What the Media are Saying about Mercy Corps Northwest
Featured Article: “Acupuncturist gets start with Mercy Corps’ help”
by Molly Walker, Yamhill Valley News Register, December 18th, 2011
Acupuncturist Lisa Pool talks about some of the specialty products
she uses to treat clients.
After completing four years of acupuncture training, Lisa Pool spent two years on the staff of Cascade Acupuncture in Hood River.
She said it was an amazing experience, but she longed to return to the Portland area. So she took the leap when an opportunity arose back home.
Unfortunately, it didn’t work out. So she began looking around for a town where she could hang out her own shingle.
In conjunction with that, she began seeking a source of financing. And she found one in Mercy Corps Northwest, a separate nonprofit for which Mercy Corps is the parent company. Mercy Corps Northwest works to assist low-income people throughout Oregon and in areas of Washington by increasing their economic self-sufficiency and community through microenterprise development and self-employment.
Pool was accepted into the agency’s micro loan program, headed up by Scott Onder, its lending and strategy manager.
The program lends relatively small amounts, up to $50,000, generally to businesses with five or fewer employees. Loans average about $10,000.
The money is packaged to include training and technical services, which are designed to provide a support structure for clients and improve their prospects.
Pool said both her income level and extenuating circumstances - she has a partner who is chronically ill - made her eligible.
“He believed in me,” she said of Onder. “I’m just like everyone who comes out of school with the debt of student loans.”
On paper, she said, she looks like a risky bet for a loan.
But she said Mercy Corps took an old-school approach, factoring in her background, professional experience and skill set.
After qualifying for financing, she connected through her mother with McMinnville naturopath Dr. Bruce Dickson, who owns the Key to Health Clinic at 119 N.E. Third St. He had space available, and after meeting with him and his staff, she decided it could work.
In the fall of 2010, Pool told Mercy Corps officials, “I think I can make this happen. I’ve found a spot.”
Before long, she opened Blue Sky Acupuncture.
“With hard work - plus faith from Mercy Corps and help from Dr. Dickson - here I am,” she said. “I’ve almost paid off my loan and am supporting my family.”...
Read Full Article on Yamhill Valley News Register
2011
- “Acupuncturist gets start with Mercy Corps’ help”
by Molly Walker, Yamhill Valley News Register, December 18th, 2011
- “Small business lending in a tough environment: Q&A with the Small Business Development Center’s Rick Stone”
By Molly Young, The Oregonian, November 12th, 2011
- “Armchair Mayor: Katrina Scotto di Carlo”
By Bill McDonald, Neighborhood Notes, October 28th, 2011
- “Business Behind Bars”
Your Business: Education Nation, MSNBC, September 24th, 2011
- “SBA Awards Grants to Support Small Business Teaming”
MarketWatch, September 23rd, 2011
- “Agriculture programs help Northwest refugees settle in”
by Deena Prichep, Northwest News Network, September 15th, 2011
- “Interview with John Haines, Doug Cooper, Alverda McCoy & Felton Howard”
by Ann Schatz, Heart of the Matter, September 15th, 2011
- “Small business owners struggle to turn social media ‘likes’ into sales”
by Molly Young, Oregonian, September 3rd, 2011
- Interview with Community Outreach Coordinator Loren Guerriero
by Professor Lauri Smedley, Small Business H.E.L.P., August 16th, 2011
- About the Portland Grower’s Alliance
by Liz Crain, Food Lover’s Guide to Portland Blog, August 8th, 2011
- “Female Prison Inmates Trained To Start Businesses”
by Deena Prichep, National Public Radio, June 7th, 2011
- “Mercy Corps Northwest wins two SBA Awards: 2011 Women in Business Champion and 2011 Regional Award for Excellence & Innovation”
Small Business Administration Awards Dinner, May 12th, 2011
- “Five Microenterprise Organizations Selected for Scale Academy”
CSR Newswire, May 4th, 2011
- “Southeast Portland Garden Provides Income, Produce for Neighbors”
by John Chilson for Neighborhood Notes, May 19th, 2011
- “SBA Portland names small-business award winners”
The Oregonian, March 31st, 2011
- “Escuela Viva prepares students to learn through building positive attitudes”
El Hispanic News, February 4th, 2011
- “Pressed for success: Self-employed by necessity, a divorced mother of two says failure isn’t an option”
The Oregonian, February 6th, 2011
2011
- “Hawthorne Boulevard artist aims to help other young creatives stick in Portland”
The Oregonian, December 7th, 2010
- “Two crowd-sourced books feature well-known local character: Portland; Peter Korchnak’s book debuts with Mercy Corps kickoff Wednesday”
The Oregonian, November 9th, 2010
- “John Haines, The Dream Life”
The Oregonian, November 12th, 2010
- “Mercy Corps Northwest Supports Initiative to Provide Marketing Services for Beginning and Refugee Farmers”
dBusinessNews, August 4, 2010
- “Some Loans Come With a Bonus of Training, Supervision”
The Columbian, by Libby Tucker, July 27, 2010
- “Health Clinic for the Uninsured Expands” The Columbian, June 10, 2010
Mercy Corps Northwest client Clinica de Salud Familiar expands its space to serve more clients.
- Mercy Corps Northwest ran a 4-page spread in the Oregonian on June 17
In it, we highlighted our connection to Mercy Corps and our work with urban farms, small businesses and prisoner reentry
- Mercy Corps Northwest was a community partner at the ReVisioning Value Conference | ReVV 2010: The Intersection of Purpose and Profit
Read more about the conference at: http://mercycorpsnw.wordpress.com/ and http://revisioningvalue.org/
- “Renting helps new farmers grow their businesses” The Oregonian, by Casey Parks, 4/17/2010
How farmers and organizations are renting land to cobble together urban farms, including MCNW’s farming initiative with immigrant and refugee farmers.
- “Mercy Corps Micro Loan Backs Chic-to-Chic Boutique Opening” The Hillsboro Argus, by Susan Gordanier, 4/6/2010
Stephanie McCulla’s clothing boutique in Forest Grove opened this month with the help of a micro loan from Mercy Corps Northwest.
- Portland’s KPTV news covers the opening of a MCNW client
- “Small Loans Can Fuel Big Dreams” The Portland Tribune, by Peter Korn, 1/7/2010
Microloans here and abroad, focusing on The Bike Commuter, a Sellwood area bike shop starting up with help from MCNW.
- “Portland Food Carts Push Through Recession” Oregon Business Magazine, by Lucy Burningham, 1/2010
Lucy Burningham (a MCNW IDA participant) writes about how Portland food carts are thriving in tough times, many of them with help from microlenders like Mercy Corps Northwest.
- “Food Carts Put Global Trend on the Menu” The Portland Tribune, by Peter Korn, 1/19/09
The global array of food carts in Portland, with mention of the MCNW funded Sugar Cube cart on N. Mississippi.











