The Coleman Foundation Awards $58,700 to Community Colleges at NACCE2012

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CONTACT: Heather Van Sickle
vansickle@nacce.com
(413) 306-3131 ext. 303
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COLEMAN FOUNDATION AWARDS $58,700 TO COMMUNITY COLLEGES AT 10^th ANNUAL NATIONAL ASSOCIATION FOR COMMUNITY COLLEGE ENTREPRENEURSHIP CONFERENCE

Foundation Also Announces Multi-year Financial Support for NACCE

Springfield, MA – October 18, 2012 – Seven community colleges came away with a share of $33,750 in elevator grants provided by the Coleman Foundation at the 10^th Annual Conference of the National Association for Community College Entrepreneurship, held earlier this month in Chicago, Illinois. The grants are to be used to develop successful practices for creatively involving entrepreneurs in entrepreneurship and self-employment education.

In addition, Ivy Tech Community College-Bloomington, in Bloomington, Indiana, picked up a $25,000 bonus award for its implementation of the Entrepreneur Engagement Plan it undertook as a result of winning one of 11 elevator grants from the Coleman Foundation at last year’s NACCE Conference. A video which describes this implementation may be viewed at http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=xvpBL3L26LI.

"The monies awarded this year by the Coleman Foundation bring their total grants to NACCE members to over $500,000,” said NACCE Executive Director Heather Van Sickle. "I cannot stress how important this support has been to helping NACCE members develop best practices in entrepreneurship education and support services. The impact of this money has been felt in dozens of communities all across the country where our members are working hard to help entrepreneurs make their dreams a reality.”

"We view the elevator grant program as an important way to both add excitement to NACCE’s annual conference event as well as to reinforce the elements of NACCE’s agenda which align with Coleman Foundation interests,” said Michael Hennessy, President of the Coleman Foundation. "The foundation believes that practitioners such as alumni and local entrepreneurs must be part of a student’s learning experience. These elevator winners are exploring ways to do this and our competition at the conference allows these solutions to be shared across NACCE member colleges.”

Support for NACCE

The Coleman Foundation has also agreed to a multi-year commitment of financial support for NACCE. "The Coleman Foundation has been at our side since NACCE’s founding in 2002,” said Van Sickle. "We are very grateful for their continued support of our organization. They have been a key player in enabling us to become the leading national organization focused on promoting entrepreneurship and self-employment through community colleges.”

Grant Winners

The elevator grants awarded at the NACCE Conference are small grants targeted to specific projects. Targeting specific projects, and not general operating support or capital, encourages new initiatives and allows the funding impact to be more easily identified.

This year’s grant winners and the projects they intend to pursue to engage entrepreneurs in their entrepreneurship and self-employment education programs are:

• SUNY Ulster Community College, Stone Ridge, NY – $5,000 to launch "Community Creations,” a student-run business. Program Director: Mindy Kole

• West Shore Community College, Scottville, MI – $5,000 for promotion and expansion of a business opportunity contest through internships and a video. Program Director: Julie Van Dyke

• Northwestern Michigan College, Traverse City, MI – $5,000 to launch an entrepreneurial micro-business course. Program Director: John Fitzpatrick

• Cayuga Community College Program, Auburn, NY – $5,000 to launch a business idea competition with entrepreneur mentors. Director: Thomas Paczkowski

• South Mountain Community College, Phoenix, AZ – $3,750 to engage local entrepreneurs using the Clifton Strengths Finder Assessment and Training program. Program Director: Bruce Mc Henry

• Hinds Community College – Utica Campus, Utica, MS – $5,000 for the "Get Connected” program to attract community and student entrepreneurs and encourage business start-ups. Program Director: Jessica Smith

• Rancho Santiago Community College District, Santa Ana, CA – $5,000 to launch an advisory council to integrate entrepreneurial concepts into classroom curriculum. Program Director: Maricela Sandoval

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), which celebrates its 10^th anniversary this year, is an organization of educators, entrepreneurs, and distinguished business development professionals providing quality programs and services in entrepreneurship education and serving as advocates community-based entrepreneurship. Founded in 2002, NACCE is at the heart of the "entrepreneurship movement.”

Through membership, an annual conference and exhibition, a quarterly journal, monthly webinars and podcasts, a dynamic list-serv, and other resources, NACCE serves as the hub for the dissemination and integration of knowledge and successful practices regarding entrepreneurship education and student business incubation. These programs and courses 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 on NACCE’s 10^th Annual Conference, visit http://www.nacce2012.com.

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