BUSINESS FINANCE
may credit p rt of the rental p y-
men to the pure e price.
In ddition to fi t time home
buye ing this rrangement,
m y buye movin from other
citi re le in borne for a while
until they can get the equity out of
. their other home.
Some tip before entering a
le -purchase: Try to et the le
price in dvance nd ma e ure you
kno bat percentage of the rental
paymen i going to ards the
downpayment. Also get a real e -
tate attorney to view the docu­
men .
fully in' iKlOaluate
tin p m," �corn-
ment of the chairman of
England' only Blac -owned
comrrerdal of the Ho 0
It ntali' 10 -erm \D'ban
'd�-'_
The 1e' tion pmhed by
Pre ident Bush nd in ludes
provi ions for the creation of
enerprse zo in � 0 �
nation's citi .
"While the en rprse zones
coreept may ofJrz �1pfu1 ireen­
ti it' largelyasymbolicDarB
"We'll a
field for you and wait am woo
bows � k>playthe gam;" Ronald
A Homer, Ol8innanof�Bask>n
Bank 0 Commerce told the Senate
Committee on Banking, Housing
and Urban AffiliIs.
• urch on RI·
With the rece ion till not qui
over, many families re embracing
lea e-purch e arrangement in
order to buy home.
Under thi kind of arrangement,
ould-be home buyers rent house
until they can ccumulate enough
money for the do npayment. The
grcements generally run from one
to two years.. The eller of the home
cc
The ill I ays let their
failures challen them to success
Bertram Lee w only 35 ben
he w faced with busin deb of
400 tho nd doll nd 125
tho and in b ck taxe , aU due to
hi failed company, Geneva Print­
ing. But Lee ay even in tho e
darke t bours, he le med from hi
failure .that he must keep on going.
TH RE 0 700 firms
that offer dividend reinve tment $2
plans.
A list of over 700 firms that offer
reinve tment plans is available for
from the Standard &: Poor' Corp.,
Prlc Protection
In an effort to beat out the com-
GRAND RAPIDS - With inci­
dents of racial unrest on the rise and
threatened minority boycotts of
major corporations stirring consumer
passions, a Michigan public relations
firm has created a Cultural Diversity
and Race Relations division, thought
to be the first of its type in the country.
"Race relations and cultural sen­
sitivity aren't just moral issues
anymore-they're economic issues,"
said Ginny Seyferth, APR, president
and CEO of Grand Rapids-based
Seyfert &: Associates, Inc., one of the
Midwest' la e t inde ndent P
- 'The Los Angeles nots 8nd
cial incidentS have put race
...... ��IO centersta od business-+
whether a Fortune 500 corporation or
a small business in middle
America-are right in the spotlight.
"Banks are being scrutinized for
their community re-investment ef­
forts, consumers are taking a hard
look at companies' records on
minority issues before they purchase,
and employees are evaluating their
career advancement oppornlniues
more closely than ever. Companies
need to be more proactive in their
diversity-and "racial equality efforts,"
Seyferth said.
Recently, threatened minority
boycotts of Chrysler Corp. and Proc­
tor & Gamble were highly
publicized, as were several incidents
of racial tensions flaring on college
campuses across the nation.
And political fallout from the Los
Angeles riot and other racial unrest
has galvanized the government to
tep up its search for bias by
mortgage lenders, according to an ar­
ticle by the American Banker
magazine.
TIlEHOU urbanaidaoo
tax package provides $25 billion in
tax i..n:.enti ves k>' operat­
ing within 50 proposed enteqD;e
1JJ am $25 billion in "weed
and seed" speOOing on anti-aime
measures, job � m1 social
services in the enterprise zones.
Boston'S Mayor Raymond
Flynn uggestcd that Congress
send this "meaningless package of
'eight enierprise zores and some
spare change" to Russian President
Boris Yeltsinard give � cities �
$24 billion in aid that YelSin will
r---: ------
get fio.l!.l �
"rns� 'dent 1
Iwould treat � r '--'UU,l�
making to U) as imult if it were
offered to him. AOO � peqlle of
America's cities am do 00 I "
Flynn wrote to House Majority
Leader Ridmd Gephardl
Enerprisezores are areas in �
mr.aties where b\Snesses are
enoouragcd to localC am create
joOO. � theory � tmt if blS­
nesses locate in depressed rom­
mWlities aoo aeate jobs �y will
have a posinve impact on the
people located in those com­
munities.
Tbe tax breaks are an iOOuce- .­
rrent k> �t businesses to locate in
conununities that are considmd
high-risk�
11IE BRFAKS � Hoose
legislation \lieS to lwe businesses to
depressed &rem imudc: a SO per­
cent exdlBion from capi1al gaim
tax for profits from property in the
zores held for five years; a 15 per­
cent wage aedit fur employers of
residerm wOO wode in � zoo:, up
k> $3,(0) per employee; a maxi­
mum $2OJXD filst-year ded\l:tion
forequipmeot �ypwdlased by
azonebl&Ias;amadcd\X:tionof '
up"to $25,(00 � year fbr the pur­
chase of ca1ains� in zone bisi­
IlCS.YA
Congress m1 � Whl�·Ho\5e
will be �UlbanAmcrica be­
cause an rea;olllb)C estimates say
that it will talcc 1en 1imes S5 billion
to start dties on their way to
reoovery am reb�
"Mioority iIMstnmis the real
key to urban growth, " s1aaJoAnn
Price.
