{"272671":{"#nid":"272671","#data":{"type":"event","title":"IMPACT Speaker Series Presents Grace Fricks","body":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EWhat is the \u201cSpirit of Small Business?\u201d What is it that sets an entrepreneur apart? Grace Fricks, Founder and CEO of Access to Capital for Entrepreneurs, Inc. (ACE), will share some small business and microenterprise success stories and what she thinks it takes to not only survive, but thrive as a successful entrepreneur.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EGrace Fricks is the founder and CEO of Access to Capital for Entrepreneurs (ACE), a nonprofit\u003Cbr \/\u003E community lender specializing in small-business loans coupled with business advisory services.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003ESince starting the business in the home 13 years ago, Fricks and ACE have made $21 million in loans, created or saved over 3,500 jobs, and since 2011\u0026nbsp;has grown its portfolio 266 percent. \u0026nbsp;Nearly all clients (97 percent) repay their loans. The firm specializes primarily in loans up to $50,000, although some go higher. It focuses on small businesses in underserved, low-income communities, with an emphasis on women- and minority-owned businesses.\u003Cbr \/\u003E \u003Cbr \/\u003E ACE operates several loan programs, including the environmentally-oriented Georgia Green Loans, the Save and Sustain program, and the Healthy Food Financing Initiative. In 2013, it launched the Women Investing in Successful Entrepreneurs loan program, or WISE, to help women in Georgia network and attain the mentoring expertise along with providing the financial and social capital they need to strengthen their businesses. ACE offers workshops, and other resources available through WISE. \u003Cbr \/\u003E \u003Cbr \/\u003E This event is co-sponsored by \u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/jacketpages.gatech.edu\/organizations\/view\/33836\u0022\u003EEnterprise to Empower\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EShe will speak at \u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/ile.gatech.edu\/IMPACT.html\u0022\u003EGeorgia Tech\u0027s IMPACT Speaker Series\u003C\/a\u003E on Wednesday, March 12. All are welcome to attend.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003E\u003Cem\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/em\u003E\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003E\u003Cem\u003EAbout the Impact Speaker Series:\u003C\/em\u003E\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003ESince 2002, the IMPACT Speaker Series has brought highly successful business leaders from a variety of industries to campus to share their experiences and give advice to students and other entrepreneurs on topics ranging from \u0022building a venture around intellectual capital\u0022 to \u0022successful entrepreneurship in large organizations\u0022 and \u0022socially responsible leadership\u0022. The weekly series provides Georgia Tech students, alumni and the Atlanta business community an opportunity to network and learn from successful entrepreneurs, venture capitalists, and notable business and non-profit leaders.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EThe series is free and open to the public, and reservations are not required.\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E","summary":null,"format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":"","field_summary":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EGrace Fricks, who founded Access to Capital for Entrepreneurs (ACE) in 1997, will share insights during the March 12 IMPACT Session.\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"field_summary_sentence":[{"value":"Grace Fricks, Founder and CEO of Access to Capital for Entrepreneurs (ACE), will speak at the IMPACT Series, a weekly presentation sponsored by the Institute for Leadership and Entrepreneurship."}],"uid":"27336","created_gmt":"2014-01-31 16:14:30","changed_gmt":"2017-04-13 21:23:17","author":"Dori Pap","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","field_event_time":{"event_time_start":"2014-03-12T17:30:00-04:00","event_time_end":"2014-03-12T18:30:00-04:00","event_time_end_last":"2014-03-12T18:30:00-04:00","gmt_time_start":"2014-03-12 21:30:00","gmt_time_end":"2014-03-12 22:30:00","gmt_time_end_last":"2014-03-12 22:30:00","rrule":null,"timezone":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"hg_media":{"262411":{"id":"262411","type":"image","title":"IMPACT Button","body":null,"created":"1449243999","gmt_created":"2015-12-04 15:46:39","changed":"1475894948","gmt_changed":"2016-10-08 02:49:08","alt":"IMPACT Button","file":{"fid":"198423","name":"tsquare_impact_btn.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/tsquare_impact_btn_0.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/tsquare_impact_btn_0.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":38063,"path_740":"http:\/\/tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/tsquare_impact_btn_0.jpg?itok=_s36AyJj"}}},"media_ids":["262411"],"related_links":[{"url":"http:\/\/ile.gatech.edu\/","title":"Institute for Leadership and Entrepreneurship"},{"url":"http:\/\/ile.gatech.edu\/impact.html","title":"IMPACT Speaker Series"}],"groups":[{"id":"1274","name":"Scheller College of Business"}],"categories":[],"keywords":[{"id":"16401","name":"consulting"},{"id":"288","name":"Leadership"},{"id":"1052","name":"Management"},{"id":"14890","name":"NGO"},{"id":"11110","name":"non-profit"},{"id":"167390","name":"social entrepreneurship"},{"id":"167808","name":"social mission"}],"core_research_areas":[],"news_room_topics":[],"event_categories":[{"id":"1795","name":"Seminar\/Lecture\/Colloquium"}],"invited_audience":[{"id":"78751","name":"Undergraduate students"},{"id":"78761","name":"Faculty\/Staff"},{"id":"78771","name":"Public"},{"id":"174045","name":"Graduate students"}],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EDori Pap\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022mailto:dori.pap@ile.gatech.edu\u0022\u003Edori.pap@ile.gatech.edu\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"email":[],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}}}