CCV Web Site | Subscribe to Newsletter | Donate | Contact CCV

Winter Newsletter 2008

Shop Local This Holiday Season with CCV's Client Businesses

As we head into the holiday season we hope you will keep in mind some of CCV's client businesses. Below are just a few but be sure to view the entire list in our Holiday Shopping Guide.

View more CCV clients in our full Holiday Shopping Guide

  • Experience the benefit of glowing health at Bikram Yoga Chicago. Also known as the original “hot” yoga, Bikram Yoga is a 90 minute beginning yoga class comprised of 26 postures and 2 breathing exercises, practiced in a room heated to 105 degrees Fahrenheit with 40% humidity. This smart choreography instigates better health from the first visit. Some of the many benefits of regular practice include mental clarity, improved posture, increased stamina, stretched and toned muscles, and many more. For more information, and to purchase packages and gift certificates, please visit http://www.105F.com.
  • Shorty's Children's Boutique is a fun and funky, family owned baby/kids store with products made right here in Chicago. If you are not into branding, this is your place to shop. Shorty's has clothing lines of their own and also features about 20 other designer lines of clothing and accessories for kids under 6. (http://www.shortyschicago.com/)
  • www.World-Shoppe.com is an e-boutique specializing in handmade and fairly traded gifts, home accents, jewelry and stationery products from more than 22 countries. Whether you’re seeking beaded jewelry from India or home accents such as the Let there be Peace bank from Bangladesh, you know that your purchase will make a difference in the lives of World Shoppe's artisan partners in developing countries. To keep abreast on what is happening at www.World-Shoppe.com, make sure to sign up for the monthly newsletter.

View more CCV clients in our full Holiday Shopping Guide

Are you a CCV client that would like to be featured on our holiday shopping guide? Let us know by sending an e-mail with a brief description of your company/product to gtbell@chiventures.org.

Back to top

Support CCV When You Shop Online With GoodShop

GoodShop.com allows shoppers to donate a portion of their online purchases to the non-profit of their choice. Every time you click over to one of the partner merchants from the GoodShop site and then make a purchase, you can support CCV with a donation. The more you shop, the more we make! Add up the money generated from all of your shopping and the shopping done by all of the other people who use GoodShop, and we can make a real difference in our community.

Shopping through GoodShop is just like going to the retailer directly. You still receive the same selection, prices and customer service as you would at the online merchant, but you also have the satisfaction of knowing that your purchases are making a difference. Donations vary by store, but on average 3% of each sale goes to CCV. You can check the exact percentage by looking below the merchants logo on the GoodShop home page.

Participating stores include Best Buy, Barnes & Noble, Kohl's, Target, Macy's and more.

www.GoodShop.com

Back to top

CCV Clients Celebrate Success

CCV’s most significant achievements are those of our clients’. We would like to congratulate the following clients on their recent successes.

  • Sanogene Therapeutics, a CCV Challenge Grant recipient, was recently named a finalist in the statewide Innovate Illinois competition. Sanogene was one of twelve small businesses from the original pool of 130 to compete in the finals for $100,000 in grant money. A biotechnology company, Sanogene is developing biopharmaceutical products that stop tumor progression and promote cancer cell death, ultimately leading to a cure for currently incurable cancers such as glioblastoma multiforme, the most deadly form of brain cancer.

    Co-Founder and acting CEO Caralynn Nowinski-Chenoweth was also chosen as one of Crain’s Chicago Business’ “40 under 40” earlier this month. The prestigious list gives a snapshot “of the Chicago area’s up-and-comers from a wide range of industries.” You can view the list at http://www.chicagobusiness.com/cgi-bin/article.pl?page_id=2309.
  • Ecoscene is an online website and weekly e-magazine encouraging people to choose eco-friendly options by providing better access to sustainable products and services. In September, Ecoscene won first place in the Business Start-up category for the Women’s Business Development Center’s Business Plan Competition for their efforts to provide information, access and opinions on green products or services that are viable, sustainable, or eco-friendly alternatives.
  • Meghan Hoover, founder of XplorU, was recently featured in Crain’s Business article “No time like the present.” The article, which focuses on starting a business in rough economic times, quotes Meghan several times on finding financing and keeping expenses low. XploreU, the first of its kind, promotes safe cultural exploration among students by providing an online space for students to connect to other students traveling, to upload pictures and videos of their travels for other students to view, and post information on opportunities for travel.
  • Milton Latrell, owner of Agriculture, a high-end men’s apparel and accessories store, and Nicole Jones of Sensual Steps Shoe Salon, were two of eight honored as Business Leaders of Chicago’s Bronzeville neighborhood at the Genesis Housing Development Corporation’s 12 Annual Friends of Genesis Celebration. The reception and awards ceremony, which took place October 8, recognized Southside Housing and Business Leaders for their work and presence in the local community. Also recognized were Sr. Sheila Lyons of Mercy Hospital, Leanard Harris of Chatham Foods, Darnell & Tonya Jones of Chicago’s Home of Chicken and Waffles, Johnnie Blair of Bronzeville Chamber of Commerce, and Bernita Johnson-Gabriel of Quad Communities Development Corporation.

