Crowdfunding Industry Petitions the SEC to Raise Title III, Regulation Crowdfunding (Reg. CF) Private Equity Fundraising Cap to $20 Million

Crowdfunding experts cite zero fraud; competent issuers have been able to raise serious capital from investors that believe in their products or services; and, retail investors, for the first time in recent history, now have a transparent, systematic way to invest in startups

Sherwood Neiss, Crowdfund Capital Advisors, testifies at the SEC

In a letter to the SEC dated July 19^th, the Regulation Crowdfunding (Reg CF) industry’s largest equity crowdfunding platforms and industry influencers provided data and analysis to support increasing the Regulation Crowdfunding cap to $20 million.

The letter comes after SEC Chairman Clayton said in a live chat with FINRA President and CEO Robert Cook, “I continue to worry that retail investors do not have access to as broad a slice of our capital markets as I would like them to have. Said another way, you have private capital and public capital. Retail investors can really only participate in the public capital, and to the extent private capital has become so robust, you’ve shrunk opportunities. That bothers me a bit. If that trend continues, a much more select group is participating in the growth of the economy.”

The following bullet points below and the following analysis is provided to support the increase in Reg. CF.

Since the launch of Regulation Crowdfunding:

• Over 1,000 companies have filed with the SEC to raise money on online platforms that are registered with FINRA to facilitate capital formation.
• Over $137M has been committed to these issuers. 95% ($130.4M) of that capital was funded and invested into 715 companies (68.5% success rate).
• These 715 companies are supporting 4,172 jobs and producing over $249 million n revenue.
• Issuers have filed in almost every state in the Union.
• Issuers have been funded in 80 industries, according to Morningstar’s Global Equity Classification Structure.

The fundraising cap should be adjusted because:

• There has been zero fraud, competent issuers have been able to raise serious capital from investors that believe in their products or services, and retail investors (for the first time in recent history) have a transparent, systematic way to back companies they believe in.
• Successfully funded companies are supporting and creating valuable jobs and providing substantial economic activity in a broad range of locally important industries all around the United States.
• The initial cap of $1 million was meant to be adjusted. Only once since the launch of Regulation Crowdfunding has this been adjusted and at the time only by $70,000. Such de minimus adjustments do not fully allow meritorious issuers to fully benefit from this new form of online finance nor expand the opportunity for issuers seeking to raise in excess of $1 million.
• The current $1 million level is now far below what startups and SMEs need for seed stage capital. May 2018 data indicates that the median sized funding round for Angel or Seed stage companies in the US is $2 million. This means that even for the smallest funding round the current limits do not allow an issuer to raise their entire round via Regulation Crowdfunding. This dramatically increases costs and time spent on raising capital by US businesses. This reduces the number of American innovators and job creators in the United States.
• While the “funding gap” that Regulation Crowdfunding was meant to address is filling the void. The funding “opportunity” really comes from those small/medium firms that are seeking to raise up to $20 million. Raising funds under $20 million has become increasingly challenging as Venture Capital/Private Equity has moved upstream over the past decade. Raising the cap will allow issuers that wish to utilize this form of online finance the ability to raise in excess of $1 million and tap their local investors without having to deal with the costly, time consuming process of either filing a full prospectus with the SEC or spending hundreds of thousands of dollars on a private offering.
• Many companies forego Regulation Crowdfunding in favor of Reg D, 506(c), because of the low Reg CF limit. This has the effect of reduced disclosure to investors, since Form D provides less information even than Form C. In addition, ordinary investors are cut out of some of the most attractive deals that have already attracted institutional funding, which seems unfair and counter to one of the goals of Reg CF.
• Both the United Kingdom and Germany have adjusted their caps to 8 million EUR (US$9.4 million). The United States should not be a follower, but instead a leader.

People are being asked to call their Senators and Representatives to ask them to support increasing the cap and helping small businesses access capital, create jobs and foster local innovation.

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Robert Hoskins
(512) 627-6622
@Crowdfunding_PR

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Mr. Robert Hoskins is a seasoned marketing veteran with a proven track record of helping entrepreneurs, startups, small businesses as well as Fortune 500 corporations launch successful marketing communications campaigns to gain market traction for a wide variety of products and services.

