WHAT’S NEW

Executive Staff Transition

In 2013, Hilltop MicroFinance Initiative will be pushing forward many new projects that strengthen our mission to serve the local community through promoting financial inclusion.  The new executive team is thrilled to build on the strong legacy that Alex, Craig and Alissa have achieved and lead HMFI to become a stronger student-run nonprofit organization. We would like to express our greatest gratitude to the previous executive team for their inspiring work in the past year and continued support to ensure that the transition would make the organization sustainable. With 30 staff members in 5 different departments, we believe that HMFI is ready to take on more commitments and deliver better products and services to DC’s low income clients.

Client Update – Mariam

Recently, Education and Consulting has been coaching Mariam Hamid, one of our star clients. Mariam runs the Serenity Spa and Salon in Fairfax, VA, where she delivers quality service using Aveda care products. For the past five years, however, Miriam has struggled to turn a steady profit and has invested thousands of dollars to keep her business afloat. Our coaches quickly determined that a few bad Yelp! reviews had damaged her reputation and she needed to implement an aggressive marketing campaign to turn a profit. For the past month, we have helped her construct and implement her own marketing campaign, which targets students and hospitals in the surrounding area. Already, there have been signs of success and we look forward to continuing to work with her!

HMFI Client Receives City Grant

We were introduced to Keith Jarrell through the Washington D.C. Office of the Deputy Mayor for Planning and Economic Development (DMPED). Keith is a talented interior designer who was looking to open a showroom and design consultation practice in D.C. Keith, like many entrepreneurs that HMFI assists, had a terrific vision for his business. What he didn’t have was the business and technical experience that he needed to couch his vision in terms that formal financial institutions could understand. HMFI’s Education and Consulting team provided strategy consultation and market analysis advice for Keith. At the culmination of these strategic planning sessions, HMFI helped Keith to write a business plan, a marketing plan, and a grant proposal to submit to the city. We just received word a few weeks ago that Keith received $85,000 in funding from the DMPED! Keith told us: “You are very much responsible for the approval, your hard work and expert approach to putting it together made all the difference.”