Emerging Markets Partnership

The work of the Emerging Markets Partnership focuses on three primary areas:

• Enterprise development - fostering entrepreneurship and business development

• Workforce Development - preparing individuals for successful employment

• Community infrastructure (child care, health care, housing, telecommunications) - providing businesses and individuals with the resources to pursue economic advancement.

The Emerging Market Partnership believes that the Delta works through promoting

• Job creation, retention, and advancement.

• Entrepreneurship and business development.

• Asset development among low- and moderate-income individuals and families.

• Infrastructure that enables Delta businesses and workers to compete in the new economy.

An extension of the W.K. Kellogg Foundation's Mid South Delta Initiative, EMP is underwritten by the W.K. Kellogg Foundation and bolstered by a major commitment from Fannie Mae. EMP is managed by the Enterprise Corporation of the Delta (ECD), one of the nation's leading community development financial institutions.

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Enterprise Corporation of the Delta (ECD)/Hope Community Credit Union

Enterprise Corporation of the Delta (ECD)/Hope Community Credit Union (HOPE) is a regionally-focused MSDI partner that supports small businesses. This nonprofit financial institution works to strengthen communities, build assets and improve lives in economically distressed areas of the Mid South. ECD/HOPE does this by providing financial and technical assistance to firms, entrepreneurs, homeowners and community development projects and by forging strategic partnerships across the public, private and nonprofit sectors. ECD/HOPE:

• Provides loans;

• Sponsors FastTrac, an entrepreneurial training program delivered throughout the region by universities, community colleges and community development organizations;

• Connects experienced business leaders with entrepreneurs through BusinessLINC, a mentor-protégé program that has gained regional recognition.

Southern Good Faith Fund

The mission of the Southern Good Faith Fund (SGFF) is to increase the incomes and assets of low-skilled and low-income individuals in the Arkansas and Mississippi Delta. Southern Good Faith Fund does this through four programs - Arkansas Women's Business Development Center, Industry Partners, Asset Builders and Public Policy. Southern Good Faith Fund has offices in Helena, Pine Bluff, and Stuttgart, Arkansas as well as a policy office in Little Rock, Arkansas. The Women's Business Development Center helps business owners succeed by providing them with training, business counseling and technical assistance. The programs are available to both men and women.

The Industry Partners Program is a workforce development program that prepares individuals for career ladder jobs in various industries. The current focus is on Careers in Health Care, which prepares students for career ladder jobs in the health care field. Students are trained to become Certified Nursing Assistants and helped to find jobs in local nursing homes, hospitals, home health agencies, and other health care institutions. Graduates are also encouraged and supported to continue moving up the career ladder by enrolling in further education to become Licensed Practical Nurses or Registered Nurses or other health care careers such as Respiratory Therapist or X-Ray Technician. Since launching the program in 1996, over 560 participants have graduated.

The Asset Builders program offers matched savings accounts to low-income, low-asset individuals for specific asset purchases. For every dollar that a participant saves, he or she receives a $3 match. Individual Development Accounts (IDAs) can be used for one of three purposes: home ownership or repair, starting a small business, or higher education for the participant or his or her children. To date, the program has had over 300 participants who have saved almost $100,000 and received matches of almost $300,000.

The Public Policy Program conducts research and applies the knowledge and experience of the other SGFF programs to develop and advocate for public policies that promote successful employment and otherwise help working families improve their incomes and assets. The major policy areas of focus are workforce development, work support polices, and asset development. The work is achieved through the following strategies: research reports, coalition building, and advocacy.

Mid South Delta LISC (Local Initiatives Support Corporation)

LISC, the nation's leading community development support organization, provides money and business expertise to neighborhood-based community development corporations (CDCs). These CDCs build affordable housing, create new businesses, and establish job training programs, day care centers and other institutions that result in stronger communities.

Mid South Delta LISC, with offices in Greenville, Miss., and Forrest City, Ark., is one of 38 local LISC programs throughout the country. Since its inception in April 1995, Mid South Delta LISC has provided training, technical assistance and financial resources to 50 community development corporations (CDCs) operating in the Delta regions of Arkansas, Louisiana and Mississippi. With LISC's help, these CDCs have built 952 affordable homes and apartments and close to 30,000 square feet of commercial space. Nearly $4 million in grants and loans has been invested in CDCs in the Delta by LISC and its partners, resulting in almost $42 million in development activity.