BUSINESS FINANCE
crnzs
, .
EACH DAY Detroit.
Yo. Phil lphia, Los Ang 1 •
and of poin in be
face d eriotation d f ring
decay. Financially, ph icallyand
. ally many our I
and no Bl -run citi can no
lOll r fill th b ic functions that
orginally g v them re on for
being. Our citi hav fallen. and
they can't g t up.
Detroit is no long r the auto­
motive mecca of th world. e
York is.suffering from aumbling
streets and m iv 1 of resi­
dents and reputation. Philadelphia
h lost most of its broth rly love to
wars while the government
teetel'S on the brink of bankruptcy.
Los Angel is losing control to the
Crips and Bloods and drug con­
swnptioo and distribution.
Over the p three decades
cities have grown into deeper
of Black and brown, they've re­
gressed toward degeneration and
decomposition.
As we are approaching WI' third
set of Black mayors in many urban
centers it is becoming appallingJy
clear to them that the problems of
cities may have passed th ir politi­
cal. managerial and administrative
abilities to cope.
The mostly Black citizenry liv­
ing in the citi also have to face up
to the fact that places like Eat St.
Louis, u'berty City. W and Huff
are a drain on the nation's coffers
and the feds are ceasing in their
willingness. and ability. to support
them.
The "they" that we've relied on
for paternal support for all th
years. have all gone from the city
and presently have no plans to re­
tum. The mostly-Black blocks of
people in our cities will have to be
the ones to bring us back from the
brink. We will have to be the ones
who build much-needed shopping
centers. retail establishments.
schools and houses for our people
to grow and live. .
Sure. the federal government
will have to help in partnerships
with us to revamp public: housing
and our neighborhoods. But whose
responsibility is it to provide urban
residents with �kills training in
oomtruction and cxmputer technol­
OS)'. meaningful jobs in the private
sector and career choices that can
be fulfilled?
Who do we have to point at that
.goes to the outskirts of town to buy
their goods and deposit their mo­
Di ? Who will fund and support
Bleck mayors in the tax hikes and
innovative metropolitan collection
plans needed to rebuild buildings.
roads and bridges? Who will de­
vote eight to 10 hours each week to
pmol our neighborhoods � streets
to arrest drug sales and accompa­
nying treet crime?
Martly it will take Black people
to ve the cities in which so many
of us live.
, .
..
..
TO SAVE OUR cities. our
people will have to remold them
and make fundamental changes to
enhance their futures. Church •
civic groups and concerned indi­
vidual citizens will have to bring
about fundameoal dIanges in BId
behavior and expectati<n form City
Hall. It is us who will have to make
long-term investments and im­
provemen in the inner-citi .
IF WE CONTINUE to wait
for "them" to do what has to be
dooe to paerve our wbm enclaves.
we will continue to let the places
where e liv rot and decay and
lU'Deday realize that the enemy was
not them. but us.
•
o n-
c
m
or c
th "Our Ho
twor i
ing to increa its hundred-plus
dues-paying mem with" all
peop who strive for excellence in
everything they do." The Ameri-
College. the etwork produce a
qu erly ne I tter, ca1end
li ing Blac event occurring in
Grand R pids, a church and mem­
bership dRctory, and discounts .xi
free admi ion to variou ial
educ tional ivitie pon-
d byGRBPA.
"The chance to share common
to interests and goal with oth
Blacks pos ssing diverse. inter­
esting ills and careers." are other
pede of membership. Burton said.
·YOUR MONEY MAnERS
by Brenda L. Schneider
The Manufacturer Bank
Community Economic Devel­
opment Fund i available to
provide grant to qualified
nonprofi t agencie to a i t
in their organizational develop­
ment or to fund a pecific
neighborhood development
project.
In June, Manufacturer Bank
announced it will build a per­
manent end wment of $500,000
with the Community Founda­
tion for outhea tern Michigan
to upport neighborhood devel­
opment activitie in Detroit
and other low- and moderate­
income communitie within
Manufacturer Bank' ervice
area in outhea tern Michigan.
An endowment i a financial
contribution that i inve ted
to provide long-term income.
The intere t generated by
the. Manufacturer Bank
Community Economic Dev­
elopment Fund will be u ed to
fund the grant to nonprofit
organization.
Manufacturer Bank e tab­
Ii hed thi endowment becau e
. it recognized the importance of
helping nonprofit community
organization further develop
their organizational kill, and
improve their capabilitie
to .evaluate, initiate and imple­
ment neighborhood develop­
ment project .
