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Business Development

Virtual Q & A with SBA Wednesday June 24!

The Small Business Association (SBA) office in Hawai’i has graciously offered a FREE virtual Q & A to cover the topics of the SBA type loans in the CARES Act.  If you have received a grant or loan in the form of a Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) or Economic Injury Disaster Loan or others and have questions about how to use them, what will it cost, terms, what if I don’t want it anymore, etc. tune in next Wednesday. If you haven’t received a loan and are curious if you still can, this is a good place to get your questions answered.

Mary Dale will be discussing: CARES Act, Paycheck Protection Program, Economic Injury Disaster Loan Emergency Advance and new changes to the borrower application form, and a modified loan forgiveness application implementing these legislative amendments to the PPP.

Please see these helpful links and information here, and tune into the Microsoft Meeting on Wednesday June 24 from 10am to 11:30am HST. 

Meeting link here:

Join Microsoft Teams Meeting
+1 202-765-1264 United States, Washington DC (Toll)
Conference ID: 561 769 643#

The meeting will be led by SBA Economic Development Specialist Mary Dale, and SBA Deputy District Director Mark Spain.

About the U.S. Small Business Administration

The U.S. Small Business Administration makes the American dream of business ownership a reality. As the only go-to resource and voice for small businesses backed by the strength of the federal government, the SBA empowers entrepreneurs and small business owners with the resources and support they need to start, grow or expand their businesses, or recover from a declared disaster. It delivers services through an extensive network of SBA field offices and partnerships with public and private organizations. To learn more, visit www.sba.gov

Upcoming Procedures

SBA, in consultation with Treasury, will promptly issue rules and guidance, a modified borrower application form, and a modified loan forgiveness application implementing these legislative amendments to the PPP.  These modifications will implement the following important changes:

Extend the covered period for loan forgiveness from eight weeks after the date of loan disbursement to 24 weeks after the date of loan disbursement, providing substantially greater flexibility for borrowers to qualify for loan forgiveness.  Borrowers who have already received PPP loans retain the option to use an eight-week covered period.

  • Lower the requirements that 75 percent of a borrower’s loan proceeds must be used for payroll costs and that 75 percent of the loan forgiveness amount must have been spent on payroll costs during the 24-week loan forgiveness covered period to 60 percent for each of these requirements. If a borrower uses less than 60 percent of the loan amount for payroll costs during the forgiveness covered period, the borrower will continue to be eligible for partial loan forgiveness, subject to at least 60 percent of the loan forgiveness amount having been used for payroll costs.
  • Provide a safe harbor from reductions in loan forgiveness based on reductions in full-time equivalent employees for borrowers that are unable to return to the same level of business activity the business was operating at before February 15, 2020, due to compliance with requirements or guidance issued between March 1, 2020 and December 31, 2020 by the Secretary of Health and Human Services, the Director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, or the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, related to worker or customer safety requirements related to COVID–19.
  • Provide a safe harbor from reductions in loan forgiveness based on reductions in full-time equivalent employees, to provide protections for borrowers that are both unable to rehire individuals who were employees of the borrower on February 15, 2020, and unable to hire similarly qualified employees for unfilled positions by December 31, 2020.
  • Increase to five years the maturity of PPP loans that are approved by SBA (based on the date SBA assigns a loan number) on or after June 5, 2020.
  • Extend the deferral period for borrower payments of principal, interest, and fees on PPP loans to the date that SBA remits the borrower’s loan forgiveness amount to the lender (or, if the borrower does not apply for loan forgiveness, 10 months after the end of the borrower’s loan forgiveness covered period).
  • In addition, the new rules will confirm that June 30, 2020, remains the last date on which a PPP loan application can be approved.

Giving Tuesday is Happening Next Week – Here’s How you Can Give Locally

Each year the global giving event known as Giving Tuesday occurs on the Tuesday following Thanksgiving – this year Giving Tuesday will be December 3.

Giving Tuesday is meant to encourage citizens to share what they can during the season of giving, and to be more engaged in their community – all good things we can totally support.

Giving Tuesday was “created in 2012 as a simple idea: a day that encourages people to do good.” Over the past seven years, this idea has grown into a global movement that inspires hundreds of millions of people to give, collaborate, and celebrate generosity.

If you have the ability to give this year as an individual or an organization, there are lots of ways to support LOCALLY! There are lots of Member organizations and local community groups that can benefit from financial or physical support. You can also search on the Giving Tuesday website to find other opportunities that might align with your giving needs. Use the search function here to find details about other Hawaii organizations that might benefit from your generosity.

 

Here are some of the Impact Hub HNL Member Non-Profit Organizations you can Support this year for Giving Tuesday:

ALS Foundation of Hawaii: Helping those with ALS live more meaningful lives. Learn more and donate here.

