11 Community Colleges Earn Grants Totaling $162,500 at the National Association for Community College Entrepreneurship Conference
The Coleman Foundation provides record financial support of $162,500 to 11 community colleges across the nation to build programs in key areas of NACCE's Presidents for Entrepreneurship Pledge.
Springfield, MA, October 22, 2013 --(PR.com)-- Eleven community colleges from across the country came out on top in the NACCE Entrepreneurial College in Action Grant Competition, powered by The Coleman Foundation at the annual conference of the National Association for Community College Entrepreneurship (NACCE), held last week in Charlotte, NC. NACCE is the nation’s leading organization focused on promoting entrepreneurship through community colleges. The Coleman Foundation is a private, independent grantmaker that has donated over $50 million to improve the quality of entrepreneurship education, promote the option of self-employment, and help create a new generation of business owners.
The winning colleges will receive grants totaling $162,500 to support programs to build their capacity for promoting entrepreneurship in the communities they serve. This grant total represents the largest support yet provided at the NACCE Conference by the Coleman Foundation, which has offered grants at the conference since 2007.
“This year’s competitors were asked to propose efforts that will either grow internal and external teams dedicated to entrepreneurship or increase the engagement of practicing entrepreneurs on campus,” said NACCE President & CEO Heather Van Sickle. “These two critical areas are the first two steps of NACCE’s Presidents for Entrepreneurship Pledge. The variety of innovative ideas that all of the competing colleges put forth for achieving these goals was amazing. We can’t wait to see the results the winners produce on their campuses thanks to these generous grants from the Coleman Foundation.”
“A strategy of the Coleman Foundation’s Entrepreneurship Education Impact Plan is to fund efforts to increase the engagement of practicing entrepreneurs, faculty and community supporters in the entrepreneurship education process,” said Clark McCain, senior program officer at the Coleman Foundation. “This approach aligns with important parts of NACCE’s agenda, and we are excited to support 11 member colleges as they build teams and make new community relationships that will improve their programs.”
Winning Colleges
Over 30 colleges entered proposals into the competition. Of these, 18 were chosen to present at the NACCE Conference. During two rounds which included pitches to a team of judges before a live audience, these 11 winners emerged:
• Bismarck State College, Bismarck, ND – $15,000 to establish a team of faculty and staff to incorporate entrepreneurship classes into the program requirements for several technical programs and to increase awareness of such offerings.
• Cleveland Community College, Shelby, NC – $15,000 to expand the college’s “Entrepreneurship External Team” of supporters and provide services at its entrepreneurship center.
• Eastern West Virginia Community & Technical College, Moorefield, WV – $15,000 to create the Institute for Rural Entrepreneurship and Economic Development to develop and sustain relationships with internal and external stakeholders of the entrepreneurship program.
• Feather River College, Quincy, CA – $15,000 to engage community entrepreneurs in the development of an apprenticeship/succession planning pilot program and to support other outreach events.
• Hillsborough Community College, Tampa, FL – $15,000 to expand the college’s partnerships with practicing entrepreneurs in its community and support other outreach events.
• Houston Community College – Northwest, Houston, TX – $15,000 to create the Entrepreneurship and Economic Development Consortium comprised of members of the college and Houston community to implement new educational programs.
• Kaskaskia College, Centralia, IL – $13,000 to engage practicing entrepreneurs through business boot camps, CEO roundtables and entrepreneur clubs.
• Mohawk Valley Community College, Utica, NY – $15,000 to build greater engagement of community supporters through regular roundtables of education, economic development and government representatives as well as alumni mentoring of students and an annual conference event.
• Muscatine Community College, Muscatine, IA – $14,500 to create Muscatine Entrepreneurial Mentoring Opportunities, pairing students with local entrepreneurs in multiple settings.
• South Mountain Community College, Phoenix, AZ – $15,000 to create an interdisciplinary team of faculty, staff and administration to manage a student venture funding process.
• Walla Walla Community College, Walla Walla, WA – $15,000 to convene an Entrepreneurial Advisory Council comprised of local business owners and community members and to support other outreach events.
About The Coleman Foundation
The Coleman Foundation is a private, independent grantmaker focusing primarily on supporting Midwest non-profit organizations. Foundation resources support cancer treatment, developmental disability services, and entrepreneurship education. In 1981, the Foundation began to question why individuals are encouraged to “get a job” rather than to “create” one. Since that time, the Foundation has committed over $50 million to improve the quality of entrepreneurship education, promote the option of self-employment, and help create a new generation of business owners. For more information, visit http://www.colemanfoundation.org.
About NACCE
The National Association for Community College Entrepreneurship (NACCE) is an organization of educators, administrators, presidents and entrepreneurs, focused on inciting entrepreneurship in their community and on their campus. NACCE has two main goals: 1. Empower the college to approach the business of running a community college with an entrepreneurial mindset, and 2. Grow the community college’s role in supporting job creation and entrepreneurs in their local ecosystem.
