Happy Holidays from All of Us at Accompany Capital

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December 20, 2021

Dear Friends,

While 2021 was another challenging year, in spite of the ongoing pandemic and the hard work it's taken to make sure all our clients are supported, we are nonetheless full of gratitude.

That gratitude not only extends to our incredible team, our Board, our funders, and our supportive partners but also to our clients, who have shown amazing resiliency and resourcefulness through this crisis as well as - like all New Yorkers - a strong sense of community.

We realized quickly in 2020 that refugees were among the hardest hit by the health - and economic - crisis and created an Emergency Relief Fund for Refugees to help them get through those hard first months. This year, as New York got back to business, we created a Refugee Seed Money Grant Fund to provide the working capital refugees need to launch - and grow - a new business.

Please scroll down to see our news and our upcoming free webinars for small business owners, but please also consider - for your end of year giving - a contribution to our Refugee Seed Money Grant Fund to help refugees - our new neighbors - contribute to New York's once again thriving economy and rich cultural fabric.

To contribute, click here.

Best regards for a safe and joyous holiday season and a prosperous New Year.

Yanki Tshering

The Return of the Jackson Heights Momo Crawl

After skipping a year due to the pandemic, this fall, the Jackson Heights Momo Crawl was back! As a proud long-time sponsor, we were very pleased to see that over 1000 people enjoyed delicious Momos as well as Art, Dance, and Music highlighting the lively Himalayan community in Queens. Thanks to organizer Jeff Orlick, to participating Accompany Capital clients Nepali Bhanchha Ghar, Momo Crave, Gorkhal Restaurant, & Delhi Heights Restaurant & Bar, and to everyone who came and made it such a fun day!

Click for more

photo of Butcher Girls Co. by Todd Leibler

Expanding our Services to Women-owned Businesses in New York City

We are very pleased to announce that Accompany Capital has received a grant of $175,000 from the Empire State Development Corporation that will allow us to expand our services to women-owned businesses in New York City. Nearly half of the loans made by Accompany Capital have gone to women-owned businesses: to date, we have provided $15,400,000 in financing to 2,080 women entrepreneurs. In FY 2021, alone, we were able to assist, through financing or other services, a total of 300 women-owned businesses. We also sponsored a business pitch competition – Take Off Now – in which 135 women competed for $32,000 in cash awards.

(photo by Todd Liebler) Click to read more

The State of Refugee Entrepreneurship Summit: Focusing on the Entrepreneurs

The fourth annual summit of the Centre for Entrepreneurs Refugee Entrepreneurship Network – a global community focused on increasing the scale and impact of refugee entrepreneurship programs – was held in October, with over 60 participants attending the virtual sessions. It’s a summit we look forward to each year as fellow practitioners, philanthropic foundations, researchers, academics, corporations, investors, and – importantly – a growing number of refugee entrepreneurs gather for dynamic conversations in an exciting, collegial forum.

Click to read more

Accompany Capital Webinars

For information about any of our webinars, please contact Tshering Gurung at tgurung@accompanycapital.org or 347-730-6468

All times are EST

Cash Handling for Small Businesses

Wednesday, January 12

3:00 – 4:00 PM

This webinar will address how to make sure that cash transactions don’t prevent you from tracking the financial information your business needs.

Presenter: Ian McDermott, Financial Program Manager, Start Small Think Big, Inc.

This workshop is provided in partnership with Start Small Think Big and sponsored by Wells Fargo.

Commercial Lease Assistance Legal Clinics

Friday, January 14

10:00 AM – 1:00 PM

Tuesday, February 15

4:00 PM – 6:00 PM

Are you a NYC small business owner? If your business needs help with a commercial lease issue, you may be eligible for free legal services.

The Commercial Lease Assistance Program (CLA) program provides free legal representation in connection with commercial leases to underserved, small business owners who otherwise cannot afford counsel.

At our clinic, you will meet with the attorneys for a free 1:1 consultation to discuss any issues with your commercial lease. If you are in the process of signing a new lease, attorneys can review your lease and advise you.

These clinics are provided in partnership with Queens Chamber of Commerce, Office of New York City Council District 25. and sponsored by Brooklyn Legal Services Corporation A and SBS

Your appointment will be for 30 minutes. We will contact you to schedule your appointment once you register for the date you prefer.