Amnesty International: An important international organization focused on human rights. Support the national organization here and follow the local chapter on Facebook.

Breast Cancer Hawaii: A local organization by and for survivors of breast cancer. They host events, create resources, and publish great content for those looking to get involved in the movement. You can donate time or money here.

Conservation international: One of the largest conservation groups in the world, CI works to protect our most important natural resources here in Hawaii and beyond. Learn more about their Hawaii efforts and donate here.

Dreamhouse Hawaii: A public charter school started by Member Alex Teece (read more about Alex and Dreamhouse here. They are hosting a Holiday Campaign to raise $20,000 to support the school. Support the school here.

Hawaii Women in Filmmaking: Changing the narrative in films and filmmaking, this impactful organization hosts camps and programs for girls and women to get in front of and behind the lens. See how you can contribute here.

Hui Aloha: A volunteer group focused on bringing awareness to houselessness issues in Hawaii. Their campaign Aloha Lives Here helps support the Puʻuhonoua O Waiʻanae village- you can support their work here.

Indivisible Hawaii: Local action against the Trump agenda. Learn more, sign up for events, and donate here.

Kanu Hawaii is a grassroots organization that supports volunteerism around the state, including coordinating the local Volunteer Week each year. Learn more and donate to support their efforts here.

Surfrider Oahu: The local branch of the global Surfrider movement is focused on cleaning our oceans and waterways with their Blue Water Task Force, and supporting businesses with the Ocean Friendly Restaurant Program. Learn how you can support here.

Sustainable Coastlines Hawaii: Donate your time or money to this powerful organization focused on climate change activism and helping us create cleaner oceans and beaches. Learn how you can support here.

Toys for Tots: We are accepting toys and funds for local children ages 0-12 until December 2, 2019. Gifts must be new and unwrapped – drop them in the large box at the Host desk. Cash and Credit donations are accepted at the Host desk.

Thrive Global Hawaii: Thrive Global is a service-based travel organization that gives back to underserved youth. Learn more, donate, and sign up to travel – the first 2020 impact trip is to Bali!

Transform Hawaii Government: Working to advance Hawaii’s government by improving transparency and technology, and streamlining government services for us all. Sign up for their newsletter here.

WorkNow Hawaii: Focused on removing barriers for those living with disabilities, Work Now offers services like cleaning, couriers, and more. Learn how you support them here.

 

 

Stories from the Raise: A Crowdfunding Showcase

Raising funds for your project, business, or launch is an exciting way to gather community support and bring in funds needed for your work. Crowdfunding allows everyone to support projects they love – promoting good work and democratizing investment for the 99%.

A few weeks ago we hosted a Crowdfunding Showcase to share some of the stories from local companies and organizations that have raised funds (or are currently raising funds) for their projects. There were brief presentations from the participating organizations, a panel discussion, and a time for Q&A.

Here are some takeaways from the presenters and their projects:

It takes a village, says Jim Murphy of Honolulu Habitat for Humanity.

Habitat for Humanity is a nonprofit housing developer committed to improving communities by increasing homeownership opportunities. They work with families and communities to build and repair homes and provides a zero interest mortgage. In addition, they work with the communities they serve to provide volunteer opportunities supporting the mission’s work. Their goal is to build 40 single family homes in the next 5 years. They have tried crowdfunding unsuccessfully in the past, and are looking forward to more strategic campaigns in the future. Jim said some of his crowdfunding efforts were ‘cautionary tales.’

Keep momentum going through the whole campaign. Plan ahead.

Mia Moore, is a local student that was just accepted into the Interlochen Arts Academy starting Fall 2019. This prestigious school has high tuition costs, and she’s raising funds on Go Fund Me to cover her school fees. She is currently at ~$4300 of her $28,000 goal.

Crowdfunding builds community, not just funds.

James Koshiba is volunteer co-founder of Hui Aloha and the Aloha Lives Here Campaign, which has been created to give Puuhonua O Waianae a permanent home. The campaign combines crowdfunding, major donors, and in-kind contributions to enable POW to acquire land and add permanent structures to what is already a model village community. Funding will also allow the village to test innovative technologies in housing, water, waste management, and agriculture. It will also enable the village to continue their outreach to other houseless communities, and provide lessons in modern-day village-building across Hawaii and beyond.

Innovate, but you don’t always have to reinvent the wheel.

David Aquino, is Blue Planet Foundation’s Creative Director, and has helped to grow their unique energy efficiency loan program called WeEfficiency. The program raises funds from the community for non-profits or schools to cover energy efficiency upgrades. These upgrades can be costly at the offset, but energy savings can be huge. With the money they save, they can pay back their donors and do more good work for their communities.

