Spring 2011: All Things New and Growing - Programs, Borrowers, and More

Spring is almost here, and with it the promise of warmer days and more vibrant scenery. Fittingly, this issue is focused on the "new" and "growing," so read on to learn about our growing Business Education Program, and new developments and publicity for Bridgeway Capital and our borrowers.

As our 20-year anniversary winds down, we are grateful for the support of our funders, partners, and friends that help us work toward our mission of a thriving region for all in western Pennsylvania. Thank you, and happy reading!

Business Education - A Helping Hand

Starter Blessings Child Care

For the past year, we have tested, refined, and grown our Business Education Program to meet the needs of our small business borrowers in three main areas: financial management, marketing, and business planning.

As part of our program expansion, we formed a Business Education Team to provide coaching, training, networking, educational resources, grant opportunities, and more for our borrowers. Led by our Business Education Coordinator Eileen Gallagher, our team provided over 6,000 hours of assistance to 103 unique small business borrowers in the last year at no or very low cost:

Financial Management - 2,769 hours
Marketing - 1,599 hours
Business Planning - 1,555 hours

In only 12 months, we have seen borrowers recover and grow after a period of hardship, improve their cash flow and budgets, develop strategies designed to increase sales and promotion, and more. Meet the Team and Educational Partners!

Christin Bummer, owner of K9 Kingdom, has partipated in the program for over a year. "Working with the Business Education Program at Bridgeway...has been a really great way to zero in on working on the business, and figuring out how to improve the bottom line with some professional guidance and feedback that would otherwise be very costly or unattainable." (Read K9 Kingdom's impact story here.)

Borrower Highlights

The Shelton Trade Center, located in Steve Shelton

Wilkinsburg, is attracting publicity for its good work! The Center is focused on helping non-college bound individuals, former inmates, and others have the chance to develop skills in the trades; making them employable, and giving them a chance to increase their earning potential. In 2010, the Center enrolled 54 students and helped 9 graduates obtain employment. Check out the segment on WQED's Pittsburgh 360, watch the Center's new documentary, and read the impact story on our website to learn more!

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4915 Penn green roof inter*ARCHITECTURE, an architectural design center located on 4915 Penn Avenue in Garfield, is the latest winner of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette's Renovation Inspiration Contest, in the large project category, for creative rethinking of a commercial space. Owned by Jennifer Lucchino and Freddie Croce, the three-story building has a 400 sq. ft. "green" roof planted with dozens of sedum, a two-story living room, an open floor plan, and a downstairs LEED-CI Gold-certified office space. Read the Post-Gazette article here.

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Joe Santelli, owner of residential safety glass manufacturer Santelli Tempered Glass in Monessen, is the Pennsylvania state winner of the SBA Small Business Person of the Year award! In four years, the company has hired 51 full-time employees, increased its sales by more than 800 percent, and opened two additional facilities in Florida and Indiana, which will employ a total of 66 workers by 2013.

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Our borrowers are hitting the airwaves! Many borrowers have been featured recently on The American Entrepreneur radio show with Ron Morris. Click the links below for the radio segment.

Allegra Pittsburgh, a printing and marketing company located in Crafton (Dave Jones)
Barretta's Hair Designs, a hair salon in Bethel Park (Heather and Jim Kingsley)
MetaFitness (Parallax Health), a fitness/health/wellness management consultant services business (Paula Franetti)

What's New? with Bridgeway Capital

Annual Report Update

Our online FY 2010 annual report is almost complete, so watch for an e-mail announcement linking to the publication in the coming weeks! In the meantime, check out our website for the following information:

In the News

Mark Peterson interviewed on Our Region's Business with Bill Flanagan on WPXI (watch the segment here)
Mark Peterson interviewed on The American Entrepreneur radio show with Ron Morris (listen to segment here)
Q&A advertorial with City Paper's Twenty magazine, celebrating 20 years of impact (page 4)

Welcome!

We'd like to welcome our newest Bridgeway Capital staff members, Leah Bender and Jim Taibi. Leah Bender was hired as Loan Assistant, and previously worked as a writer for Bridgeway Capital before transitioning to this position. Jim Taibi brings 25 years of experience in credit underwriting, portfolio management, commercial lending and international banking to his new position as Senior Credit Analyst; Portfolio Manager.

Thank you for reading, and we appreciate your time and support. Contact Liz Gage with questions or comments about the newsletter. If you know any small businesses or nonprofits in need of financing, please give us a call at 412.201.2450 or visit our website.