Concord, NH – The Bank of America Charitable Foundation has donated $10,000 to help the New Hampshire Community Loan Fund conduct “The Business of Child Care” trainings in Nashua and in the Seacoast and Claremont areas.

The workshops, conducted by professionals from the Community Loan Fund’s Child Care Facilities and MicroCredit-NH programs, help child care providers grow or expand their businesses to serve more children. Participants receive training on the core concepts of budgeting and cash flow for business management and on the financial impact of being a licensed provider. MicroCredit-NH staff will follow up with participants to offer business planning suggestions.

“Bank of America believes strongly in supporting organizations which provide small businesses with the resources and tools they need to contribute to the economic vitality of the communities in our state,” said John F. Weeks, president, Bank of America New Hampshire.  “Bank of America is proud to partner with the Community Loan Fund to offer programs that help entrepreneurs develop the business skills they need to succeed.” 

The Community Loan Fund, with community partners like Bank of America, works to ensure access to high-quality child care by providing loans and expertise to home- and center-based child care and early education providers. Its work has created or preserved more than 2,500 child care spaces for working families.

“The Community Loan Fund’s investments in child care and early education are a long-term strategy to decrease poverty,” says its president, Juliana Eades. “Early childhood learning is the key to prosperity not only for children of working parents, but for our entire economy. When you invest in early learning, educational achievement rises while dropout and teen pregnancy rates decrease.”

MicroCredit-NH is the only statewide program in New Hampshire that provides both loans and technical assistance to self-employed individuals and microbusiness owners. Its mission is to increase the income and economic stability of New Hampshire's microbusinesses by providing access to loans up to $15,000, business skills training and expanded market opportunities. Online at www.microcreditnh.org.

The Loan Fund is a statewide nonprofit organization that connects people and families with the loans, training and advice that allow them to buy and keep homes, have secure jobs and become economically stable. Learn more at www.theloanfund.org.

Building on a long-standing tradition of investing in the communities it serves, Bank of America will embark in 2009 on a new, 10-year goal to donate $2 billion to nonprofit organizations engaged in improving the health and vitality of their neighborhoods. Funded by Bank of America, the Bank of America Charitable Foundation gave more than $200 million in 2007, making the bank the most generous financial institution in the world and the second largest donor of all U.S. corporations in cash contributions. Bank of America approaches giving through a national strategy called "neighborhood excellence," under which it works with local leaders to identify and meet the most pressing needs of individual communities. Through Team Bank of America, bank associate volunteers contributed more than 650,000 hours in 2007 to enhance the quality of life in their communities nationwide. For more information about Bank of America Corporate Philanthropy, please visit www.bankofamerica.com/foundation.