Ivy Tech Bloomington wins grant award for entrepreneurship initiatives

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
November 8, 2011

Ivy Tech Community College Bloomington has been awarded a $9,000 elevator grant from The Coleman Foundation for entrepreneurship initiatives taking place through its Gayle & Bill Cook Center for Entrepreneurship. The grant was awarded at the 9^th annual conference of the National Association for Community College Entrepreneurship (NACCE), held this year on Oct. 9-12 in Portland, OR.

“There were only 11 colleges in the nation who were awarded elevator grants by The Coleman Foundation for Entrepreneur Engagement Plans at the conference, and Ivy Tech was one of them,” said Ivy Tech Bloomington Chancellor John Whikehart. “This grant support from The Coleman Foundation will allow the Cook Center for Entrepreneurship to further engage practicing entrepreneurs in the community and to incorporate their experiences into educational programming for the benefit of our students.”

$5,000 of the grant award is for development of videos on entrepreneurship that are tailored to Ivy Tech’s entrepreneurship curriculum. Additionally, funds allow the college to utilize an intern to conduct a capitol formation study in partnership with other community organizations looking to support small business growth.

Ivy Tech received $2,500 to assist the college with engaging alumni in its Entrepreneurship Engagement Plans. The college will gain alumni mentor support for its Lemonade Day program (partnership between Boys and Girls Club, Ivy Tech Bloomington, and the City of Bloomington), to launch in May 2012. Funds will be used to purchase kits for lemonade day sales for at-risk youth in the region.

“The Coleman Foundation asked us if we would accept an additional $1,500 to videotape entrepreneurship initiative progress in the Cook Center through spring 2012,” said Steve Bryant, executive director of the Cook Center for Entrepreneurship. “We agreed and will provide the video footage to the Coleman Foundation for their use at the next NACCE conference in 2012.”

The Gayle & Bill Cook Center for Entrepreneurship (www.ivytech.edu/entrepreneurship) was established at Ivy Tech Bloomington in 2010 to develop and implement practical tools and resources for students, individuals, and the community to foster entrepreneurship at the college and in the broader economic development region it serves.

For more information about the Gayle & Bill Cook Center for Entrepreneurship and its business programs, please contact Steve Bryant at sbryant32@ivytech.edu or at 812-330-6261.

About NACCE
The National Association for Community College Entrepreneurship (http://www.nacce.com/) was founded in 2002, and fosters economic development by serving as the hub for the dissemination and integration of knowledge and successful practices regarding entrepreneurship education and student business incubation. As a membership association, NACCE helps community colleges nationwide link their traditional role of workforce development with entrepreneurial development. The result is innovative programs and courses that advance economic growth and prosperity in the communities served by the colleges.

About The Coleman Foundation
The Coleman Foundation (http://www.colemanfoundation.org/index.html) is a private, independent grant-making foundation established in the state of Illinois in 1951, focusing primarily on the Midwest. Foundation resources support education – with a strong emphasis on entrepreneurship; cancer care, treatment and research; and disability services.