04/ 02/ 2007
Grant will sponsor three YEF programs and student scholarships
VISA USA announced that it will provide a $300,000 grant to the NFIB Young Entrepreneur Foundation, becoming a co-presenting sponsor of the YEF's innovative programs to ignite the entrepreneurial spirit in students nationwide.
NFIB President and CEO Todd Stottlemyer says the NFIB/VISA USA partnership is a solid step toward promoting careers in entrepreneurship to more high school and college-aged students.
"The U.S. economy and our rapidly changing world of new ideas, products and technologies depend upon the entrepreneurial spirit flourishing in America," Stottlemyer says. "Having the support of VISA USA for NFIB's Young Entrepreneur Foundation initiatives is an acknowledgment that our programs truly do encourage students to become entrepreneurs. We are very excited about this partnership."
The grant will sponsor three primary resources:
The Entrepreneur-in-the-Classroom program (EITC) -- A three-module curriculum designed to bring real-life stories of entrepreneurship into the classroom. The program enables students to learn first-hand about the rewards, risks and opportunities of operating a small business.
Take Time to Teach (T3) Mentoring -- A program designed to familiarize teachers with the subjects of small business and entrepreneurship. NFIB members serve as mentors to educators and offer real-world advice and expertise on starting and running a business. This program supports the EITC curriculum.
Johnny Money: The Online Game -- The third integral component of the EITC program enhances students' exploration of the risks and rewards of small-business ownership. The game will be used to reinforce lessons learned through the EITC curriculum by simulating the day-to-day responsibilities of a small business.
VISA USA has agreed to once again co-brand the top five scholarship awards to young entrepreneurs distributed though NFIB YEF's Young Entrepreneur Scholarship Awards Program. In June 2007, one $10,000 NFIB/VISA USA Young Entrepreneur of the Year Award, four $5,000 NFIB/VISA USA National Young Entrepreneur Awards, and 35 $1,000 NFIB/VISA USA Young Entrepreneur Awards will be announced.This is the fourth straight year VISA USA has been the primary corporate sponsor of the scholarship program.
"Encouraging America's youth to see the importance of entrepreneurship is extremely important to VISA," says Rhonda Bentz, vice president, VISA USA. "One of the best ways to inspire our youth to consider careers as entrepreneurs is to introduce the skills needed to succeed at an early age. To that end, VISA is thrilled to be providing such valuable and accessible resources to educators through the Entrepreneur-in-the-Classroom programs, as we work together with the NFIB Young Entrepreneur Foundation to ignite interest in entrepreneurship."
NFIB.com
To learn more about these YEF programs, go to www.NFIB.com/yef.
