HMFI’s Annual Holiday Drive
By Emma Ladouceur (MSB ’21)
This semester had a variety of outreach events with Community Development Organizations, local markets, small business fairs and more. Outreach is a core part of HMFI’s mission in serving small business owners in the DMV area; it is an opportunity to meet clients face to face, listen to their dreams, and help them their reach goals. This semester involved particularly inspiring work with EWI (Empowered Women’s International); I had the opportunity to work with female entrepreneurs who are looking to start a business in the DMV area. While the help we give is often monetary, I saw that even advice on how to reorganize a pitch or advice on public speaking was so appreciated. Through outreach, we have the opportunity to work with clients from when their business is simply an idea to when they are getting loans to expand their businesses. The enthusiasm of HMFI members on outreach draws clients to the organization. Next semester Client Recruitment plans to offer more options and increasingly diverse types of events so that each member can find their niche and look for clients. As Head of Outreach within HMFI’s Client Recruitment Department, I hope to get people going on outreach more than once, allowing them to meet other HMFI members across departments, as well as gaining a greater appreciation of how important outreach is to achieve our final goal of giving a loan. The pipeline derives so much value from the enthusiasm of each member on outreach who is focusing on sharing the goal and benefits HMFI strives to offer.