No community can thrive without a healthy economy, a growing job base, and the means to prepare and connect its residents to available opportunities. Recognizing this, ACF works to create sustainable living economies in our cities by stimulating and supporting entrepreneurial endeavors and job creation.
ACF has implemented several projects in Philadelphia that use innovative strategies which can be easily replicated in other cities. Currently, ACF’s efforts to promote economic development focus on these areas:
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Small Business Development: Creating an environment for community-generated businesses to take root and be sustained in our community
Project RISE (Reaching and Impacting Small Entrepreneurs), in partnership with the Small Business Administration, is a new ACF initiative in West Philadelphia that will provide existing and prospective business owners with intensive business education, services and technical assistance to help with business creation and retention.
This initiative concentrates specifically on neighborhoods in West Philadelphia (zip codes 19131, 19139, sections of 19143, and 19151) and targets low- and moderate-income individuals from specific population, including ex-offenders, youth, and those in transition-to-work programs. The program not only encourages this neglected populations to learn about how businesses are formed and successfully operated, but also offers start-up and existing business owners basic business education and technical assistance, with the goal of improving their chances of starting and maintaining a stable, income-generating business.
For more information about this new small business initiative and how you can participate in it, please contact Bernadine T. Hawes, Director, at (215) 476-8091.
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Employment and Career Development Initiative: Preparing the workforce to take advantage of jobs in the marketplace
Currently, ACF’s current employment initiative is Project TRANSIT (Transportation-Related Awareness, Networking, Skills, Information & Training) Project TRANSIT seeks to ensure fuller participation of neglected urban populations in taking full advantage of the career and business opportunities available in the transportation industry. The program has two major objectives:
- To develop a pipeline that leads unemployed and underemployed city residents to employment opportunities within the transportation workforce.
- To increase the participation of African American owned businesses in contracting opportunities in the transportation industry.
There are two components to the Project’s “pipeline development” objective:
The High School Component
Identify juniors at three Philadelphia public high schools to participate in an intensive 9-month program that prepares students with transportation related job-readiness skills upon completion of the program
Shepherd these students through a three-tiered training process
- Strengthening students’ basic reading comprehension, written expression, math, computer use, “dress-for-success”, values-based leadership principles, and conflict resolution skills
- Providing transportation-related skills training by mentors in the transportation industry
- Placing students as interns in various jobs within the transportation industry.
The Community Component
This will reach candidates who have already graduated from high school. ACF will work with its existing network of Community-Based Organizations (CBOs). ACF will utilize the same set of educational tools used with high school students to the extent possible. The CBOs will provide local intake sites so that a list of candidates can be compiled. An important element of the project will be the establishment of an on-line job posting and application system.
If you are interested in learning more about Project TRANSIT and about how you can become part of this program, please contact Appollos Baker, Director, at (215) 476-8091.
Our Economic Development initiatives are supported by the U.S. Department of Transportation and the U.S. Small Business Administration*
* SBA’s funding should not be construed as an endorsement of any products, opinions or services. All SBA-funded projects are extended to the public on a nondiscriminatory basis.