Managing Your Books

Wednesday, January 19

2:00 - 3:30 PM

This webinar is for small business and startup owners who need to take a more active role in their financial success. It will include an overview of the tools you need to implement the budgeting and bookkeeping methodology that will result in a sound financial foundation for your business.

We will discuss the meaning behind financial statements, and how you can use these documents to evaluate the health of your business and plan for future growth.

Topics will include:

Selecting a Bookkeeping Software
Setting up Chart of Accounts
How to separate personal and business finances
The role of a bookkeeper vs accountant
Good bookkeeping practices for different business entities
Understanding Financial Reports

Presenter: Paul Rosenblum, Numerex Services, Small Business Consultant, Professional Bookkeeper, a QuickBooks Certified Proadvisor

This workshop is provided in partnership with Queens Chambers of Commerce and sponsored by HSBC Bank.

Quick Books Level 1 - Part 1

Tuesday, February 1

2:00 - 5:00 PM

Part 1 of this 2-part webinar for small business owners who are new to QuickBooks. The webinar will introduce you to the basics and demonstrate how to use QuickBooks to manage your business finances. You'll learn how to:

Set up your company accounts
Set up vendor and customer accounts
Manage accounts receivable& accounts payable
Pay bills
Make credit and debit card entries

Presenter: Paul Rosenblum, Numerex Services, Small Business Consultant, Professional Bookkeeper, a QuickBooks Certified Proadvisor

This workshop is provided in partnership with Queens Chambers of Commerce and sponsored by Capital One.

Quick Books Level 1 - Part 2

Wednesday, February 2

2:00 PM- 5:00 PM

Part 2 of this 2-part webinar for small business owners who are new to QuickBooks. The webinar will introduce you to the basics and demonstrate how to use QuickBooks to manage your business finances. You'll learn how to:

Set up your company accounts
Set up vendor and customer accounts
Manage accounts receivable& accounts payable
Pay bills
Make credit and debit card entries

Presenter: Paul Rosenblum, Numerex Services, Small Business Consultant, Professional Bookkeeper, a QuickBooks Certified Proadvisor

This workshop is provided in partnership with Queens Chambers of Commerce and sponsored by Capital One.

Quick Books Level 2

Wednesday, February 9

2:00 PM- 5:00 PM

QuickBooks Level 2 Class is for small business owners who are already familiar with - or using - QuickBooks Online. You'll learn about:

Job casting and how to track reimbursements of expenses incurred by the company
Running - and customizing - reports
Memorizing transactions and reports
Online banking
Budgets for P&L

Presenter: Paul Rosenblum, Numerex Services, Small Business Consultant, Professional Bookkeeper, a QuickBooks Certified Proadvisor

This workshop is provided in partnership with Queens Chambers of Commerce and sponsored by Wells Fargo.

Commercial Lease Assistance Program

Thursday, February 10

2:00 - 3:00 PM

Are you an NYC small business owner? If your business needs help with a commercial lease issue, you may be eligible for free legal services.

At this virtual event, you will receive information from a representative from Brooklyn Legal A (BKA) team about the Commercial Lease Assistance (CLA) Program, a walk-through about how to access the services, and a free 1:1 consultation with the attorneys.

Presenter: Aashna Singh, Commercial Lease Assistance Program, Brooklyn Legal Services Corporation A.

This workshop is provided in partnership with The Queens Chamber of Commerce and the Office of New York City Council District 25, and sponsored by Brooklyn Legal Services Corporation A and SBS.

Where’s the Money? Financing Your Small Business in 2022

Wednesday, February 16

2:00 - 3:00 PM

The past two years have brought rapid changes to small business lending. Financing options are expanding again, and there are more choices than ever to fund your small business. For the business owner, it can be overwhelming. Who is lending? How do you find financing for your new or established business?

In this webinar, you will learn about various financing options, the crucial factors lenders use to evaluate applicants, and the steps you can take to position your business for financing. You will also learn about Accompany Capital's loan program, which has provided over $41M in loans to NYC micro and small businesses."

Presenters: Gerri Detweiler, Education Consultant, NAV & Tshering Gurung, Senior Manager of Business Development and Training at Accompany Capital

This workshop is provided in partnership with Queens Chambers of Commerce and sponsored by the Office of New York City Council District 25.