After year-long pilot, strategies to grow local economy expand, become permanent By Michelle Curran A pilot effort to establish a targeted economic development strategy in the communities of Lawrence, Andover and North Andover is now part of the permanent...
Salem Announces New Small Business Loan Fund with Technical Assistance Services
The City of Salem is pleased to share a new opportunity for Salem’s entrepreneurs and business owners to access capital and technical assistance to start or to grow their business.
Creating Change by Investing in People
As a society, we invest in roads and buildings, in water and electric systems because they are vital to our economic development and prosperity. So are people. But do we invest effectively in our human infrastructure?
New Loan Fund to Help Strengthen Small Businesses
Michelle Xiarhos Curran, ECCF Communications Writer Small and micro-businesses create jobs, drive community and urban revitalization, and foster local wealth. But oftentimes, they do not qualify for the loans they need to start or sustain operations. This winter, a...
EEO: Financial Literacy Helps People Prep for the Future
Michelle Xiarhos Curran, ECCF Communications Writer PHOTO COURTESY OF COMMUNITY ACTION, INC. In Haverhill, low-income women – mothers who are working to support their children and families – are being empowered to take charge of their finances through an innovative...
CPL Can Make a College Degree a Reality for More People
Michelle Xiarhos Curran, ECCF Communications Writer According to the Center on Education and the Workforce at Georgetown University, by 2020, an estimated 72 percent of jobs in Massachusetts will require a postsecondary education. In fact, Massachusetts is one of 27...
Essex County Think Lab Focuses on North Shore Blue Economy
Gloucester, MA – Outside 33 Commercial Street in Gloucester, gray skies hang over Harbor Cove, where the sounds of a bustling luxury hotel next door and the smell of fish linger in the air. The cove, alive with activity, is home to many businesses that rely on the...
Empowering Economic Opportunity Moves Full Steam Ahead
Updates on ECCF's Project to Help Thousands of Residents Living Below the Living Wage Empowering Economic Opportunity is the Alpha Project of ECCF’s Impact Essex County initiative, the Foundation’s lasting commitment to address the most critical issues affecting...
Increasing Financial Empowerment Across Essex County
According to the FINRA Investor Education Foundation, nearly two-thirds of Americans cannot pass a basic financial literacy test. This is problematic; individuals lacking a strong financial literacy foundation borrow more money, accumulate fewer assets and pay more in...
Credit for Prior Learning makes college more attainable
According to a recent study by the Economic Policy Institute, college graduates earn 56 percent more than high school graduates. But in Essex County – where 38 percent of people are living below the living wage – the cost of continued education and the pathway to a...
categories
how can we help?
Connect with us live and find out how we can elevate your giving.