Wells Fargo to Support Montgomery College Entrepreneurship Program for Military Veterans
A generous grant from Wells Fargo will make it possible for 20 military veterans to develop their ideas for a new business through a targeted entrepreneurship program offered by Montgomery College’s Workforce Development & Continuing Education.
The initial Kauffman FastTrac® NewVenture for the Veteran Entrepreneur will be held during the spring 2014 semester. This 10-week Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation program focuses on participants in the early stages of business development, enabling them to build fundamental skills, develop start-up plans, and learn how to access financial and networking resources. The course features an expanded emphasis on networking, guidance on securing veterans’ benefits, and insights on doing business with government agencies.
The $10,000 award from Wells Fargo will cover program costs so that veterans can participate without paying course fees. Military veterans often face unique financial difficulties continuing their education, despite the benefits offered by the post-9/11 GI Bill. For example, veterans taking noncredit classes to complete job licenses or certifications are not reimbursed by the government. Thus, this grant ensures that financial barriers will not prevent enrollment by veterans looking to establish a business.
“This program will enable veterans who participate to bring new businesses to both Montgomery County and Maryland, thus creating jobs and boosting the local economy,” explained Steve Greenfield, dean of Business, Information Technology and Safety in the College’s Workforce Development & Continuing Education unit. “We greatly appreciate Wells Fargo’s vision and generosity in supporting this vital initiative.”
Anna Powell Bard, Wells Fargo’s community affairs manager for Maryland, Washington, DC and Virginia, said, “We are pleased to combine our focus on workforce training and job-readiness skills that lead to employment, with our interest in supporting the success of military veterans who have served our country so well.”
If you are interested in either learning more or enrolling during spring 2014, please contact Karen Ambrose, program director, at 240-567-2592 or karen.ambrose@montgomerycollege.edu. You can also find more information on the Kauffman FastTrac® program at http://fasttrac.org/.
About Wells FargoWells Fargo makes contributions in areas that the company believes are important to the future of our nation's vitality and success, including community development, education, health and human services, arts and culture, the environment, and civic engagement.
About Montgomery CollegeMontgomery College is a public, open admissions community college with campuses in Germantown, Rockville, and Takoma Park/Silver Spring, plus workforce development/continuing education centers and off-site programs throughout Montgomery County, Md. The College serves nearly 60,000 students a year, through both credit and noncredit programs, in more than 130 areas of study.
