"As a whole, our society will not succeed should one large group of people be left behind. Successful minority entrepreneurs are part of the "ripple effect" that brings economic prosperity to minority communities and social stability for all. This has always been Milestone's vision and the driving force behind our mission."

Milestone Growth Fund adheres to its mission to facilitate and accelerate the formation of capital in minority-owned businesses. Our role is one of trusted advisor offering financial discipline and management expertise.

Our market is small minority-owned businesses with strong futures. Milestone identifies clients that show business promise - those facing expansion and growth opportunities or potential acquisition; those that possess a truly meaningful competitive advantage; and those that, with our funding, will be able to trigger third party investments.

On average Milestone annually assists and screens over 500 entrepreneurs. Of those 500 entrepreneurs, about 10% (50) are asked to submit formal requests and business plans, and about 10-15 plans are approved for financing.

As of 6/30/04 Milestone's Fund has invested over $21 million in 63 minority-owned companies since 1990. With a current portfolio of over $7 million invested in 25 companies, Milestone generally funds between $2 million to $3 million per year in new investments, with an average size investment of $300,000.

We want our investments to trigger third party financial participation. And we continue to be successful in attracting additional funding for clients - in fact, Milestone's ripple effect has resulted in $12 in additional financing for every $1 it has invested in its clients.

In addition to attracting additional financial financing, our clients benefit from Milestone's involvement in strategic planning, access to expertise, financial discipline, director and executive recruitment, and as a respected sounding board.

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