SU and strategic partners offer joint funding for entrepreneurs

SU and strategic partners offer joint funding for entrepreneursApril 22, 2008Eileen Jevisejevis@uc.syr.edu

The Syracuse Campus-Community Entrepreneurship Initiative (Enitiative) is soliciting grant applications from faculty members engaged in entrepreneurial or innovative activities that forge connections between college campuses and the surrounding communities.

Now in its second year, Enitiative has collaborated with other SU strategic partners — including the Syracuse Center of Excellence in Environmental and Energy Systems (Syracuse CoE), the Connective Corridor, Imagining America and the Burton Blatt Institute — to offer joint funding for entrepreneurial projects.

Eligible initiatives include developing a new business, advancing a unique idea or promoting new ways to forge academic and community partnerships. In addition to funding, the grants can provide entrepreneurs with hands-on assistance from professionals who have experience in entrepreneurship development. Enitiative grants are made possible through a $3 million, five-year grant from the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation, awarded to Syracuse University and a number of academic and community partners. Enitiative focuses on entrepreneurship in the arts, technology and neighborhoods — with the goal of creating a positive economic impact in Central New York — and is another step in advancing the University’s vision of Scholarship in Action.

SU’s academic and community partners in this initiative include Cayuga Community College (CCC), Le Moyne College, Morrisville State College, Onondaga Community College (OCC), the SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry (SUNY-ESF), the Central New York Community Foundation, The Gifford Foundation, the Greater Syracuse Chamber of Commerce, Messenger Associates Inc. and National Grid.

The grant application deadline is June 1, 2008. To apply for a grant and learn more about becoming a part of Enitiative, visit http://www.entrepreneurship.syr.edu or contact the ExCEL Center at Syracuse University at (315) 443-7086 or excel@syr.edu.