Don’t be afraid to get started.

Sarah “Mili” Milianta-Laffin is a 7th grade teacher at the STEM Lab at Ilima Intermediate in Ewa Beach, Campbell/Kapolei Complex. Prior to teaching in Ewa Beach, she taught for 11 years in Houston, Texas. Sarah is a DonorsChoose Ambassador, personally earning over $15,000 in supplies for her students from DonorsChoose since 2007. She talked about how amazing the program is, and how it makes it easy for her to fund the things she needs to make her classroom a great place for her students and student groups.

Give back to your supporters.

We also heard from Nam Vu, co-founder of Impact Hub and ‘chief geeky officer.’ Nam talked about our experience with Wefunder, and why we chose this program for our investment campaign. Nam says that, “We chose Wefunder because it aligns with our community building focus and enables our community to invest in our success was well as benefit from our success.”

Thanks to all of those that presented at the event!

A Message from our Cofounder, Nam Vu, about our Wefunder Campaign

Those who know me closely know that I have a deep seated desire to help people that came out of my search for the meaning in life during my contemplative days in high school. I’ve always looked for ways to leave this world better than I found it and have been involved in various service activities. After a while, adulthood set in and service took a back seat to creating a comfortable life with the goal of one day having enough comfort to be able to dedicate service as a full time endeavor.

Then came Impact Hub Honolulu. Being a part of Impact Hub Honolulu has provided me with the opportunity to be of service and at the same time build a sustainable and thriving business. It is that dream that I think many of us have but didn’t think could be possible. At Impact Hub we can do well while doing good. It is possible.

We want to spread this message far and wide and help everyone do well while doing good. We recognize that it is much more difficult to think about and act on your intentions to do good in the world when you are struggling with rent and bills. Our approach is to help everyone to do well so that we can all do good and change the world.

By providing a place where our members can focus on their work and leaving the facilities needs to us, by providing mentorship and learning opportunities to grow their practice, by providing opportunities to join us in doing good, we hope to enable our members to make their own social impact; to democratize the work of social impact and put in in the hands of everyone to do their small share.

To help us spread this message, our plan is to build a network of 11 Impact Hubs across Hawaii to create a network of social entrepreneurs in Hawaii who join the over 15,000 social entrepreneurs that are already in the Impact Hub network, the largest network of social entrepreneurs in the world.

Today we publicly launch our Wefunder campaign to raise funds for our expansion plans. This is an investment NOT a donation. You will receive your money back through a revenue share plus a return. There is an early bird special for the first $125,000 invested.

We chose Wefunder because it aligns with our community building focus and enables our community to invest in our success was well as benefit from our success.

Please take a look and share widely. Together we can make change.

 

Announcing our 2019 Impact Partners

Impact Hub HNL is fortunate to partner with select local businesses to help make a bigger impact in our community.

Impact Hubs worldwide are united in the commitment to make social impact in the community, and locally we are grateful for the support of our 2019 Impact Partners.

These companies have demonstrated their support for the growing entrepreneurial and small business community in Honolulu. All Impact Partners are dedicated to bettering Hawaii through their thoughtful business actions.

Our Impact Partner Circle serves as a valuable advisory council that provides sponsorship of events and memberships, strategic insights, and thought leadership for the Impact Hub HNL community. We are proud to announce continued partnership with the following organizations: :

airbnb

Airbnb is a homeshare and experience app that helps create a world of global citizens. With 4,500,000 listings in over 65,000 cities in 191 countries, Airbnb offers the widest variety of unique spaces for rent, whether you want a room, a house, a boat, a tent, or a castle (along with offering other awesome experiences.)

airbnb’s work supports the following SDGs:

American Savings Bank

American Savings Bank is one of the primary financial institutions in the state of Hawaii, and have been serving Hawaii’s businesses and communities since 1925. ASB provides a full range of financial products and services, including business and consumer banking, home loans, insurance and investments.

We’ve partnered with ASB for many events at Impact Hub HNL that help grow financial literacy in the community, including the free public event entitled Building Community with Women Entrepreneurs that aims to build communication and connection between female entrepreneurs and freelancers in our community.

ASB’s work supports the following SDGs:

Elemental Excelerator

One of the leading cleantech incubators in the world, Elemental Excelerator is committed to deploying solutions that make direct impacts on our energy and water usage across the state and throughout the Asia-Pacific region. They work in partnership with the Emerson Collective’s Elemental platform, which is focused on balancing the needs of humanity and nature by supporting scalable, equitable, and innovative solutions.