On a regular basis, Mr. Hoskins consults with crowdfunding campaign managers as well as crowdfunding sites, portals and platforms to deliver successful crowdfunding marketing campaigns.

Google search “Robert Hoskins Crowdfunding” to see why Mr. Hoskins is considered one of the industry’s foremost crowdfunding experts that has amassed a huge social media following, which is dedicated to supporting donation-, rewards- and equity-based crowdfunding campaigns.

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Real Estate Crowdfunding to Take Center Stage at Crowd Invest Summit in Los Angeles

Real Estate Crowdfunding to be Major Focus at Country’s Largest Crowd Investment Conference

By Robert Hoskins

Los Angeles, California – Crowd Invest Summit, the country’s largest crowdfunding investment conference, taking place on September 6th and 7th at the Los Angeles Convention Center, has announced that it will be expanding its focus on Real Estate Crowdfunding.

Since the signing of the JOBS Act in 2012, Real Estate Investing has been the fastest growing segment of the new Crowdfunding Industry. According to CBRE, the real estate has more than a $1.7 trillion dollars worth of dry power ready to be invested in residential and commercial real estate deals.

“We expect over 3,000 attendees at Crowd Invest Summit this September, a significant portion being investors who are looking to learn about new opportunities,” said Alon Goren, co-founder of Crowd Invest Summit. “Real Estate investing has been a major focus at the summit, and because of overwhelming demand, this September we’re expanding on the topic.”

Crowd Invest Summit will feature the crowd investment industry’s top leaders, investors and firms covering real estate investing over the span of two days in September:

“As one of California’s preeminent real estate and business law firms, we are excited to partner with Crowd Invest Summit for its first-ever discussion on the emerging issues and opportunities presented by the ever-growing real estate crowdfunding market,” said Chuck Jarrell, Partner, Allen Matkins. “Crowdfunding has become an integral part of real estate investing and a topic that will resonate well with conference attendees.”

“We are excited to be back at Crowd Invest Summit this September to discuss how we’ve quadrupled our investor base by combining technology and marketing with an institutional approach to real estate investing,” said Michael Episcope, Principal, Origin Investments.

“Commercial real estate is no longer reserved for the wealthy. Now, everyone has the ability to passively invest in multi-million dollar properties, all thanks to crowdfunding,” said Matt Schuberg, CEO, RealCap. “We are very excited to come back to Crowd Invest Summit in September to bring these types of opportunities to the masses.”

“401(k) and IRA accounts provide access to 12 times more investment dollars than checking and savings accounts,” said Todd Yancey, CSO of IRA Services. “We are excited to explain the process to real estate investors at Crowd Invest Summit how to easily access that capital.”

“Now more than ever real estate companies should focus on the fundamentals and principles in mitigating risks to investors capital. Crowd Invest Summit offers both Real Estate Companies and potential investors to engage first hand and learn more about the risks and rewards of investing in Commercial Real Estate,” said Rayaan Arif, CEO, FundingTree.

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Paid Mentorship Management Consulting Fees Can Help Fund College University Incubator and Accelerator Programs

Allowing Mentors to Earn Revenue while Colleges/Universities Collect a Commission for Facilitating the Knowledge Transfer is Great Way to Bring Leading Expertise to Remote Areas

By Robert Hoskins

Paid Mentor Management Consulting Fees

Another option for schools to generate funding is to create a management consulting practice in tandem with college and university incubators and accelerators. Many sources of mentorship can be attracted by allowing the subject matter experts to generate revenue by providing mentoring services for a consulting fee. 

Incubators/accelerators could take a 15% commission out of the consulting fee to add monthly recurring revenue to their incubator and accelerator programs. Payments for services can be paid in cash and/or might include an option to purchase equity shares in the first class of equity shares being offered during the seed fundraising round.

Using this strategy, schools with video conferencing capabilities can tap into talent on a worldwide basis. Using teleconferencing and distance learning applications schools can access the world’s leading entrepreneurs, venture capitalists, and private equity investors, even in remote locations.