Back to top

Innovative Partnership Fuels Business Growth Along Cottage Grove

CCV, the Quad Communities Development Corporation (QCDC) and the Carter Ware Group (CWG) have created a partnership to help attract and retain businesses along the Cottage Grove Corridor and intersecting streets. 

Since September, CCV has been offering support to six businesses along the corridor as they create a retail association aimed at increasing customer traffic in their stores. The association – named CG43 (Cottage Grove and 43rd Street) - has organized efforts to create marketing materials that not only cross-promote one another’s businesses, but also increase awareness of the other businesses along the corridor. Further, with assistance from CCV, the businesses organized events taking advantage of Black Friday, the day after Thanksgiving which has become known as the biggest shopping day of the year. A trolley tour was formed to take shoppers from business to business, featuring a variety of vendors in each store. The tour gave business owners an opportunity to showcase their products and services while giving participants a chance to holiday shop for quality products.

Next weekend, on December 12th, the Retailers Association will begin a Holiday Kick-Off where CG43 will debut its new customer loyalty program, the Bronze Card. The card allows shoppers a one time discount from the member stores. Once the customer has visited all participating retailers, they will receive a gift as well as a new Bronze Card.

As progress continues, CCV looks forward to keeping our partners and supporters informed of the successes of this exciting project assisting businesses along the Cottage Grove corridor.

Read more about the Cottage Grove businesses in CCV's Holiday Shopping Guide

  • Agriculture is a men's clothing store that carries high quality, exclusive clothing, shoes, accessories and fragances. more
  • Ain't She Sweet Cafe serves good and good-for-you sandwiches and smoothies. more
  • Bronzeville Coffee and Tea serves the Bronzeville community by providing quality products and top-notch service in a vibrant, yet comfortable space where coffee and community meet! more
  • Faie African Art showcases pieces from the Western, Eastern, Central and Southern regions of Africa. more
  • Sensual Steps is a unique women's shoe salon in the Bronzeville neighborhood that offers personalized service and a wide selection of designer shoes, handbags and accessories. more
  • Zaleski and Horvath Market Cafe features the best selections from local and regional farmers and vendors along-side international specialties. more

Back to top

Ten Companies Receive Challenge Grants to Help Reach Important Milestones

Through our partnership with the Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity and Governor Rod Blagojevich's Opportunity Returns Program, CCV provides small, high-growth businesses with matching grants to help them achieve their goals. The following companies have recently received grants because they exhibit strong growth potential.

