RALEIGH, N.C. - Marylandian -- The National Association for Community College Entrepreneurship (NACCE) is pleased to announce three member colleges will join a consortium for the STRIVE program to support veteran entrepreneurs. The Startup Training Resources to Inspire Veteran Entrepreneurship (STRIVE) program is part of a landmark initiative that transforms veterans and military family members into entrepreneurs. The program leverages networks and education resources in local communities to support and advance aspiring veteran entrepreneurs, as well as veterans who have recently started a business and need support to navigate common barriers to startup success.

The program will grow to a five-member consortium including Dallas College (Dallas, TX), Fayetteville Technical College (Fayetteville, NC), and Kauai Community College (Puhi, HI). The Institute for Veterans & Military Families (IVMF), whose mission is "to empower service members, veterans, and their families through actionable research, innovative programs, and insightful analytics," is the perfect complement to our organization and driven to provide measurable impact throughout our community college network. Through the success of this proven model, we are very excited for these three member colleges to successfully replicate the program and foster a sustainable entrepreneurship ecosystem to support their veteran communities.

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"We are thrilled to announce the creation of this new NACCE member college consortium that will support veteran entrepreneurs across the country. We are deeply grateful to IVMF for collaborating with us. Partnerships like this that align with NACCE's mission of fostering entrepreneurship through community colleges are key to our association's growth, our nation's economic recovery, and the advancement of equity," said Rebecca Corbin, President & CEO of NACCE.

Dr. Andy Gold, Assistant Professor of Entrepreneurship Management and co-lead of STRIVE at Hillsborough Community College said, "The opportunity to work with IVMF, ETSU and NACCE to develop and expand the STRIVE program captures the spirit that together we prosper.  Veterans make amazing entrepreneurs, and it is exciting to see STRIVE serve as a bridge for veterans to take action on their business ideas."

Dr. Gold's colleague and STRIVE co-lead, Associate Professor Beth Kerly agreed saying, "It is exciting to see how STRIVE moved from concept to testing to scaling nationally. These partnerships are directly impacting veteran entrepreneurs across the nation."

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"The growth of the STRIVE Consortium is a testament to the incredible impact the program has on our nation's veteran community through the hard work and dedication of champions like NACCE, Hillsborough Community College, ETSU and more," said Misty Fox, Director of Entrepreneurship and Small Business Portfolio at IVMF. "It is because of these partnerships that the IVMF is able to fulfill its mission to be in service to those who have served."

The STRIVE consortium will conduct a weeklong training at National Veteran Resource Center (IVMF headquarters) this fall. New cohorts start in spring 2022.