A single community college might not able to afford a speaking engagement with Guy Kawasaki, Elon Musk or Richard Branson, but working with numerous community colleges in any given state they could launch a rewards-based crowdfunding campaign to solicit enough cash to pay for an event that could be broadcast to a network of participating schools.  These single session tutorials, mentoring sessions or consulting engagements could be setup in a very similar manner to the very popular TedX talks.

Other sources of revenue can be earned by hosting conferences, trade shows, pitching competitions and/or training classes.

Learn more about crowdfunding:

• Building a Rewards-based and/or Equity-based Crowdfunding Ecosystem;
• Providing Easy Access to Seed Investment Capital with Crowdfunding;
• Generating More Revenue to Support Co-Working Spaces and Startups;
• Using Equity Crowdfunding Sites to Finance Incubators and Accelerators;
• Taking Advantage of Investor Syndicates that are Seeking Better Deal Flow;
• Splitting Revenue from Incubator and Accelerator Mentors Consulting Fees;
• Streamlining Technology Transfer Offices (TTOs);
• Cross-Pollinating College Education with Real World Startups; and
• Learning to Build Better Alumni and Local Community Relationships

 

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Crowdfunding Experts Gather in New York to Educate Entrepreneurs, Small Businesses and Startups on How to Launch Successful Crowdfunding Campaigns

Reality Crowd TV’s Host Manolis Sfinarolakis will be interviewing crowdfunding advocates and subject matter experts on their visions for crowdfunding developments in 2014

By Robert Hoskins

The NYC Crowdfunding Meetup Group will be hosting a free Crowdfunding Networking Event on January 28, 2014 at 6:00 pm to 9:00 pm at EVR located at 54 West 39th Street in Midtown West Manhattan to promote the benefits of the crowdfunding industry for entrepreneurs, startups, small businesses and equity investors.

Alex Feldman, the NYC Crowdfunding Networking Meetup Organizer, has put together this networking event to allow interaction between crowdfunding advocates and seven subject matter experts who will provide short introductions to their areas of expertise.

Reality Crowd TV Crowdfunding Series

The event will provide subject matter experts on equity crowdfunding, social good crowdfunding, crowdfunding for publishing projects and crowdfunding consultants.

In addition, the Reality Crowd TV crew and Host Manolis Sfinarolakis will be filming three-minute pitches from crowdfunding advocates that would like to share their personal interests in the crowdfunding industry as well as their predictions of where the crowdfunding industry is headed in 2014.

Featured Speakers:

• Alex Feldman, Chief Executive Officer, CrowdsUnite, a leading resource for crowdfunding
• Daryl Montgomery, Organizer, NY Investing Meetup, currently writing 5th book on crowdfunding
• Amanda Barbara, Vice President, Pubslush, a leading publishing industry crowdfunding platform
• Aaron Kellner, Investment Executive, SeedInvest, a leading equity-based crowdfunding platform
• Minda Aguhob, Founder, Love Performs, a leading social good crowdfunding platform
• Anton Root, Editor, Crowdsourcing.org, a leading online crowdfunding magazine
• Manolis Sfinarolakis, Host, Reality Crowd TV, a leading crowdfunding TV program

Event Sponsor:

The event is being sponsored by Minda Aguhob, Love Performs’ CEO/Founder. Love Performs’ mission is to raise the level of love in action in the world by empowering passionate people with a purpose via crowdfunding campaigns. Minda has personally risen over $30,000 for Leukemia and Lymphoma research through crowdfunding campaigns.

Reservations:

Seating is limited. To RSVP for the free crowdfunding event, please visit: http://www.meetup.com/NYC-CrowdFunding-Networking/events/157334982/.

To RSVP for a free three-minute crowdfunding pitch to Reality Crowd TV program,
please visit: http://www.meetup.com/realitycrowdtv/events/159958102/.

Or send an email to rhoskins@frontpagepr.com to be placed on press list for interviews.

