Fund 17 empowers to turn hustles into sustainable livelihoods

Fund 17 Brand. Credit: Tyler Gindraux

An unmarked building sits on the corner of St. Philip and Broad Street, nestled between homes and small businesses. Few know how in this brick box, Fund 17 has enriched the lives of countless locals, many of whom run informal bakeries and herb gardens but are ignored by banks and Chambers of Commerce.

Founded in 2012, Fund 17 offers development services to these “micro-entrepreneurs”: small business owners who struggle to turn their ideas into sustainable livelihoods. Fund 17 helps bolster their businesses and formalize their operations through workshops, personal counseling, and case management. In the process, they have helped dozens of small businesses register, obtain proper licensing, secure 0% interest funding through Kiva microloans, create business models, marketing plans, and develop their social media presences.

Fund 17 started as a student-run non-profit by Tulane sophomore Haley Burns. Today it is a 501(c3) that employs five staff members, five fellows, and hosts four interns. The organization now focuses on identifying and bolstering the efforts throughout the 17 wards of small business owners – mostly people of color – who lack the financial resources to structure and grow their enterprises. Creating one-on-one business development relationships with these business owners, the organization also offers pro-bono marketing/branding services as well as access to business development workshops and loans through the online crowd-funded microlending platform Kiva.org.

The walls of the Fund 17 office are plastered with images of local small business owners, 17 ward maps, and quotes from graduates of their small business development program. Large, yellow script on a blackboard relays the organization’s ‘Thought for January,’ courtesy of Maya Angelou: Do the BEST you can until you know better. Then when you know better, DO BETTER. 

Fund 17’s “Thought for January”. Credit: Jake Gindy

Fund 17 is ‘doing better’ by giving a leg-up to resolve unjust structural barriers in society. Burns said she was struck by the opportunity inequality – a term she uses to describe what the working poor encounter – facing New Orleanians with business ideas. “The poor lack the assets to achieve economic mobility while the wealthy and middle-class can use their resources to succeed,” says Burns.

For example, Fund 17 micro-entrepreneur Khulu Buckner (Sangoma House LLC) uses his home garden to make preserves, incense, and other herbal products.  He sold these to supplement his low-wage income in retail. To grow his business, Buckner needed to purchase new equipment and insurance to sell his products at local markets and fairs. The traditional bank loan would have surpassed his financial capacity. With the help of a Fund 17 case manager, Buckner secured $1,200 without taking on the significant debt of a small business loan. He also registered as an LLC, created a personalized accounting system, launched an online Etsy store, and developed a brand. Most importantly, Fund 17 helped him increase business revenues to the point that he was able to quit his day job and work on his own business full-time.

Fund 17 program graduate Khulu Buckner tends to his herb garden. Credit: Fund17.org

“We believe by equipping entrepreneurs with an arsenal of skills and resources, we can build capacity within the informal economy, help transition entrepreneurs’ hard work into sustainable livelihoods, and, ultimately, reduce economic inequality in New Orleans,” Burns says. 

So that unmarked building at the corner of St. Phillip and Broad is making a mark on people’s lives and the community of New Orleans. It is an idea that grew from the classroom to the city at large, and it continues to help bloom dreams and businesses.