National Economic Opportunity Fund

NEOF President Provides Congressional Testimony in Support of The Veterans Corporation

Wednesday, April 25th, 2007 (Washington, D.C.) James Mingey, President & CEO of the National Economic Opportunity Fund (NEOF), provided Congressional testimony yesterday on behalf of The Veterans Corporation (TVC). Mr. Mingey was invited by the House Committee on Appropriations, Subcommittee on Commerce, Justice, Science, and Related Agencies to discuss his opinion regarding TVC’s programs for Veteran and Service Disabled Veteran entrepreneurs. Mr. Mingey testified that, “Over 300,000 members of the armed forces will exit this year; and unfortunately, there will be many new Service Disabled Veterans before the end of conflict in Iraq and Afghanistan. The need for a complete set of entrepreneurial programs from TVC is needed now, more than ever”

Mr. Mingey went on to discuss the Access to Capital program, a public/private partnership between NEOF and TVC that provides help desk services for Veteran entrepreneurs. He stated that “the core of TVC’s Access to Capital program is building and maintaining a set of relationships with lenders such as ACCION USA that are creating specialized loan programs for veterans… The theory is simple, when someone asks for help, you help them, whether its reviewing their business plan, talking to a bank for them, or just giving them friendly advice and encouragement.” Mr. Mingey later said, “As my relationship with TVC developed, I realized that a link between Veterans and communities could be a win-win situation for all involved. I could use my company’s existing business incubation framework to assist Veteran entrepreneurs, while at the same time; I could direct strong businesses towards emerging communities. Now, we have developed a specialized program that promotes entrepreneurial activities among Veterans and combines the efforts of Veteran-Owned Businesses with the larger goals of community development”

Mr. Mingey also discussed TVC’s other programs, including efforts in Veteran entrepreneurship education and the TVC surety bonding program, which provides a three step fully mentored process to secure the bonding they need on government contracts.

Mr. Mingey finished by stating that “TVC’s leadership has made extraordinary progress in support of the broad scope of issues facing Veteran Entrepreneurs. While embracing the already existing community network, TVC is providing critical support in dealing with the real obstacles facing Veteran Entrepreneur growth.”

To read Mr. Mingey’s full testimony online, CLICK HERE.

The National Economic Opportunity Fund (www.neof.com) is a community development financial intermediary, which has developed a specialized, public-private franchise model focused on accelerating economic development by working through Women, Minority, Veteran, and Service Disabled Veteran owned businesses. To accomplish this goal, NEOF has aligned local community development interests with the forces of national advocates such as the Business Roundtable, the Minority Business Roundtable, and the National Community Reinvestment Coalition.

The National Veterans Business Development Corporation (www.veteranscorp.org), doing business as The Veterans Corporation, is a Federally-chartered 501(c)(3) organization that was created by Public Law 106-50, the Veterans Entrepreneurship and Small Business Development Act of 1999. This Act recognized that America “has done too little to assist Veterans…in playing a greater role in the economy of the United States." The Corporation is charged with creating and enhancing entrepreneurial business opportunities for Veterans, including Service-Disabled Veterans.