Startup Atlanta Honors Grace Fricks With Lifetime Achievement Award

ATLANTA, May 9, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- The Atlanta Startup Community has announced the recipient of its first annual Lifetime Achievement Award. Grace Fricks, president and chief executive officer of Access to Capital for Entrepreneurs Inc. (ACE), will be recognized at the Atlanta Startup Awards gala on Friday, May 12.

"Being recognized for work I am passionate about - supporting businesses with capital, coaching and connections - how great is that," said Fricks. "My sincerest gratitude to Atlanta's Startup Community."

Fricks founded ACE, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit serving as a community development financial institution loan fund, in 1997 and currently oversees operations and a 20-person team.

Since its founding, Fricks has steered ACE to focus on working with underserved populations, including women, people of color and low-income business owners and has helped 725 small businesses create or retain 6,200 jobs within the state of Georgia.

Her dedication and leadership continues to drive ACE to provide capital, coaching and connections to borrowers in order to create and grow stable, sustainable businesses.

In 2016, 38 percent of loans were given to startups - creating 224 jobs.

"We're excited to honor Grace as our inaugural Lifetime Achievement recipient," said Charlton Cunningham, executive director of Startup Atlanta. "Her commitment to underserved entrepreneurs and the startup community as a whole is definitely a model for our local ecosystem."

Fricks has previously been recognized as one of Bizwomen's 100 Women to Watch and Atlanta Business Chronicle's Women Who Mean Business. She currently serves on the City of Atlanta's Women's Entrepreneurship Initiative advisory board, Invest Atlanta's New Market Tax Credit Board and the Appalachian Community Capital board.

In their inaugural year, the Atlanta Startup Awards aim to recognize Atlanta's most successful rising tech companies, startup pioneers and disruptive innovators. Finalists for the remaining seven awards will be announced at the gala on May 12 at The Gathering Spot.

To learn more about the Atlanta Startup Awards, visit https://2017atlantastartupawards. splashthat.com.

About Startup Atlanta:

Startup Atlanta is a community nonprofit focused on growing and connecting the local startup ecosystem. We host events, bring startup and regional leaders together, support policies friendly to innovation and promote our local startup community. For more information, visit http://www.startupatlanta.com.

SOURCE Startup Atlanta

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https://2017atlantastartupawards. splashthat.com