Founded in 2002, NACCE is at the heart of the "entrepreneurship movement.” Through membership, an annual conference and exhibition, regional summits, a quarterly journal, monthly webinars, a dynamic list-serv, and training resources, NACCE serves as the hub for the dissemination and integration of knowledge and successful practices regarding entrepreneurial leadership, entrepreneurship education and student business incubation. These initiatives and resulting actions advance economic prosperity in the communities served by its member colleges. NACCE is a founding member of the White House-led Startup America Partnership. For more information, visit http://www.nacce.com.
The winning colleges will receive grants totaling $162,500 to support programs to build their capacity for promoting entrepreneurship in the communities they serve. This grant total represents the largest support yet provided at the NACCE Conference by the Coleman Foundation, which has offered grants at the conference since 2007.
“This year’s competitors were asked to propose efforts that will either grow internal and external teams dedicated to entrepreneurship or increase the engagement of practicing entrepreneurs on campus,” said NACCE President & CEO Heather Van Sickle. “These two critical areas are the first two steps of NACCE’s Presidents for Entrepreneurship Pledge. The variety of innovative ideas that all of the competing colleges put forth for achieving these goals was amazing. We can’t wait to see the results the winners produce on their campuses thanks to these generous grants from the Coleman Foundation.”
“A strategy of the Coleman Foundation’s Entrepreneurship Education Impact Plan is to fund efforts to increase the engagement of practicing entrepreneurs, faculty and community supporters in the entrepreneurship education process,” said Clark McCain, senior program officer at the Coleman Foundation. “This approach aligns with important parts of NACCE’s agenda, and we are excited to support 11 member colleges as they build teams and make new community relationships that will improve their programs.”
Winning Colleges
Over 30 colleges entered proposals into the competition. Of these, 18 were chosen to present at the NACCE Conference. During two rounds which included pitches to a team of judges before a live audience, these 11 winners emerged:
• Bismarck State College, Bismarck, ND – $15,000 to establish a team of faculty and staff to incorporate entrepreneurship classes into the program requirements for several technical programs and to increase awareness of such offerings.
• Cleveland Community College, Shelby, NC – $15,000 to expand the college’s “Entrepreneurship External Team” of supporters and provide services at its entrepreneurship center.
• Eastern West Virginia Community & Technical College, Moorefield, WV – $15,000 to create the Institute for Rural Entrepreneurship and Economic Development to develop and sustain relationships with internal and external stakeholders of the entrepreneurship program.
• Feather River College, Quincy, CA – $15,000 to engage community entrepreneurs in the development of an apprenticeship/succession planning pilot program and to support other outreach events.
• Hillsborough Community College, Tampa, FL – $15,000 to expand the college’s partnerships with practicing entrepreneurs in its community and support other outreach events.
• Houston Community College – Northwest, Houston, TX – $15,000 to create the Entrepreneurship and Economic Development Consortium comprised of members of the college and Houston community to implement new educational programs.
• Kaskaskia College, Centralia, IL – $13,000 to engage practicing entrepreneurs through business boot camps, CEO roundtables and entrepreneur clubs.
• Mohawk Valley Community College, Utica, NY – $15,000 to build greater engagement of community supporters through regular roundtables of education, economic development and government representatives as well as alumni mentoring of students and an annual conference event.
• Muscatine Community College, Muscatine, IA – $14,500 to create Muscatine Entrepreneurial Mentoring Opportunities, pairing students with local entrepreneurs in multiple settings.
• South Mountain Community College, Phoenix, AZ – $15,000 to create an interdisciplinary team of faculty, staff and administration to manage a student venture funding process.
• Walla Walla Community College, Walla Walla, WA – $15,000 to convene an Entrepreneurial Advisory Council comprised of local business owners and community members and to support other outreach events.
About The Coleman Foundation
The Coleman Foundation is a private, independent grantmaker focusing primarily on supporting Midwest non-profit organizations. Foundation resources support cancer treatment, developmental disability services, and entrepreneurship education. In 1981, the Foundation began to question why individuals are encouraged to “get a job” rather than to “create” one. Since that time, the Foundation has committed over $50 million to improve the quality of entrepreneurship education, promote the option of self-employment, and help create a new generation of business owners. For more information, visit http://www.colemanfoundation.org.
About NACCE
The National Association for Community College Entrepreneurship (NACCE) is an organization of educators, administrators, presidents and entrepreneurs, focused on inciting entrepreneurship in their community and on their campus. NACCE has two main goals: 1. Empower the college to approach the business of running a community college with an entrepreneurial mindset, and 2. Grow the community college’s role in supporting job creation and entrepreneurs in their local ecosystem.
Founded in 2002, NACCE is at the heart of the "entrepreneurship movement.” Through membership, an annual conference and exhibition, regional summits, a quarterly journal, monthly webinars, a dynamic list-serv, and training resources, NACCE serves as the hub for the dissemination and integration of knowledge and successful practices regarding entrepreneurial leadership, entrepreneurship education and student business incubation. These initiatives and resulting actions advance economic prosperity in the communities served by its member colleges. NACCE is a founding member of the White House-led Startup America Partnership. For more information, visit http://www.nacce.com.
Contact
National Association for Community College Entrepreneurship
Jeanne Yocum
413-467-9470
www.nacce.com
Jeanne Yocum
413-467-9470
www.nacce.com
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