven Small Business Development CMI Centers (SBDC) as Remote Lending office hours in Gary and we added To increase access to funding for Partners, organizations able to loan officers to service Lake and microentrepreneurs in Chicago, we service our clients outside the City Porter Counties. launched the Chicago Microlending of Chicago with the same rigor and Institute. As a result, Chicago customer focus as our own staff. We Staff Neighborhood Initiatives and the depend upon a growing list of Referral We hired a Chief Operating Officer, Women’s Business Development Partners, bankers and community grew the lending staff by three, and Center are now making microloans. leaders who know the needs of expanded both the Accounting & CMI is funded by the City of Chicago, entrepreneurs in the neighborhoods Operations and Communications & Citibank, and the Searle Funds at The they serve, to refer clients who require Development teams by two. Chicago Community Trust. our technical assistance or loans. 3 1 2 4 Remote Lending Partners 6 5 1. Rock Valley College SBDC, Rockford, IL 9 7 8 2. McHenry County College SBDC, Crystal Lake, IL 3. College of Lake County SBDC, 10 Grayslake, IL 4. Harper College SBDC, Palatine, IL 11 5. Waubonese Community College SBDC, Aurora, IL 12 6. College of DuPage SBDC, Lisle, IL 7. Joliet Junior College SBDC, Joliet, IL 8. Governor’s State SBDC, University Park, IL 13 9. Neighborhoods Inc., Hammond, IN 10. Kankakee Community College SBDC, Kankakee, IL 11. Bradley University SBDC, Peoria, IL 12. Western Illinois University SBDC, Macomb, IL 13. Lincoln Land Community College 14 SBDC, Springfield, IL 14. Justine Petersen, East St. Louis, IL 15. Rend Lake College SBDC, Ina, IL 15 16. Southern Illinois University SBDC, Carbondale, IL 16 4 WWW.ACCIONCHICAGO.ORG 2012 Clients at a Glance 23% $500–$2,500 26% $2,501–$6,999 25% $7,000–$11,999 18% $12,000–24,999 8% $25,000–$50,000 INDUSTRY LOAN SIZE 53% MALE 47% FEMALE 11% FOOD/BEVERAGE GenDer 10% RETAIL 9% CONSTRUCTION 8% SPA/BARBER/SALON 8% TRANSPORTATION 54% SERVICES ETHNICITY BUSINESS REASON 36% AFRICAN AMERICAN 32% START-UP 3% ASIAN 68% EXPANSION 38% CAUCASIAN 18% LATINO 5% OTHER/UNKNOWN 5 Accion Entrepreneurs LOGAN Pamela Jones KENWOOD Carlos Villegas SQUARE International House OF Sauces & SeasoninGS NOVA DriVinG School WWW.charboys.coM WWW.noVADRIVinG.coM “It all started with a secret family recipe for BBQ sauce,” Carlos Villegas opened a business and named it after says Pamela Jones. “I wanted to use that sauce as the the brightest star with the goal that Nova Driving School foundation for a business, but my father was not ready to would be the best in Chicago. When the family moved share it with the next generation.” from Ecuador in 2001 their business plan capitalized on each of their strengths: Carlos had experience as a truck He finally gave her the recipe in 2007. She experimented driver and had developed specialized training techniques. with the sauce in her kitchen, changing the color to make Elvia, Carlos’ wife, was prepared to teach and Mayra, their it darker and trying different ingredients to add her own daughter, to manage the company. zing to the flavor. She developed and tested additional products, wrote her business plan, and started doing taste Nova Driving School’s initial program was for adults. Today demonstrations in local grocery stores in the evenings and they have classes on defensive driving, a program for on weekends. teens, one in partnership with City Colleges of Chicago for chauffer’s licenses, and a motorcycle program. “We have “Sales grew little by little,” Pamela explains, “but I needed gone from two to 15 instructors,” says Mayra. “More classes an infusion of capital to get to the next level of production. and vehicles meant we needed more space.” Even with my variety of life experiences, including 18 years in the military, my methodical approach in laying a The space they found needed some customization, but foundation for a great product, and a couple of years of solid even though Nova was an established business, no bank sales, no banker really wanted to talk with me,” she reports. would provide them with funding. Then one banker told “Finally someone at the Women’s Business Development the family about Accion. Senior Loan Officer Idaima Robles, Center told me to try Accion. The loan process was quick says, “Mayra was really prepared with all the necessary and easy, and soon I had $12,000 for expansion.” documentation and we processed their application quickly. The committee readily approved a $35,000 loan.” The CharBoy’s product line, named after Pamela’s grandfather Charles, features the original BBQ sauce, and “Many of our students must learn how to drive in order to includes a N’Awlins Bourbon Sauce, a Hot ‘n Spice Ketchup, support their families,” explains Carlos.