Count Me In (charity)
Count Me In (full name: Count Me In for Women's Economic Independence) is a
History
Count Me In is a leading national not-for-profit provider of resources, business education and community support for women entrepreneurs seeking to grow micro businesses to million dollar enterprises. Founded in 1999 by Iris Burnett and Nell Merlino,[2] Count Me In began as the first online microlender, and in the following years discontinued the microlending program in order to focus on providing the education and resources women need to grow their businesses and find funding from other sources.
The estimated economic impact of accelerating women's business success will generate at least four million new jobs and $700 billion in economic activity. Leading the charge and making their organizational vision a reality is co-founder with Iris Burnett, and CEO, Nell Merlino, the creative force behind Take Our Daughters to Work Day. Merlino was an entrepreneur who founded the organization based upon her personal experiences in growing her own small business. Facing questions regarding sources of capital, hiring quality talent and financial planning, she was unsure where to find answers. Recognizing that other women were likely facing similar circumstances and questions, she founded Count Me In for Women's Economic Independence to act as that informational resource.
In 2005 the "Make Mine a Million $ Business Competition" — known informally as "M3" — was launched in the cities of
The organization announced a goal of helping one million woman-owned companies achieve $1,000,000 in revenues by 2010. In support of this goal, Count Me In established partnerships with
In media and popular culture
- Count Me In was The Apprentice (U.S. Season 7) (Celebrity Apprentice).
See also
- Accion International
- Acción Emprendedora
- Accion USA
- Cooperative banking
- Flat rate (finance)
- Grama Vidiyal, Indian Microfinance Bank
- Grameen America
- Islamic banking
- Micro credit for water supply and sanitation
- Microgrant
- Opportunity International
- Project Enterprise
- Solidarity lending
References
- ^ "Count Me In official site". Archived from the original on 2007-12-30. Retrieved 2008-01-04.
- ^ "A fund for female ventures". Black Enterprise. 30 (12): 52. July 2000.
- ^ Nell, Merlino. "What holds women business owners back from creating million dollar plus companies". Empower Lounge.
- ^ "Make Mine a $Million," Enterprising Women, 7(4). Archived 2007-03-22 at the Wayback Machine