Starbucks introduced on Monday the "Create Jobs for USA" fund in partnership with Opportunity Finance Network (OFN), a group of private financial institutions that provide affordable loans to low-income people and communities.Schultz called small business an engine for job growth that has stalled and said entrepreneurs must have access to credit so they can hire again.
The new jobs fund announced on Monday will be seeded with a $5 million donation from the Starbucks Foundation. As of November 1, the fund will accept donations at CreateJobsforUSA.org and at the roughly 6,800 company-owned Starbucks cafes in the United States. Donors who give $5 or more will get a wristband inscribed with the word "Indivisible." Moody's Analytics Chief Economist Mark Zandi said the fund will be helpful to small businesses having difficulty securing loans in a tough economic climate. Starbucks, which is covering OFN's administrative expenses and the cost of making the U.S-made wristbands, said every $5 donation to "Create Jobs for USA" will generate $35 in financing for small businesses, nonprofit groups, commercial real estate projects and affordable housing.
OFN Chief Executive Mark Pinsky said the group's network of Community Development Financial Institutions (CDFIs) has been making as many loans as possible during the current recession, which has cost one in six American workers their jobs.
"Our hope is that this will help kick-start a whole different attitude about what's possible," said Pinsky, who added that his group's CDFI loan portfolios are healthy.
Starbucks earned $945.6 million for the fiscal year ended October 2, 2010, according to financial filings. At that time, the Seattle-based company had about 107,000 U.S. employees.
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