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Overview

ACCION USA is a private, non-profit organization that serves low-income microentrepreneurs, primarily minorities and women, who are unable to access bank credit for their businesses. A pioneer and recognized leader in the domestic microfinance field, ACCION USA is dedicated to providing microentrepreneurs and individuals on the economic margin with the crucial chance to borrow capital at fair rates of interest. In doing so, we enable our clients to increase family incomes, create jobs and revitalize and empower economically disenfranchised communities. For the past four years, ACCION has received Fast Company's Social Capitalist Award for “changing the world by using entrepreneurial genius to solve some of the most daunting social problems.” For more information: www.accionusa.org

Mission

ACCION USA is a private, nonprofit organization that provides microloans and other financial services to low- and moderate-income entrepreneurs who are unable to access bank credit for their small businesses. With economic opportunity, these entrepreneurs—often minorities and women—can build assets, better provide for their families, and strengthen their communities.

History

ACCION USA's parent organization, ACCION International, began its work in economic development in 1961. In 1973, ACCION International made its first microloans in Recife, Brazil to men and women—street vendors, carpenters, seamstresses—who started their own very small businesses in order to survive. In the past decade alone, ACCION partners have disbursed $12.3 billion in microloans to 4.94 million borrowers around the world.

In 1991, due to ACCION International’s success and the clear need for microfinance in the U.S., ACCION started a U.S. pilot program in Brooklyn, NY to serve small businesses that lacked access to traditional sources of financing. Based on the success of this program, ACCION’s microfinancing network grew to include low-income communities in Chicago, New Mexico, San Diego, and Texas. Including ACCION USA’s offices in Atlanta, Boston, and Miami, the U.S. ACCION Network is the largest of its kind in the United States, having disbursed over $154 million in small business loans to more than 16,000 entrepreneurs.

Program

ACCION USA is a private non-profit organization that offers small business loans of up to $25,000 and financial literacy education to small business owners in the United States.

Impact

The impact of ACCION USA and the U.S. ACCION Network is considerable. A three-year study of 849 borrowers reveals that after just two small business loans over 17 months, U.S. ACCION Network clients increased their:

* take-home income by 38 percent, or an average of $455 per month
* average monthly profits by 47 percent
* business equity by 42 percent

But these numbers tell just part of the story. ACCION USA borrowers also reported:

* increased self-confidence
* a greater sense of belonging and participation in the community
* the ability to better provide for their families

CEO

As president and CEO of ACCION USA, Mr. Burrus is in charge of overall management, oversight of the annual budget and the development of methodology and loan delivery procedures. Previously, Mr. Burrus served as executive director of ACCION International from 1980 to 1994. In 1994, he agreed to lead ACCION's U.S. lending initiative.

Mr. Burrus has dedicated most of his professional career to international development with a focus on Latin America. In 1973, Mr. Burrus joined ACCION in Costa Rica as regional director for Central America and the Caribbean. He was named ACCION's executive director in 1980.

Under Mr. Burrus's leadership, ACCION has developed a microlending network that spans the country. Since inception, the U.S. ACCION Network has disbursed almost $150 million in loans to over 15,000 small business owners.

Mr. Burrus holds an undergraduate degree in sociology from Arizona State University and a Master's of International Management from the Thunderbird Graduate School of International Management in Glendale, Arizona.

Board

Daniel A. Bennett
Founder and Former CEO
Sunbelt Holding

Kimberly Bishop
Senior Partner/Managing Director
Korn Ferry International

William Burrus
President & CEO, ACCION USA

Tony Dieste
CEO, Dieste Harmel and Partners, LLC

Thomas Fitzgibbon
President, MB Financial CDC

Terri Ludwig
President, Merrill Lynch Community Development Company

Thomas McDermott
Managing Vice President, Capital One Financial

César A. Medina
Senior Vice President & Chief Credit Officer, Banco Popular

Maria Otero
President & CEO, ACCION International

Allen Rodriguez

James Schoedinger

Janet Thompson

Steven Toeniskoetter
President and CEO, GE Capital Solutions

Steven Wilson
President, Chartic

Ray Ziler
Chief Financial Officer
PSI Pump/REDW Business and Financial Resources, LLC

Countries

Puerto Rico, United States

States

Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, District of Columbia, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Hampshire, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Utah, Vermont, Virginia, Washington, West Virginia, Wisconsin, Wyoming, Puerto Rico, Puerto Rico

Contact

56 ROLAND ST STE 300

BOSTON, MA 02129-1233

Phone: (617) 625-7080

www.accionusa.org

EIN: 04-3219159


A Gift Card

Opportunity

Provide Access

One loan

This gift will help ACCION USA provide critically needed small loans to people who have good business sense, integrity, and a strong desire to succeed. They are individuals who are denied access to traditional forms of business credit because of language barriers, lack of business records, poor credit history, or a loan request that’s too small for most banks. Often, ACCION USA is their only...

$25.00