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Colorado Conference Provides Lessons on Crowdfunding for Solar, Clean Tech and Renewable Energy Projects

Solar and Clean Technology Crowdfunding Experts to Share Cutting Edge Clean Tech Strategies with Responsible Investors on Green Bonds, PACE Financing, MLPs, and REITs

By Robert Hoskins

Solar and Clean Technology Crowdfunding Experts to Share Cutting Edge Clean Tech Strategies with Responsible Investors on Crowdsourcing, Green Bonds, PACE Financing, MLPs, and REITs

Organizers of the 24th annual SRI Conference will be hosting a leading North American forum on Crowdfunding solar and clean technology projects for investors and investment professionals on October 28-30, 2013 at The Broadmoor in Colorado Springs, Colorado.

One featured Solar & Clean Technology Crowdfunding Session will be moderated by Dan Adler, managing director of the Clean Energy Angel Fund and CalCEF, and will include a presentation from Dan Rosen, CEO of the leading solar crowdfunding companies in the United States, Solar Mosaic, which will explore the clean tech landscape and the newest products and strategies for sustainable and responsible investors.

“Investing in Clean Tech: Expanding Opportunities for ESG/SRI Investors,” will focus on recent developments in crowdsourcing, green bonds, clean energy victory bonds, PACE financing, MLPs, and REIT eligibility.

The  is a leading North American forum for investors and investment professionals involved in sustainable, responsible, impact (SRI) investing, will be October 28-30, 2013 at The Broadmoor in Colorado Springs, Colorado.

First Affirmative President Steve Schueth, producer of The SRI Conference, said, “These clean tech experts are on the cutting edge of investment and financing opportunities available to responsible investors and investment professionals. Dan Rosen from Solar Mosaic will discuss how they are utilizing crowdsourcing or “crowdfunding” in clean-tech deployment opportunities. Solar Mosaic has received a lot of attention recently for raising $6 million of venture capital, including a $2 million grant from the Department of Energy’s SunShot Initiative, to build an online platform that supports funding of solar projects.”

First Affirmative Financial Network, LLC is an independent Registered Investment Advisor (SEC File #801-56587) offering investment consulting and asset management services through a nationwide network of investment professionals who specialize in serving socially conscious investors.

Solar Mosaic CEO, Dan Rosen added, “Crowdfunding allows early-stage companies, or projects to “crowd in” finance from a lot of small sources over the Internet (you could consider it democratizing finance, in a way). We have seen the power of crowdfunding in local community solar projects here at Mosaic. In one year, we received $350,000 to finance five solar power plants through our zero-interest investment model, and the power of the crowd to facilitate positive local change is increasingly visible. As individuals, we can finally see the impact of our contributions, and together we can help change the world.”

Dan Adler, managing director of CalCEF and president, CalCEF Ventures, will moderate the clean tech session at the SRI Conference. In addition, other leading experts on the clean tech panel will include: Matt Ferguson, principal, Reznick Group; Jeff Eckel, president and CEO, Hannon Armstrong; and Nancy Pfund, managing partner, DBL Investors, and board member of Primus Power, SolarCity, Solaria, Eco­logic, Pow­er­Genix, and Bright­Source Energy. This session was organized by Doug Arent, Executive Director of the Joint Institute for Strategic Energy Analysis at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), a long-time member of the conference Agenda Committee.

The CalCEF group is a nexus for entrepreneurs, investors, energy companies, industry, government, and academia engaged in development and advancement of clean energy. CalCEF is a family of non-profit organizations working together to accelerate the movement of clean energy technologies along the continuum from innovation to infrastructure using tools from finance, public policy and technological innovation.

Solar Mosaic connects investors to high quality solar projects. Our mission is to open up clean energy investing and fundamentally change the way energy is financed. The fundamentals of solar makes it an attractive component of a diversified investment portfolio: reliable technology, predictable energy output, and stable cash flows. Every Mosaic project is carefully vetted and structured to minimize risk while maximizing benefits to investors and to the planet. Thousands of people from across the United States have invested millions of dollars to finance solar projects through Mosaic’s online marketplace.

CohnReznick is a nationwide network of accounting, tax and business advisory services, with offices from Boston to Los Angeles. Reznick Group has acquired technical consulting firm Think Energy, Inc., enabling the firm to provide full project life-cycle advisory services to clean technology developers, investors and utilities.

