Wing And A Prayer Sock it away, the perfect proposal, earth angels, loans in a

Angel networks are forming in locales around the country toidentify small businesses worthy of financial blessings. Frominformal breakfast groups to broker-forged entities, these networksfill a need among high-tech start-ups that have exhausted theirpersonal financial resources--family, friends, credit cards--butdon't yet qualify for venture capital funds. However, theoperative term here is "high-tech," virtually a universalcondition for this type of angel funding.

AngelMoney.com (http://www.angelmoney.com), anangel network in San Diego, is one such entity. It's made up ofa group of private individuals who invest their own money, inamounts ranging from $50,000 to $500,000.

"There are more than 60 groups like this operating in theUnited States, and many more around the world," says ChuckTeel, co-founder of Business Angels International (http://www.equityinternational.com)in Portage, Indiana. The 2-year-old company publishes TheInternational Directory of Venture Capital Networks and BusinessAngel Networks 1999 (U.S. edition, $39.95, available at the Website).