Elemental Excelerator’s work supports the following SDGs:

Hawaii Investment Ready

Hawaii Investment Ready (HIR) is an accelerator program designed to help Hawaii businesses thrive. Their statewide peer-to-peer learning program has been created to support the sustainability of island social enterprises so that they can scale their businesses in Hawaii and beyond.

HIR’s work supports the following SDGs:

simplicityHR by Altres

ALTRES Staffing is Hawaii’s largest staffing and recruiting company, with seven offices across the state, and simplicityHR by ALTRES serves as the human resources “back office” for more than 2,200 local businesses. For nearly 50 years, they have been Hawaii’s #1 HR outsourcing company and is ranked as one of Hawaii’s Best Places to Work.

Altres’ work supports the following SDGs:

Ulupono

Ulupono Initiative is a local non-profit that invests in a more sustainable Hawaii. Founded by eBay founder Pierre Omidiyar. Ulupono seeks to invest in and help grow local organizations involved in clean/renewable energy, diversified agriculture, and waste-to-energy management – choosing to invest in projects that have high potential for creating large-scale social impact. They invest in companies focused on improving the local energy, food, water, and waste sectors.

Ulupono’s work supports the following SDGs:

Investment Crowdfunding: Democratizing Investment for the 99%

Crowdfunding is a type of financial support that allows curious or excited individuals to pledge money to companies, people, or products that spark interest. And that interest is BROAD: the world of crowdfunding is incredibly diverse and has garnered some very interesting spinoffs, like equity and debt crowdfunding.

Crowdfunding became really popular about a decade ago: Indiegogo launched in 2007 and the other large platform, Kickstarter, launched in 2009. In the decade or so since, there has been a constant flow of campaigns and projects supporting projects both big and small. Some of the most successful campaigns have brought in hundreds millions of dollars, everything from cryptocurrencies, consumer technology, food, smart home items, and games.

Indiegogo and Kickstarter are the two most popular examples of rewards-based crowdfunding. In this type of crowdfunding, consumers will give funds in exchange for a reward, usually the product or service that’s being funding. This allows savvy consumers to give direct support to companies and products that have great promise, and ensures that they are early adopters of cool technology.

In 2017, Impact Hub HNL launched its first crowdfunding campaign on Indiegogo to raise scholarship funds for local groups and organizations who needed financial support. In the campaign the community contributed over $10,000, and we able to provide scholarships for 35 memberships, events, and programs, proving that crowdfunding can be a powerful tool for increasing equity.


Another type of fundraising is donation-based crowdfunding, which doesn’t ask for a return product or service. This includes sites like GoFundMe and Crowdrise, which often people use to raise money for themselves and their friends in need.

One of the biggest changes to the crowdfunding world came in 2015 with new rules that updated the Obama-era JOBS Act. This new ruling created exceptions to US securities and investment laws to allow anyone – not just accredited investors (ie: those with $1million net worth) – to become investors: thus, the creation of equity crowdfunding.

Equity crowdfunding allows ‘investors’ to give money to a company in exchange for shares, even if it’s just a small percentage. This created a huge shift in the investment world, and continues to democratize investment for the other 99%. Some examples of equity crowdfunding sites include SeedInvest, WeFunder, CircleUp, and StartEngine.

Another shift was the creation of Debt Crowdfunding (also known as peer-to-peer lending, or P2P lending). This model allows non-accredited investors to support individuals or businesses with direct financing. Examples of these sites include Prosper and LendingClub. These sites offer people a funding route that is not tied to banks, and gives investors an opportunity to support people and projects and earn money in return for their investment.

One of the most exciting things about both equity and debt crowdfunding is that they generate real results for both the investor and company. Debt crowdfunding can bring in returns of about 7%, which is on par with traditional investments. Equity crowdfunding can get startups off the ground with significant capital without the hassle of investors taking over the day-to-day of the company, it can be a great way to build a base of supporters, and offers a range of other benefits.

Of course, with any venture of this sort, it’s good to ensure that the company or product you are investing in (or supporting) has a good track record, is poised for successful delivery of product, or has good projections for return on investment. Any equity crowdfunding platform requires due diligence for the companies to be hosted on site, but it’s always good to do your own research before using your money. WeFunder explains that, “Startups either win big or go bankrupt. You could lose all your money. Consider them more like socially-good lottery tickets.”

Beyond just getting a cool, early-adopter product or receiving a good return on investment, crowdfunding is really a way to vote with your dollars for the world that you wish you see. This democratization of investment is key to building a world beyond traditional investment structures – most of which exclude women, people of color, lower income and otherwise marginal investors.

Voting with your dollars, whether for a product, service, or investment, allows you to expand your social impact and support businesses that align with your core values, which is has the potential for huge social, financial, and economic impact – something we can definitely support!