Hannon Armstrong is a specialty finance company that provides debt and equity financing for sustainable infrastructure projects that increase energy efficiency, provide cleaner energy sources, positively impact the environment or make more efficient use of natural resources. Formed more than 30 years ago, Hannon Armstrong has provided or arranged over $4.0 billion of financing in more than 450 sustainable infrastructure transactions since 2000. Hannon Armstrong is a publicly traded company on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker symbol “HASI”.

DBL Investors uses venture capital to accelerate innovation in a way that positively impacts an organization’s social ecosystem as well as its financial success. DBL believes that positive social change and a healthy financial performance are inherently connected. The firm invests in and helps nurture outstanding entrepreneurs and companies in Cleantech, Information Technology, Health Care, and Sustainability-Oriented Products and Services.

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Related Solar & Clean Tech Crowdfunding News Articles:

• What is the Potential of Renewable Energy Crowdfunding?
• Cleantech Buffet (… Most Attractive States For Solar, 4 Lessons From Solar Crowdfunding …)
• A List of America’s Fastest-Growing Clean Energy Companies
• Solar Crowdfunding a Solution to Energy Poverty
• 4 Lessons Learned From Solar Crowdfunding
• [News] Utility solar leads in global clean tech investment
• Sunlight News: SolarCity Corp (SCTY), First Solar, Inc. (FSLR)’s Partnership & SunPower Corporation (SPWR)’s Support

Crowdfunding Conference Planned for Berkeley in Northern California, June 9th

By Robert Hoskins

Last year crowdfunding platforms raised $2.7 billion and successfully funded more than 1 million campaigns, according to California-based research company Massolution. Business executives that want to learn about this crowdfunding phenomenon and to meet leading industry insiders should register to attend the  CrowdFunding California Conference which will be held in Berkeley on June 9th.

California Crowdfunding Conference in Berkeley, CA on June 9, 2013

The Crowdfunding West Conference is presenting an unprecedented lineup of experts from crowdfunding platforms, legal firms, investment community and entrepreneurs who have risen (combined) almost $2,000,000 for their projects through crowdfunding.

The morning session will consist of discussions about rewards-based crowdfunding. Special panel is devoted to community programs. The afternoon session will help the entrepreneurs better understand their fundraising options, including equity crowdfunding, peer-2-peer lending, angel investments and rewards based crowdfunding. Opponents of crowdfunding movement will have a chance to present their position at the debate moderated by David Drake, well known New York investment expert and speaker.

Among the speakers are the representatives of the global leader in microcredits, Kiva, crowdfunding platforms WhenYouWish and Realty Mogul from Los Angeles, Upstart from Palo Alto, “Investment bank for startups” MicroVentures, Colorado-based portal Community Funded and CrowdIt from Missouri, world’s largest network for entrepreneurs EFactor, fundraising platform for kids PiggyBackr, investment consulting companies North Capital, Inc. and Cutting Edge Capital, payment services platform BancBox, SaaS portal VentureDocs, well known lawyer and blogger Antone Johnson, CEO of uBiome,  Jessica Richman, the creator of the fifth most successful campaign on Indiegogo Sonny Vu and the founders of  Mothership HackerMoms community from Oakland.

Crowdfunding California Conference is created by Crowdfund Productions, the organizer of investment and crowdfunding events in the USA. Other 2013 conferences will be held in Boston, MA, Charlotte, NC, Seattle, WA and Chicago, IL. On January 6th – 7th, 2014 Crowdfund Productions will be hosting Global Aspen Investment Forum in Aspen, CO.

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Crowdfunding Expected to be a Hot Consumer Electronics Topic at CE Week in New York

By Robert Hoskins

CE Week announced plans to host an innovative new lineup of keynotes and Crowdfunding conference sessions from the most well known names in the technology industry. The 2013 CE Week Line Shows and Exhibits are scheduled for June 26-27 at the Metropolitan Pavilion and Altman Building in New York City. This event is the official show headquarters of a week-long series of CE technology events taking place in the city over the course of CE Week, June 24-28.

CE Week LIne Shows & Exhibits is the Official Headquarters of CE Week, featuring the show’s largest exhibit floor of new products and start-ups, the largest concentration of conferences and attendees.

To kick off CE Week, the Consumer Electronics Association (CEA) is producing a Research Summit on Monday, June 24, from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. This event at the High Line Hotel will provide timely intelligence on the unique and important market trends and transformations emerging in the consumer electronics industry.

