Seed Money Grants

Seed Money Grants
Used by applicants to initiate a small business, begin job training or start other projects that will enhance financial self-reliance.

Applications, along with brochures on how to start a business, are available in the Self Help, Inc. office. Grants are small, usually not exceeding $1,000, and are provided on a one-time basis.
Articles on Seed Money Recipients: -Geronimo's Wildfire Salsa -Margarita's Cakes
	*Self Help Seed Money Recipient Makes Good (Salsa)*
(Photo by Askme Graphics LLC. copyright 2004)		www.PuebloProducts.com
Article from Los Alamos Monitor By Kelly LeVan Dated February, 2004

Jerome Martinez' business is taking off after receiving a grant from Self Help

"I started in the salsa business to raise money for Renee" said Jerome Martinez, speaking of his sister, Renee Roybal. Fifty cents of every jar of Geronimo's Wildfire Salsa Martinez sells goes towards Roybal's medical expenses as she recovers from her Oct. 11, 2002 heart transplant. Not bad, considering he's selling approximately 15 cases, or about 180 jars, each month, thanks to a supportive push from Self Help, Inc. Martinez is the group's most recent recipient. I used to use my own mason jars and print my own labels. It was taking me seven hours to make four cases, and it was getting costly," Martinez said. Now his labels and test batches are made at Food Processors of New Mexico, much more efficiently, and his salsa is being sold at, among other places, Smith's, Cooking in Style, Allied Foods, Ottowi Station Bookstore, David's Barbershop and Phillips 66 (at the bottom of the hill). This year he plans on selling at the Los Alamos, Santa Fe and Taos Framers' Markets as well. Martinez met with Self Help in November on the advice of Liz Thompson, of the Small Business Development Center in Los Alamos, and began the approval process. In this case, the process involved bringing his business plan and other relevant information to the board, which then review his case and a board meeting and approved his grant in January. Self Help, a United Way agency, has been offering grant and client advocacy to northerner New Mexico entrepreneurs and families since Social Ministry of Bethlehem Lutheran Church founded the organization in 1969. It presently serves about 1,200-1,500 people from Los Alamos, Taos, Santa Fe, and Rio Arriba counties per year. Longtime board member Jim Little said that one of the main goals of Self Help is to provide small, one-time grants (called "seed money," because originally, Self Help was created to buy nursery stock and seedlings for local gardeners) to establish "cottage industries", the group assists potters, wood workers, and cabinet makers, provides grants for education and generally "covers a wide breath of ways people can develop means to support themselves." Little, said, "It's sort of 'teach and person to fish, instead of just giving them a fish." Ellen Morris, who has been the director of Self Help for three and a half years, emphasizes that is offers more than just financial answers to client needs. "We meet with families and individuals and help them sort out root causes - legal problems, transportation problems. Morris said that
Jane Clements, organizer of the Empty Bowls Project that donates proceeds to Self Help, said she was encouraged by how many former recipients of Self Help grants have donated to the auction, to be held in March in Fuller Lodge.	transportation is a concern for many of her clients, and that the community has been generous in donating cars. "For our clients that can't get to work," she said, "a donated car makes all the difference." Self Help also offers a volunteer-run "school supply fund," which aids in affording classroom educational equipment and learning supplies, and also school supplies for individual families.
Martinez is one of the many success stories. Jane Clements, organizer of the Empty Bowls Project that donates proceeds to Self Help, said she was encouraged by how many former recipients of Self Help grants have donated to the auction, to be held in March in Fuller Lodge. It's amazing," Clements said, "Including [Martinez], we have six seed money recipients donating."
Martinez is not only a salsa entrepreneur; he is also a fire fighter with the forest service and, like his great grandmother, the potter Maria Martinez, he is an artist. He has donated three paintings to the Empty Bowls auction.
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Soup's on -- and cake too -- thanks to Self Help grant
Article from Los Alamos Monitor By Kelly LeVan Dated March 5, 2006
Residents of Española have known for years whom to call when they need an elaborate layered cake for their daughters' quinciñeras coming-of-age parties celebrated in many families when a girl turns fifteen - or biscochitos, tres leches cake, banana bread or pecan pie, for that matter for any occasion or none at all. But now, with a seed money grant from Self Help Inc., Margarita Carlson is taking her baking to the next level. A $1,500 grant will allow her to purchase supplies and tools to bake more and even better from her home-based family business. "We like to help people get a good start," said Ellen Morris, director of Self Help. Part of the push is financial, but not all of it. While her recipes are perfected and her customer base loyal, Carlson acknowledges there are still many details of running a business she doesn't know. Along with the seed money, Self Help also connected her with the Small Business Center and its class, "Developing a Successful Business Plan." The training seminar helps its participants with market analysis, marketing, sales and financial questions as they clarify how their businesses will operate. "She needs to learn New Mexico rules and regulations, how to make a profit, set pricing and keep good records," said Joyce Nickols, a board member at Self Help. "Part of our plan for success is making sure she has the best chance." Carlson first found out about Self Help while she was employed by Aspen Ridge making desserts. A client, who happened to be a founding board member when the organization formed in 1969, recommended it to her. At first, she said, she was a little hesitant. "I¹d had a bad experience trying to get funding from another organization in the past," she said. "But the first day I talked to Ellen (Morris), I knew she was going to help me." Carlson will be helping Self Help out next month by participating in the Empty Bowls Project, to be held from 11 a.m.-2 p.m. March 18 at Fuller Lodge. She will offer her baked goods to attendees of the event, which typically draws hundreds. In fact, because of the high turnout at last year¹s project, Morris said this year Self Help will expand the dining space to include an outdoor tent, and move the accompanying auction to the Pararito Room. Empty Bowls is an annual fundraiser for Self Help where for a $10 donation, community members purchase a handmade bowl designed and painted by local artists, youth groups and other interested parties and fill it with soup or chili prepared by local cooks, some from restaurants and some from private homes. Members of Bethlehem Lutheran Church always contribute their time and recipes to the event, as do the Boy Scouts, Girl Scouts and several other community organizations. Last year¹s event sold 500 bowls and raised around $14,000 for Self Help Inc., surpassing its goal of $12,000. Self Help Inc. is a nonprofit United Way agency that assists individuals and families in Taos, Rio Arriba, northern Santa Fe and Los Alamos counties with utilities, firewood, medical payments and a variety of additional needs. It aims to cut short the cycle of poverty by helping people become more self-reliant through programs like Seed Money. For more information, call Self Help at 662-4666. For desserts, call Margarita's Cakes at (505) 753-6828.

*Self Help, Inc. Contact Information*
Ellen Morris Executive Director 2390 North Road Los Alamos, NM 87544 Please call for an appointment.	PH: 505-662-4666 FAX: 505-662-0462 E-MAIL: lash @ qwest.net HOURS: Mon-Fri, 9a.m.-4p.m. Se habla Espanol.