Google Offers and Banana Republic are the first businesses to join Starbucks Corp in raising money for a U.S. job creation fund started by the world's biggest coffee chain late last year. Starbucks and the Opportunity Finance Network, a group of private financial institutions that make affordable loans to individuals and communities, introduced the "Create Jobs for USA" fund in October. Starbucks Chief Executive Officer Howard Schultz said the fund would help compensate for a lack of national political leadership on unemployment. "We can't wait for Washington," he said. "We need to do more on our own. Schultz said he was in discussions with other potential partners about expanding Create Jobs for USA. The fund already has raised more than $7.5 million and the two new partnerships could bring in another $4 million. The total amount would support about $80 million in lending -- enough to help create or sustain more than 3,800 jobs, Starbucks said.

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UPDATE 1-Starbucks' job creation fund finds first partners

http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/04/03/starbucks-idUSL2E8F34WW20120403

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