Aereo Founder and CEO Chet Kanojia will join Gary Shapiro, president and CEO of CEA, for an in-depth conversation about how technology innovation drives Aereo’s business strategy, at 10:30 a.m., Wednesday, June 26.

Living in Digital Times will display the best and brightest in mobile app technology at the Mobile App Showdown. During this live event at 12:30 p.m. on Wednesday, June 26, ten finalists will put their apps to the test and the audience will cast the deciding vote on the best app.

Top company executives from Pioneer, Monster, Kenwood, Toshiba, IK Multimedia, Samsung and BlueBOLT will introduce new products and discuss what’s ahead for their companies during press conferences.

The CE Week SuperSessions will address popular topics including 3D printing, crowdfunding, and the next generation of gaming. Sessions include:

Polygon SuperSession: Video Gaming’s Other Next-Gen [June 26 at 1:35 p.m.] – With so much attention focused on new video game consoles from Microsoft and Sony, both of whom are poised to usher in another “next generation” of gaming later this year, it’s easy to miss that an entirely separate alternative generation of video game consoles is taking shape. Join us as we explore this nascent “other” generation, typified by a focus on mobile hardware, open operating systems, digital delivery and an indie-friendly publishing model.
Moderator: Christopher Grant, editor-in-chief, Polygon

CNET SuperSession: Bringing 3D Printing to Consumers [June 26 at 3:15 p.m.] – We hear about new 3D printing breakthroughs almost every week now, ranging from houses to prosthetic skull implants to 3D printing on Mars. For consumers, 3D printing is either science fiction, or it suffers from the perception that it’s an expensive, time-consuming hobby with little practical utility. How can consumer-facing 3D printing companies improve their image and attract more mainstream users? Should that even be the goal? This panel will explore the issues and solutions around taking 3D printing to the mass market.
Moderator: Rich Brown, senior editor, CNET

Mashable SuperSession: The Battle Over Smartphone Screen Size [June 27 at 10:15 a.m.] – Since 2010, the average size of cell phone screens has increased by almost a full inch. Plus-size phones like the Samsung Galaxy Note have expanded the displays of all models, to the point where it’s impossible to buy a top Android phone with a screen smaller than 4.7 inches. Does this trend have a ceiling, and what does it mean for people with normal-size hands?
Moderator: Lance Ulanoff, editor-in-chief, Mashable

PCWorld/TechHive SuperSession: Who’s Fastest? Wireless Speed Test Results [June 27 at 12:15 p.m.] – PCWorld/TechHive Editor Mark Sullivan and OpenSignal Co-Founder and CEO Brendan Gill present results from their annual study of 4G and 3G wireless speeds. This year, testers visited 20 cities and measured speeds at the street level to give wireless customers independent data on which carrier offers the best speeds and coverage in the U.S.

Engadget SuperSession: Crowdfunding the Hardware Revolution [June 27 at 1:45 p.m.] – Welcome to the dawn of the age of hardware startups. Sites like Indiegogo and Kickstarter have changed the way we think about starting a business, from funding to user feedback. We’ll talk to success stories about the new business paradigm and discuss some tips for getting started in the world of crowdfunding.
Moderator: Brian Heater, director of media, Engadget

The CE Week Line Shows Conference Program is part of the full CE Week conference program, including 50-plus sessions and featuring more than 150 speakers. Conference tracks include the CEA Research Summit, Crowdfunding, Women in CE Forum, Connected Car Conference, Digital Health Summit, 2^nd Screen Summit, Ultra HD Conference and Techlicious Summit.

To register for CE Week visit https://secure.events-registration.com/ceweek2013/ Join in on the CE Week conversation by tweeting using the hashtag #ceweek.

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Dun & Bradstreet Kicks off Crowdfunding Town Hall Meetings on May 22 in Chicago

By Robert Hoskins

According to the Federal Reserve of Chicago, large bank lending to small businesses has fallen by over 50 percent since the start of the 2007 recession, yet Accion Chicago, a CDFI microlender, reported an 80 percent increase in loan applications from small businesses from 2008 to 2011.