  • Alter Eat Go is a new diet food delivery service that was created to provide healthy, portion controlled and calorie conscious meal options to African Americans and other time deprived professionals in the Chicago metropolitan area. This service saves individuals time and money by performing functions like menu planning, shopping, and cooking on behalf of the client.  Alter Eat Go will utilize the Challenge Grant for obtaining accounting services, enhancing its website, soliciting input from a registered dietitian and creating a special weight loss project. 
  • Carrot Top Distribution, an independently owned wholesale distribution company, carries a wide range of music, specializing in indie rock and pop. Carrot Top’s music is distributed to independent music stores and small, independently owned regional chains across the United States. Carrot Top will be using the Challenge Grant to expand many of its technical capacities including adding software to combine multiple purchase orders and streamlining warehouse activities with barcoding and scanning capabilities. 
  • Chopin Theatre is a live theater located in Chicago’s Wicker Park neighborhood. It is independently owned and operated by the Dyrkacz family, with an average of 500 performing arts events each year. Chopin plans to use the Challenge Grant to design a new website to improve marketing capabilities and enable online ticket purchases. 
  • Crop to Cup, a coffee supply-chain partner, imports coffee, arranges transport, roasting, packaging and distribution for US-based roasters and brands. The company also manages reinvestments back into the farming community through its non-profit arm – DevelopNET Iganga. Crop to Cup will use the funds from the Challenge Grant to enhance its website which educates consumers on the Crop-to-Cup socially conscious business model. 
  • Cybernet Systems Management, Inc provides technical as well as project management leadership for large, complex and multi-phased projects. CSMI has a unique capability in identifying and developing engineering programs to achieve improved plant operations and annualized cost savings. CSMI will be using the Challenge Grant to update its marketing materials and website. 
  • Finesse Cuisine has established a reputation as a premier Chicago based off-premise catering and culinary concept. Their talented and passionate team arranges and executes events for Chicago’s most noted social, corporate and philanthropic clientele. Finesse will be using the Challenge Grant to expand its marketing efforts through website design and collateral marketing materials creation. 
  • HumanZyme is a leading provider of recombinant human protein reagents to research diagnostic and pharmaceutical industries. Currently, HumanZyme focuses on human cytokines and kinases from human cells. HumanZyme is committed to providing authentic human proteins with superior quality. The Challenge Grant funds will be used to increase HumanZyme’s marketing efforts.
  • Liif Tea is a Chicago-based importer, wholesaler and retailer of specialty loose leaf teas and accessories. Liif offers premium products and destination tea events to educate consumers on the many facets of tea including history, origin and presumed health benefits. The Challenge Grant will be used for enhancing Liif’s website, obtaining accounting and legal services and creating other marketing materials.
  • Sunrock Cermanics is a manufacturing company that produces ceramic components for a highly specialized and profitable niche in the technical ceramics industry.  It currently specializes in high-temperature kiln furniture. Sunrock plans on using the Challenge Grant to completely upgrade its website to make it more indicative of a business-to-business platform, including more technical and commercial functionality.
  • Unicous offers a radical transformation of the coupon sector of the consumer promotion industry. Unicous’ products enable manufacturers to deliver product discounts accurately and immediately, at the retailer’s shelf, where up to 70% of consumer purchasing decisions are made. The Challenge Grant will be utilized to enhance the skill level of Unicous’ employees through expert training services aimed at ensuring sales success.

Back to top

E-Packaging and Fulfillment Company Receives Funding Through City of Chicago Small Business Loan Fund

E-Packaging and Fulfillment Company, a woman- and minority-owned start-up on the city’s Near South Side, was approved in September for the first loan from the City of Chicago Small Business Loan Fund, managed by CCV. Andrea Peters, the company's founder turned to CCV for financing because as a new business she had trouble qualifying for the financing she needed.

Ms. Peters saw a unique niche for herself to enter the pharmaceutical packaging industry because there were no other companies in the Chicago area that were certified as a woman- or minority-owned enterprise and she knew she could easily attract clients that were looking to add supplier diversity.  However, despite her enthusiasm for the project, Ms. Peters couldn't convince a bank to fully finance the project. She initially got a loan to fund her venture from an area bank, but it did not cover all of her costs – she was $175,000 short and still needed to purchase equipment.

Unable to get additional funding from her bank because of a high loan to value ratio, Ms. Peters applied for a loan from the City of Chicago Small Business Loan Fund. The City was able to approve the loan despite the high loan to value ratio because in additon to available collateral, Ms. Peter's posessed 15 years of industry experience, and the business showed strong job creation potential. By taking into account these factors, the City approved the loan and Ms. Peters now expects to open her doors in early 2009.

Back to top

CCV Launches Social Enterprise Initiative with Support from The Boeing Company

CCV is pleased to announce the launch of its Social Enterprise Initiative with support from The Boeing Company. A generous grant of $40,000 will fund New Market and Customer Development Training for eight social enterprises who have launched or who are in the process of launching or expanding their business. Boeing Logo

Social enterprises, defined as organizations that aim to reach social goals through entrepreneurial business strategies, face the same obstacles as any small business – lack of access to resources. The added challenge of social enterprises to manage the 'double bottom line' of both mission and margin leave social enterprises often needing more technical and financial assistance for a greater chance at sustainability and success. Additionally, social enterprises, like all small businesses, hold the capacity to create jobs along with fulfilling their mission. Fostering their success creates a "double ROI" of job creation and economic growth, coupled with the organization's social returns.

