Overview

CCI enjoys support from key Congressional members in both the Democratic and Republican parties and regularly briefs Senators, Representatives and foreign policy aides on Russia.

When the United States began funding Russia projects in 1993, CCI was one of the few American organizations with a strong reputation for program management in Russia. Having already run multi-year programs in the region, CCI was sought by USAID officers for both expansion of existing programs and on-the-ground Russia knowledge. CCI’s Economic Development Program (EDP), Agricultural Initiative, Environmental Initiative and Russian Initiative for Self Employment (RISE) programs were expanded with multi-year grants.

In 1993, CCI’s President, Sharon Tennison, received a White House appointment to serve as one of 13 Directors for the Russian-American Enterprise Fund (RAEF). The fund’s responsibility was to oversee a $250 million fund to jumpstart small business development across Russia.

In 1994 a high-level delegation of U.S. Congress members were disturbed after visiting Russia to survey the impact of American technical assistance. Tennison was requested to brief the delegation on alternatives – namely, targeting Russia’s grassroots entrepreneurs, not defunct state enterprises. CCI whisked 14 Congress members away to homes and businesses of CCI-trained entrepreneurs where bottom-up technical assistance for Russia was urged in each meeting. Congressional Leaders Richard Gephardt and Newt Gingrich afterward wrote a stinging Congressional Memo mandating that U.S. funds be targeted lower in the economy. Distributed widely, the report was also picked up by the New York Times and other American newspapers. Change slowly began to occur.

From that time forward CCI has had comfortable access to Congressional members and program support from both sides of the aisle.