Dun & Bradstreet Credibility Corp., the leading provider of credit building and credibility solutions for businesses, today announced that registration is open for its Access to Capital: Money to Mainstreet Event

To help solve the loan and lending shortfall, the Dun & Bradstreet Credibility Corp. announced that it has opened its registration for the Access to Capital: Money to Mainstreet Event which will be held Wednesday, May 22, 2013 from 8:00 am to 5:00 pm at Navy Pier in Chicago.

Additional stops on the tour include Atlanta on August 14^th and Seattle on November 12^th. These events are designed to foster lending and educate small businesses about the various types of funding that are available through expert panels and on-site 1:1 meetings with a broad spectrum of debt and equity providers.

“With over 99% of American businesses classified as small by the Small Business Administration, it is crucial that this important sector gets access to capital if we want to grow the economy and cut into the nation’s unemployment rate,” said Jeff Stibel, Chairman and CEO of Dun & Bradstreet Credibility Corp. “We are very passionate about our Access to Capital events which we believe are a step in helping lead American small businesses back to prosperity. We know from our Los Angeles event, which resulted in tens of millions of dollars in loan originations, that these loans were spurred by the unique access that businesses had to lenders.”

Access to Capital: Money to Mainstreet’s initiative is to educate and grow local small businesses. The events are comprised of two main areas – the “town hall” area where speakers, spotlight series, and panels ranging from topics on traditional bank lending to crowdfunding will take place – and the “financial district” area where small business owners can meet one-on-one with various lenders, legal, business resources and advisors. Key sponsors for the Chicago event include Bank of America, Microsoft, TransUnion, AEO, LegalZoom, and Goldman Sachs 10,000 Small Businesses.

Dun & Bradstreet Credibility Corp.’s Los Angeles Access to Capital event held last year was attended by over 500 Los Angeles based small business owners who took part in hundreds of 1:1 meetings with loan officers, resulting in tens of millions of dollars in reported loan originations.

Lending appointments for Chicago’s event will include representatives ranging from Bank of America to local Chicago area financial institutions such as Accion Chicago, AEO, American Chartered Bank, BMO Harris, First Eagle Bank, Franklin Capital Network, Inland Bank, Merchant Cash and Capital, North Side Community Federal Credit Union, Standard Bank, Ridgestone Bank, and SomerCor 504. Community and business resources that will also be on hand include Microsoft, LegalZoom, TransUnion, Goldman Sachs 10,000 Small Businesses, Chicagoland Chamber of Commerce, Rogers Park Chamber of Commerce, SCORE Chicago, Women’s Business Development Center, Built In, and more.

“According to the Federal Reserve of Chicago, large bank lending to small businesses has fallen by over 50 percent since the start of the 2007 recession, yet Accion Chicago, a CDFI microlender, reported an 80 percent increase in loan applications from small businesses from 2008 to 2011,” said Stibel. “We need to be providing small businesses with roadmaps to a wide variety of capital sources, as well as help them be prepared when it comes to actually qualifying for financing if this glaring gap is to be bridged.”

At the Chicago event, attendees will be given access to a free copy of their business credit report, a key factor in many lenders’ credit decision process. Leading up to the event, attendees will have the opportunity to talk with a Dun & Bradstreet Credibility Corp. certified Credit Advisor to help them prepare for their lending meetings at no cost.

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WestPark Capital to Sponsor CROWDIMPACT Live Social Enterprise Crowdfunding Event and Contest on April 23rd in Los Angeles

By Robert Hoskins

WestPark Capital, Inc. announced they will be the Title Partner of CROWDIMPACT ‘s upcoming competition for small businesses, with a focus on social enterprises, combining profit and social impact.  The involvement of key supporters representing over $100 million makes CROWDIMPACTone of the world’s largest social enterprise live presentation forums to date, and on April 23^rd, finalists will present their companies to judges deciding on over $30,000 in prizes for the top companies in Los Angeles, CA.

CROWDIMPACT Live Social Enterprise Presentation Forum & Social Enterprise Party

Using a proven model, CROWDIMPACT will operate similarly to Crowdfunder’s previous live events, CROWDFUNDxLasVegas and CROWDFUNDxLA, which collectively drew over 11,000 entrepreneurs and investors and over 900 early stage businesses.  Since February 20^th, over 150 companies have registered on Crowdfunder’s CROWDIMPACT online community.

