ICIC accepting applications for Inner City 100

L to R: Michael Porter, Founder and Chairman of ICIC; Susan Leger Ferraro, Founder, CEO, and Chief Curiosity Officer of Imajine That, winner of the Dorothy A Terrell Community Impact Award (presented by Chevron); Mia Spicer, Supply Chain Advisor, US Supplier Diversity/Local Content at Chevron; Steve Grossman, CEO of ICIC.

Founded in 1994 by Harvard Business School Professor Michael Porter, the Initiative for a Competitive Inner City is a national nonprofit research and advisory organization and the leading authority on U.S. inner city economies and the businesses that thrive there. ICIC’s mission is to drive economic prosperity in America’s inner cities through private sector investment to create jobs, income and wealth for local residents. Each year ICIC recognizes, celebrates and supports fast-growing companies whose success illuminates the competitive business advantages of being in the inner city. For nearly 20 years they have placed 928 companies on the Inner City 100 list, which is published annually by Fortune.

ICIC relies on a national network of nominating partners, including city offices, economic development organizations, and small business development corporations, to find many of the businesses that appear on this list. ICIC’s current key partners include Staples, Chevron, FedEx, Kaiser Permanente, City of Oakland, Baltimore Development Corporation, Blackstone Entrepreneur’s Network, Urban League of Louisiana, World Business Chicago, Team JXN, and the Hispanic Chamber of Commerce of Greater Kansas City. The 2017 list was audited by the independent accounting firm Rucci, Bardaro, and Falzone, PC.

The award winners are chosen based on their growth in revenue over a 5-year period. The average growth rate of the 2017 Inner City 100 companies during the previous five years was 414%.

Inner City 100 companies exemplify more than outstanding growth. They are forces of economic opportunity, optimism and transformation in their communities. Providing a platform for recognition, networking and learning, the Inner City 100 program continues to open doors for other budding urban entrepreneurs and stimulate inner city business development and job creation.

Do you know a fast-growing inner city business that should be on the Inner City 100 list? Then nominate them today and they could earn local and national visibility, access to new business and customer relationships, and practical tools that enable them to keep growing. Applications can be accessed online via https://www.surveygizmo.com/s3/4070835/2018-Inner-City-Application-Form.

For more information about the Inner City 100 conference and awards, applicant selection criteria, the nominations and application process, and the award’s impact on inner city CEOs and companies nationwide please visit http://icic.org/urban-business-initiatives/inner-city-100/.

Join us in celebrating and enabling success in our inner cities!   Please click  ICIC-inner-cities-list-2016_final4.pdf to review a list of past cities.

2017 Inner City 100 Winners