The Mission of the Profeta Urban Investment Foundation is to revitalize Newark as a vibrant business, shopping and residential hub. We are trying to achieve this by helping to launch and expand minority businesses in Newark, which will increase employment, and create a sense of pride in the ownership of the newly launched enterprises.
The Mission of the Profeta Urban Investment Foundation is to revitalize Newark as a vibrant business, shopping and residential hub. We are trying to achieve this by helping to launch and expand minority businesses in Newark, which will increase employment, and create a sense of pride in the ownership of the newly launched enterprises.
I am not only grateful for your assistance with making my lifelong dream of restaurant ownership come true, but for your philanthropic leadership as concerns Newark and its cultural revitalization. You understand more than many the need for small business ownership and growth as a tool needed for prosperity and economic stability.
Your altruistic leadership is truly an inspiration that should be followed by anyone trying to better Newark and its population. Without the Profeta Urban Investment Foundation, ELEVEN CLINTON would not exist and I would not be in a business that is poised to help bring great food and Jazz back to Newark.
Paul,
I wanted to send you a separate email expressing my gratitude for you! You are one in a million and more than my hero but a true knight in shining armor. There are no words to express how I feel about you and the Foundation. I am proud to be associated with you and so lucky! I often pinch myself to determine if this is all real! It has not been easy but you have made the trail a lot easier to travel. I am blessed beyond measure to have you in my life! THANKS for all that you do for me and Cravings.
As a Pastor in Newark, I came to understand one of the greatest needs of its citizens is gainful employment. One of the opportunities for people who may not possess the education, skill, or may have barriers to employment, such as arrest records is the Service Industry. Therefore, I set out to start a for pro t business that would generate jobs. I was referred to the Profeta Urban Investment Foundation by the Brick City Development Company. My goal was to start a Commercial Once Cleaning Business. After being put through some rigors, the Foundation agreed that we had a worthy cause and a viable business idea.
The Foundation has been instrumental in assisting us with incorporation, business acquisition and financing. Since we began working with Paul Profeta and Steven Coleman, we have been treated as partners in this endeavor. ey truly have a heart for the city and its citizens. Paul has become a mentor for me in the world of business, and we are grateful for his willingness to coach us along during our season of development. Since our incorporation in December 2014, we have provided employment opportunities for almost 30 people (80% from Newark proper).
Due to Paul’s connections and endorsements, we have performed contracts for NJIT, Rutgers University, Hollister Construction Management Services and WBGO.
Newark is increasingly becoming an incubator for minority-owned businesses, and the Profeta Urban Investment Fund is playing an important and unique role in the surge of new entrepreneurs. Paul Profeta takes a personal interest in the urban businesses that he helps to prepare for success. Funding is critical to new businesses and Paul helps to put the money together. But equally important is the guidance, teaching, advising and mentoring that he gives. Paul’s Urban Investment Fund is one of the treasures of Newark 3.0
Small businesses arguably have never been more important to New Jersey’s urban economy. is is true in Newark where we have witnessed their contribution to the city’s unique identity and their role in the revitalization and stabilization of our neighborhoods.
Paul Profeta recognizes, and the Profeta Urban Investment Fund is designed upon, the premise that for Newark’s small businesses to thrive in a very competitive 21st century marketplace it is essential to provide support beyond the provision of low cost capital.
By creating the opportunity for small businesses to draw freely upon informed technical and business advice at key points, the operation of the Fund can, and has, become a critical determinant in their success.”
I can think of no one more committed and determined to help give birth and support minority businesses in Newark, New Jersey than Paul Profeta. His record and the bene t to the citizens and City of Newark is remarkable. I have been honored to discuss and then watch some of these businesses be born and now succeed. Paul Profeta has Newark and minority businesses in his heart. Much of what has been done, he has born the weight and cost himself. I ask and encourage other foundations and philanthropist to join him in this endeavor. It should not be his commitment alone. Already Newark has 12 successful businesses and more than 50 citizens employed through his providing capital and mentoring, imagine how much more that can be done, and how much more the city and its residents can be blessed. Newark is ripe and well positioned to expand minority businesses. I urge and implore you to make this minority expansion greater by contributing to the Profeta Foundation.”
It is with great pleasure that I endorse the work of Paul Profeta in his e ort to grow businesses in Newark, from amongst a population that has too long been neglected. ere are people with business skills, hopes and aspirations,just waiting to be discovered…with a burst of capital provided at reasonable rates of return. It is a community business model that has provided jobs, and opportunities for community entrepreneurship. I think it should be supported and replicated.
The Profeta Urban Investment Fund is playing a critically important role at the intersection of economic development and community capacity building in Newark. By cultivating local entrepreneurs—not just backing them financially, but providing guidance to navigate through the uncertain waters of launching a business—the Fund is helping chart a way forward both for these individuals and for Newark and, indeed, cities like it all across America whose prosperity will rise with the success of this vibrant talent pool.
As a tribute to his leadership and commitment to the City of Newark and its mighty people, we awarded Paul our Corporate Leadership Award at our 2014 gala. is prestigious award recognizes organizations and individuals like Paul, who have expanded social justice and opportunities, and made important investments in our urban communities.