'� possibDityofim'easedUlX
revenues mj tmusaOOs of new
jobs for UIban residems could be
realized if mioority en1crpmts had
� to sizable capital so�"
Prl� woo is the President of �
National Association of Invest­
mmt O>mpanies, 1m said 10 am·
gress.
2000 report by the Hudson IDstitu1e
shows that by the end of the de<:ade,
only 15 percent of new hires will be
Anglo-American males," Gaines
said. "If companies want to remain
competitive they have to embrace
diversity and seeK out all available
strategies that will attract and retain
the talent they need."
The agency's new division will
offer numerous services, including
recruitment strategies for sourcing
minority candidate ; employee
promotion and retention programs;
trateglc diversity planning for
CEQ'. and COo.; cultural diver­
sitylrace relations education, training
..... lIIvelo; ty-
based communications such u
minority group rcseard1; audi of
communications materials for ra­
cial/cultural sensitivity; minority
media relations and minority com­
munity relations.
" "When a company bas divemity
of perspectives, it can be more
responsive to changes in the needs of
different racial or cultural groupl
rather than just looking at things from
the perspective of the dominant cul­
ture," Gaines said. "Race relations,
cultural diversity and being pro-ac­
tive about those types of issues arc on
the front burner and need to be ad­
dressed."
"COMPANIES NEES TO be
more sensitive about the way they do
business and the messages they S.end
out," Seyfert said. "1bey need to real­
ize that even the best-intentioned ef­
forts at chieving racial balance and
cultural diversity can fall hort if
they're not communicated or ex­
ecuted well enough,"
Gwendolyn Gaines will direct the
new Cultural Diversity and Race
. Relations division at Seyfe &: As-
sociates, Seyfert i
help sensitize clients to racial and
cultural problems that require extra
effort, particularly in the realm of
recruiting and diversifying the work
force.
" A lot of businesses are interested
in talking about race, but many of
them just don't know where to
begin," said Gaines, whose 17-year
career includes senior human resour­
ces and Equal Employment Oppor­
tunity posi tions at Herman Miller Inc.
and Amway Corp.
"I think a lot of companies are
coming to the realization that they
aren't properly focused on race rela­
tions and cultural diversity in·the
work place, and. yet, the Workforce
The Nation I Council of Negro Wom n and the Edgar orrl.·
kin Care Syatem have .nt.redlnto an economic d velop­
.:1 nt program to provide fund-ral.lng aupport and outr ach
opportunltl .. for an non-profit communlty-b eel organize­
tiona. Edgar Morrl. (pictured lett) and Dorothy I. Hight,
",.. CITIZEN CLASSIFIEDS
MJertige in 1he Otizen da9sified sectia1. Oassified a:is Be
$5.00 fa' the first 20 'NO'ds arx:t 10t eed'l � vvad.
0ispIaf da9sified a:is Be $12 a ooILmn ird1. DeEdine fa'
a:t � is 12 roal W� pior1D ptJJIcaial.
Money
Strategies
HELPING MINORITY BUSINESS BUILD BUSINESS
Are you missing out on business
opportunities because you always
seem to fi,nd out about a contract bid,
after the fact?
Wayne County's Electronic Pro-,
curement Assistance Center (EPAC)
can help you close the information
gap� 'With a personal computer, soft­
ware and a modem, ,you can access
bid opportunities from Wayne CountY
as soon as they go out for bid. Twenty­
, four hours a day. Seven days a week.
. Even if you don't own a PC, you can
still access busines$ opportunities
through EPAC. EPAC is on-line at
selected Detroi, Public Library
branches.
For more information, call the EPAC
hotl�ne at (313) 224-0814.
By Chari •• Given.
Today I will answer que tions You
have sent in regarding investment
trategie .
A Wiscon in man asks: "How
fe are money market fund with the
current un ettled economy and
world?" ,
Money market fund are mutual
fund that own dozen of uper safe
inve tment with hort-term matur­
itie normally of one year or Ie s.
Th maturity date is when the money
mu ,t be paid back to the investor. in
thi c the mutual fund. Mo t of
the inve tments have high credit
rating and are ea i1y convened to
ca h. Thi make money market
fund the fe t of the three b sic
type !)f mutual fund: tock. bond
and money market.
PASSING legislation for
NAIC' Minority Business
Development AD. d. 1992 (H.R.
4221) will attract roore privme
alpital and SCJCUIe fOOre CurD fur
investment in mioority �
enterprises.
Quim.JenJcim, the Managing
in C81ifomia, k>ld Oxlgress, "Ifwe
wapt enIeIprise opportunity k> in­
creme aOO endwe in iIBr-city
minority amun\l1iti we u:ed
roore am IaIJF ftmD:ial institu­
tions wlnge growth am future
tied to tIDe communities.
While money market fund re
the fe t: they are not nece rily
th bigge t money makers. If you are
following the Given Money
Strategie .. you know that the tock
mutual fund are the one to inve t
in right now.
or
Edward H. McNamara, Wayne County Executive
If you have a personal financial
qu tion. nd it to me in care of thi
n paper.