CCV’s Market and Customer Development Training will provide social enterprise leaders with a clear understanding of their market place and a marketing strategy suited to their means. The interactive training is complemented by ongoing technical assistance to help social enterprises implement their plans so that they can realize long-term success.

Comparable training programs can cost organizations upwards of $60,000. CCV is pleased to be able to offer this training free of charge, through support from The Boeing Company. For more information contact Susan Alnaqib at 773.822.0313 or salnaqib@chiventures.org.

Back to top

Save the Date for Sustain Illinois - A Business Competition to Recognize Chicago's Green Businesses

CCV and the Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity will host a business innovation challenge this April to recognize Chicago's Sustainable businesses. The competition will award $20,000 to the most innovative green/sustainable business in the Chicagoland region. More details will be available in January. Check www.chiventures.org for details in the new year.

Back to top

CCV Welcomes Five New Funding Partners in 2008

This year we are happy to welcome five new funding partners who recognize the importance of supporting small businesses in our community. According to a 2005 SBA report, small businesses are the greatest source of net new employment in inner cities – comprising more than 99 percent of establishments and 80 percent of total employment. By providing business support services to small businesses, CCV helps our clients plan for strategic growth, and access and manage capital. These services put our clients on the path to growth so that they can become assets to their communities. Thanks to the generous support of our funding partners, we are able to offer our services at little or no cost to our clients. We are proud to welcome the following companies and foundations as partners.

 
 
The Mander Foundation
 

Back to top

Two New Americorps*VISTA Members Join CCV Team

Lauren FoukesLauren Foukes joins the CCV team to support counselors in offering technical assistance to small business clients as well as support CCV’s Marketing & Communications Manager in marketing efforts. Prior to joining CCV, Lauren worked in brand management at Kraft Foods. During her time there Lauren worked on the Kraft Grated Parmesan Cheese, Kraft Natural Cheese and Kraft LiveActive businesses. As a member of the brand team, Lauren was responsible for conducting business analysis, leading new product launches and executing the marketing plan. Lauren received a Bachelor of Business Administration with a concentration in Marketing from the University of Michigan.

Christyn FreemonChristyn Freemon joins CCV to provide support to counselors working in CCV's Small Business Development Center and on the Cottage Grove Business Initiative. Prior to joining CCV, Christyn worked as a business consultant for WDB Marketing, primarily offering business consulting services for small, minority-owned companies in the south suburbs. She assisted in the development of business plans, marketing and promotional strategies, and event planning, as well as, creating training programs and employee incentive plans. Christyn also has five years of technical recruitment experience, most recently working at Interactive Business Systems in Oak Brook for clients such as McDonalds, Kraft Foods, Northern Trust and other Fortune 1000 companies. Christyn received her Bachelor of Arts degree in Sociology with an African American Studies minor from Northwestern University in Evanston.

Back to top

CCV Board of Directors & Staff

Board President
   Co-Presidents
Derrick Collins Kellogg School of Management   Susan Alnaqib & Anita Hollins
     
Board Treasurer   Staff
Torrence Moore Bank of America   Gail Bell
  Hussain Bhanpuri
Board Secretary
   Hans Bonner
Kimberly Richardson Westside Business Improvement Assoc.   Manjima Bose
    Doug Cannon
Board Members   Tom Cassell
Vachon Harper-Young Harris Bank   Lauren Foukes
Leon Jackson Bill's Shade & Blind Service   Christyn Freemon
Joseph Kennedy Harris Bank   Joshua Gutstein
Nissa Kochmer NLK Consulting   Mwikali Munyao
Kenneth McGhee City of Chicago, Dept of Children & Youth Services   Diane Rodak-Salinas
Jeffery Roberts JB Roberts Insurance/Allstate   Bryan Stubbs
    Duane Wadlington
     

Funding Partners

Minority Business Development Agency, U.S. Department of Commerce
CDFI Fund, US Treasury Department Charter One
Citigroup Foundation ComEd
Drinker Biddle Gardner Carton Harris Bank Mander Foundation
WaMu Wells Fargo US Bank