Goldman Sachs Launches 10,000 Small Businesses Initiative in the Greater Los Angeles Metropolitan Area

The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. (NYSE: GS) today announced the greater Los Angeles 10,000 Small Businesses initiative. Throughout the Los Angeles metropolitan area, the program will offer a unique combination of three resources to help small business grow and create jobs:

• Business and Management Education: Small business owners will have access to a high quality business education developed in partnership with leading national business schools. Through the program, they can develop a business growth plan through a practical business and management education offered by Los Angeles City College, one of the nine campuses in the Los Angeles Community College District (LACCD), and The Long Beach Community College District. The education will be free to accepted business owners selected through a competitive application process administered by the Initiative for a Competitive Inner City (ICIC) in partnership with City College and The Long Beach Community College District. 10,000 Small Businesses is also partnering with LACCD’s Los Angeles Southwest College to support the needs of small businesses with a particular focus on minority and low-income business owners in the South Los Angeles region. Southwest College will build its capacity to enhance its small business curriculum and associated business support services.
• Access to Capital: Goldman Sachs will commit $20 million of lending capital, in addition to philanthropic support to Community Development Financial Institutions (CDFIs) in Los Angeles County. The investment will increase the amount of growth capital available to small businesses in underserved communities and expand the capacity of the CDFIs to deliver enhanced technical assistance to small businesses. The first CDFI that will be receiving financing from Goldman Sachs will be the Valley Economic Development Center. Additional CDFI partners will enter the program in the future.
• Business Support Services: Business advice, technical assistance, and networking will be offered to participating small business owners through partnerships with the community colleges and national and local business organizations, as well as the people of Goldman Sachs.

"My number one priority is getting the people of Los Angeles back to work, and the Goldman Sachs 10,000 Small Business Initiative is the type of program we need in Los Angeles,” Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa said. "Not only will this investment set in motion job creation at the most grassroots level, but it will have a real impact on the lives of the 70% of Angelenos that are employed by small businesses by granting them the opportunity to expand their entrepreneurial enterprise through education, loans, and networking.”

"Los Angeles is home to many very talented small business owners,” said Lloyd C. Blankfein, Chairman and CEO of Goldman Sachs. "Working with local community development financial institutions and community colleges, we aim to give selected local businesses the resources they need to grow and create jobs.”

10,000 Small Businesses began operations in New York in 2010 where LaGuardia Community College is offering education and Seedco Financial Services is providing access to capital.

The program will begin in Los Angeles in August, 2010. Interested small businesses should apply for the education portion directly through the local community colleges and CDFIs.

• Los Angeles City College: www.lacc10ksb.com
• The Long Beach Community College District: http://www.lbcc.edu/10000smallbusinesses/
• Valley Economic Development Center: http://www.vedc.org/

Bob Foster, Mayor of Long Beach

"The City of Long Beach is pleased that The Long Beach Community College District has been selected to host the 10,000 Small Businesses Initiative,” said Mayor Bob Foster. "It is critical that we do everything in our power to support and encourage small business growth in the region.”

Roberto Barragan, President of Valley Economic Development Center

"VEDC is extremely proud to partner with Goldman Sachs at this time of severe credit crunch when small businesses still cannot find capital to expand their businesses and create jobs” said Roberto Barragan, President of the Valley Economic Development Center (VEDC). "Over the past year, small business owners have become increasingly disillusioned and, in some cases, given up looking. Small businesses can now come to VEDC, thanks to Goldman Sachs support, to secure the financing they need.”

Dr. Jamillah Moore, President of Los Angeles City College

"Los Angeles City College is honored to host one of the first Goldman Sachs 10,000 Small Businesses programs in Los Angeles," said Dr. Jamillah Moore, President of Los Angeles City College. "Our college is committed to offering services that will help small businesses participating in the program to build their network of resources and to increase their knowledge of business operations."

Eloy Ortiz Oakley, President of The Long Beach Community College District

"The Long Beach Community College District is thrilled and honored to have been selected as a partner with the Goldman Sachs 10,000 Small Businesses Initiative,” said LBCC President Eloy Ortiz Oakley. "Our college is committed to economic development and we are ready through this new partnership to further assist our local small businesses.”

