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Your Donations Make A Real Difference

 

By donating to BOI, your dollars can have immediate impact; here are some examples:

 

  • $50 pays for a workshop to help a client identify a viable business idea
  • $75 allows us to work with a client to address barriers in their lives that could interfere with successfully launching a small business
  • $100 pays for three business counseling sessions to help a client write a solid business plan
  • $250 pays for a workshop series so that a client can move forward to launch their small business

 

There are many good causes in our world today. Currently there are 1.5 million nonprofits in the U.S. That’s a lot of good causes to choose from! BOI is proud to be among those organizations that serve the public good. How are we different from all of those other worthy causes?

1. BOI is the only organization in central Indiana offering an integrated program of self-employment including micro-loans
Micro-lending is a research-based innovation, founded on the Grameen Bank model, providing opportunities for economically disadvantaged individuals who lack access to savings programs, credit reporting and lending sources. Target populations include women, minorities, unemployed or under employed persons, and those re-entering society post-incarceration. As a group, these people exist at the margins of the mainstream economy and for whom small micro-loans provide access to business training and small amounts of credit that they cannot obtain in any other way.

In addition, BOI provides business acumen, counseling, a mentoring program, networking skills and opportunities, financial literacy training and a host of other business topics and life skills coaching.  Our role is to prepare the small business owner to build a successful means by which to generate income and family self-sufficiency. We do this in an integrated, holistic structure in a one-stop shop.

2. BOI is the only organization certified to teach “How to do business with the Federal government” in central Indiana
The SBA has promulgated new regulations that require federal agencies to contract with certain small businesses.  These include: disadvantaged small business owners and women- or veteran-owned businesses. BOI delivers daylong training programs that include practical information such as:

  • The volume of contracting done by the federal agencies
  • A list of federal Agencies and what services and products they buy
  • A working knowledge of Federal Acquisition Rules/Regulations, the General Services Administration Schedule and other procurement rules governing federal agencies and bidding companies.
  • How to get on the approved federal contractor list which is required before even talking to a federal agency about services or products
  • A score card that details who the players are in federal procurement: federal contracting officer, specification officer, payment disbursement agency and others
  • A step-by-step guide of how to find the names, phone numbers and how to make contact with federal agencies
  • A step by step guide to find out the names of competitors who have sold the same services or products to federal agencies
  • A list of regional federal agency procurement fairs

The percent of federal contracts with women-owned businesses has gone  from 3 to 5 percent in 2010.  Last year the federal government spent $710 billion on services and products.  The opportunity for women business owners is here now and we’re the only organization in central Indiana able to provide the training that helps them start the contractor process.

3. BOI is the only group in central Indiana designated a Women’s Business Center offering special help for women business enterprises (WBE).
Women-owned businesses generate almost $2.5 trillion in revenues and employ more than 19 million workers. They are the fastest-growing segment of the American economy.

BOI helps women who have the courage, the determination and the talent to start their own companies. What they often lack are things we can all understand -  someone to guide them, share information and offer needed skills training, and someone to believe in them, providing encouragement and coaching to help them realize that they can succeed.

If you’ve ever started a new business you know how lonely it can be and how isolated you can feel. BOI provides a safe place for women entrepreneurs who have the need to connect with other women business owners, and to test their business concepts in a supportive environment. Our relationships in the community to women-focused groups offer resources to female entrepreneurs that complement the programs we provide.  These relationships include the National Association of Women Business Owners (NAWBO), the Women’s Fund of Central Indiana and Impact 100, an organization of women leaders who support not-for-profits.  BOI cares about women and it shows.

BOI is a 501 c-3 nonprofit organization that serves emerging small business owners of Indiana. Please consider joining us in our mission by putting BOI on your Top Ten list of causes you care about and donate to regularly. Your donations will help us continue to do our life-changing work. On behalf of the entrepreneurs and future small business owners of central Indiana, we thank you and appreciate your contributions.

Make a donation today by sending a check made out to BOI and mailing it to Business Ownership Initiative located at 4755 Kingsway Drive, Suite 314 in Indianapolis, IN 46205, or by clicking the button below to make a donation via credit or debit card through Paypal.