The Bank e tabli hed the
fund with the Community
Foundation becau e of the
Foundation' commitment to
neighborhood development
activitie a a long-term pro­
gram trategy, it experti e in
utilizing contribution and the
fact that its ervice area i imi­
lar to the ervice area of
Manufacturers Bank.
The endowment will fund
two type of grants to nonprofit
organization. The fir t type of
grant will be for organizational
development. For example, it
can help qualified community
group develop their own capa­
bilitie through raff training or
trategic planning. Or, it can be
u ed to develop the general
information nece ary to a e
and target potential economic
d velopment projec .
In the econd type of grant,
activitie to be funded hould
lead toward pecific neighbor­
hood economic development
project and could include ite
evaluation, market analy i ,
project fea ibility and architec­
tural drawing .
Typical grant will range
between $3,500 and 7,500.
The fir t grant will be awarded
later thi year.
Grantmaking guideline
are available from both
Manufacturer Bank and the
Community Foundation. The
taff at the Foundation wi 11
advi ·e potential grant eeker ,
and they will proce applica­
tion for review by an advi ory
committee. A appropriate.
Bank taff will a i t in thi
review proce . All grant will
be approved by the board of
director of the Community
Foundation .:
The guideline may be obtained
by calling: Arthur D. Potter.
Manuf cture Bank, 222-5751,
or C. David C mpbell,
Community Foundation for
Southeastern Michigan,
961-6675.
Brenda L. Schn id r is vice
president and manager of
community relation for
Manufacturer National Bank
of Detroit.
om n-o
221.300.
Average Receipts Per Firm by
Race, Hlspanlc Origin, and'
Gender: 1987 (Thousand dollar )
Men
Women
. nand
PectAc I .,
.47
Amencan lncS.n
anet A ..... Nail"'.
32
Within the specific minority
groups, Asian American and Pa­
cific Islander men had the highest
receipts per finn at $106.800;
American Indian and Alaska na­
tive women had, the lowest at
31.700.
The report provides informa­
tion on individual proprietorship.
partnerships, aid Subchapter S cor­
porations owned by Blacks. per­
sons of Hispanic or Latin Ameri­
can ancestry. American Indians aid
Alaska Natives. and Asians and
Pacific lsi ders. Large corpcn­
tions were not included.
. Data includes number of finns.
gross receipts, number of paid em­
ployees. and annual payroll. They
are represented by geographic ea
(U .S .• states. selected metropolitan
areas. counties. and cities). indus­
try. size of finn. d legal form of
organization. Comparative 198Y
data also are included for all U.S.
finns.
DISTRIBUTION BY indus­
try also varied by gender. Service
industries. where receipts are typi­
cally lower. claimed 58 percent of
the firms: owned by minority
women. but only 41 percent of the
finns owned by minority men. In
the construction industries. which
usually have higher receipts, only
2 percent of the firms were owned
by minority women while minority
men owned 12 percent.
Lending institutions may
help stimulate home market
New construction of houses and
apartments fell in August by 3.8 per­
cent over July. reducing by 11 per­
cent the 1991 year-to-date dollar value
from comparable 1990 figures.
According to the National Asso­
ciation of Home Builders Housing
Opportunity Index. the most afford­
able housing markets were clustered
in the Midwest d South. Ranging
from a high of 90.1 percent in the
Saginaw. Bay City. and Midl.xi.-eas
and 41.2 percent in Ingham county.
Experts expect the financial
moves of 1be Federal Reserve to vastly
improved housing market.
Donald L. Pratt of Troy, 1991
President of the Michigan Associa­
tion of Home Builders says. "The
federal government's latest move to
decrease interest rates will stimulate
building in the months ahead. How­
ever. lending institutions will play an
important role as to whether or not
they will �ome more willing to
grant construction loans."
The 8.700 member companies of
the Michigan Association of Home
Builders in Lansing represents qver
417.000 people in 36 local hqrne
builder. associations throughout' the
state.
The
Greater Jetroit
BIDCO, Inc.
IIA Minority
Business and Ind strial
Development Cor oration"
1101 Washingt Boulevard
Suite 600 .
Detroit, Michigan 48226
. 313/926-4326
Contact:
Catherine D. Lockhart
Lock ley A. Smith
Barbara Richardson