Dr. Jack Daniels, President of Los Angeles Southwest College

"We are excited about being a participant in the 10,000 Small Businesses Initiative. This planning grant will allow us to build a foundation that will address small business needs in South Los Angeles that will impact their sustainability while at the same time strengthening our college programs that will provide on-going support to businesses in South Los Angeles.”

Who Should Apply

The program is designed for owners of small businesses with limited financial resources, and with few opportunities to otherwise access a business education designed to enhance small business success. Broad characteristics of business owners targeted to participate include, but are not limited to: business revenues between $150,000 and $4 million in 2009; business in operation for at least two years; at least four employees; operations in economically underserved areas; and a business model that could scale to create more jobs.

Similar selection criteria are used by CDFIs to select small businesses for financing and will vary slightly by loan product and program, but are based on sound underwriting criteria.

Program Background

10,000 Small Businesses is a $500 million initiative that will unlock the growth and job-creation potential of 10,000 small businesses across the United States through greater access to business education, financial capital, and business support services. It is based on the broadly held view of leading experts that a combination of education, capital, and support services best addresses the barriers to growth for small businesses. It is now operating in New York and Los Angeles and will continue to expand to communities across the country.

10,000 Small Businesses is modeled on the Goldman Sachs 10,000 Women initiative, which creates partnerships between academic institutions and non-profit entities to provide a business and management education to women around the world. 10,000 Women is currently operating in 20 countries, where it is helping women entrepreneurs create jobs and growth in their communities.

Los Angeles Community College District (LACCD): LACCD is the nation's largest community college district, serves one-quarter million students a year in more than 36 cities in Los Angeles County. The LACCD consists of nine colleges: Los Angeles City College, East Los Angeles College, Los Angeles Harbor College, Los Angeles Mission College, Pierce College, Los Angeles Southwest College, Los Angeles Trade-Technical College, Los Angeles Valley College and West Los Angeles College. The District covers nearly 900 square miles and has educated and trained the region's diverse workforce since 1969.

Los Angeles City College (LACC): LACC is a multifaceted entity that works collaboratively with internal and external partners for the purpose of serving and training diverse student and organizational populations. LACC is committed to providing resources, training, and tools that positively impact and build neighboring communities with an emphasis on creating a competitively skilled and competent workforce. LACC is leading the charge with assisting students and community residents with pursuing their goals for developing and operating successful and viable businesses, expanding and building capacity with existing businesses, as well as increasing the health and wealth in the communities it serves.

Los Angeles Southwest College (LASC): Founded in 1967, Los Angeles Southwest College serves more than 8,000 students with associate degree programs in 34 disciplines, occupational certificates in 47 disciplines, community services and ESL/citizenship classes. The campus is undergoing a massive expansion and technological upgrade that will make it a model for community college education in the 21st century. Los Angeles Southwest College is part of the Los Angeles Community College District. For more information, visit www.lasc.edu.

The Long Beach Community College District (LBCCD): LBCCD is one of the largest single college districts in the California Community College System. LBCC is a comprehensive college which provides quality educational programs and related students services to nearly 30,000 students pursuing a wide range of degrees, certificates, transfer and other courses of study. LBCCD is a driving force in the local economy, providing over 2,300 local jobs and a commitment to Economic and Workforce Development. LBCCD’s economic activity generates over $2.12 million daily in the region’s economy. The College is also in the middle of a $700 million construction bond program that was approved by local voters.

Valley Economic Development Center (VEDC): VEDC is the largest non-profit small business lender in metro Los Angeles and offers direct micro and small business loans as well as SBA 7(a) and SBA 504 loans. VEDC has over $12 million under management and originates loans totally more than $25 million annually to local businesses. With seven locations throughout the Los Angeles area, VEDC supports the small business owner with the goal of creating and sustaining jobs and businesses in low to moderate income communities by providing high-quality economic development services.

The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. is a global financial services firm. Founded in 1869, the firm is headquartered in New York and maintains offices in London, Frankfurt, Tokyo, Hong Kong and other major financial centers around the world.