“We are very pleased to take part in this exciting event that brings together great talents and companies from so many corners of the market.  The sharing of ideas and coming together of so many great businesses and professionals, each on the cusp of incredible things in their individual areas, is a unique opportunity that we are happy to take part in.  The event format suggests it will be as much fun as it is professionally rewarding.” says Jason Stern , Chief Operating Officer of WestPark Capital.

Crowdfunder’s CEO Chance Barnett adds, “Over the last 10 to 15 years, investors have come to understand that profit and social purpose can go hand-in-hand.  CROWDIMPACT helps top social enterprises across the globe to finally have a place to gain visibility in front of a community of impact-minded backers on the Crowdfunder’s social network.”

CROWDIMPACT brings together Crowdfunder’s business social network platform, WestPark Capital’s transactional, corporate finance, and advisory services experience, and innovative partners and communities that support and empower social entrepreneurship­­­­.  CROWDIMPACT Title Partners include Demand Media and Cal-X Crowdfund Connect.

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iCrowd Rolls Out Crowdfunding Validated Experts Program to Help New Crowdfunding Campaign Managers

New Features Announced for on iCrowd Crowdfunding Platform

iCrowd Rolls Out Crowdfunding Validated Experts Program to Help New Crowdfunding Campaign Managers

From Brad McGee, iCrowd CEO:

We are excited to introduce a number of site enhancements to make your experience with iCrowd more rewarding!  While you will notice little things throughout the site, here are some of the features that make us the most excited:
1.  Introducing Validated Experts.  iCrowd announces its first selection of Validated Experts. Validated Experts can provide significant value to the iCrowd community through their thought leadership and expertise.  Validated Experts will be clearly recognizable throughout the site.  To see them quickly, See our separate announcement for more information.
2.  We’ve enhanced the user view.  Throughout the site, we’ve created a new look for members that provides an in-depth view at a glance.  And, you can expand the information you see with just a click.  You can even invite users to your Advisory Board or Group directly from this new view.  Invite your friends.  You’re enjoying your experience on iCrowd, so let your friends in on your secret.  We make it easier to invite friends to join you. Now you can upload a CSV file with email addresses and send invitations.  Most email services allow you to export your contacts in CSV format.  Hey friends, join the iCrowd!
3.  Groups now have tags.  You can add tags to your Group to help users find you better.  When users search for Groups, they can enter a tag name and see what Groups meet their criteria.  Also, they can search for Groups under the Tags tab in the menu bar.  This is a powerful tool to find just the right Group and help promote your Group to others.
4.  Send messages to your Followers.  You can send a message directly from your Dashboard to those people who have chosen to Follow you.  It’s a great way to keep your Followers informed.
5.  Photos are now clickable.  Yeah, we noticed that we have a tendency to click on a person’s photo, not their name, to see their profile.  But nothing happened.  We fixed that.  Click away!
6.  We got rid of those weird profile photos.  When you uploaded your profile photo, you may have noticed that it got distorted when you created your thumbnail.  Some people appreciated the ability to add or subtract a few pounds or inches, but we thought the distortion was a distraction.  Now your photo will retain its original proportions.  If your profile photo looks strange, you might want to try uploading it again.  If it still looks strange, well, we can’t help you with that!
7.  See the votes on your answers in Ask the iCrowd.  If you answered a question and later was curious how many votes you got, you discovered that it did not show you that value for your own answer.  Now it’s fixed!
8.  See the new activity for your Advisory Boards or Groups.  On your Dashboard, you can now see the recent activity in your Advisory Boards or your Groups without having to check each one individually.
9.  Not enough characters?  We thought so too.  In discussions, comments, and email, you told us that we were too limiting in the number of characters we would allow for your entries.  We’ve greatly expanded these, so type away!  Why use one word when twenty will do?
Sure, there are a lot of other features we added and changed, but these are the highlights.  Let us know what else we can do to improve your iCrowd experience.  We’re working on a long list of new ways to help you out.