[Congressional Record Volume 162, Number 167 (Tuesday, November 22, 2016)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E1524-E1525]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
HONORING THE 20TH ANNIVERSARY OF INNER CITY ADVISORS FUND GOOD JOBS
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HON. BARBARA LEE
of california
in the house of representatives
Tuesday, November 22, 2016
Ms. LEE. Mr. Speaker, I rise to recognize the 20th anniversary of ICA
Fund Good Jobs. Today November 17th, 2016, ICA Fund Good
[[Page E1525]]
Jobs celebrates its many achievements in supporting small businesses
and creating good jobs throughout the Bay Area.
ICA Fund Good Jobs was founded in 1996 as Oakland Advisors (later
Inner City Advisors). Its mission is to create jobs for people with
high barriers to employment, by helping entrepreneurs with consulting,
education, and investment services. ICA focuses on high-growth small
businesses in order to create accessible jobs that provide living
wages, health benefits, and opportunities for advancement.
In 2013 ICA founded a partner organization called ``Fund Good Jobs'',
which provides small businesses with capital investments and helps
reduce the burden of relying on commercial lending for start-up
businesses. In 2015 ICA and Fund Good Jobs combined their operations to
become a comprehensive support structure for local businesses in the
East Bay.
In its 20-year history, ICA Fund Good Jobs has worked with more than
500 companies to create more than 5,000 jobs and generate over $65
million in local employee wealth.
ICA Fund Good Jobs is a certified Community Development Financial
Institution, and has used its expertise and capital to support
successful startups including Revolution Foods, Blue Bottle Coffee, and
newer successes such as Firebrand Artisan Breads and Back to the Roots.
These companies and others supported by ICA Fund Good Jobs have spurred
economic growth throughout the East Bay, and are examples of the
fulfillment of ICA Fund Good Job's mission.
On behalf of the residents of California's 13th Congressional
District, I congratulate ICA Fund Good Jobs on 20 years of exemplary
service as it continues to solve long-standing problems in new ways,
and move the needle on some of the Bay Area's most challenging
indicators of socioeconomic inequality. I wish ICA Fund Good Jobs well
as it continues to work toward ensuring that every worker has access to
a good job.
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