Rural Entrepreneurship Sites Selected in W.K. Kellogg Foundation Competition

In 2004, the W.K. Kellogg Foundation (http://www.wkkf.org) announced a competition to support a number of demonstration sites that had developed innovative approaches to support rural entrepreneurship. After an intense competition with nearly 200 applicants, the final Entrepreneurial Development System sites have been announced. The winners, who will each receive up to $2 million in new investment, are as follows:

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Nebraska: Hometown Competitiveness, a joint program of the Nebraska Community Foundation, the Center for Rural Entrepreneurship, and numerous other partners. To learn more, visit http://www.nebcommfound.org/HTC.htm

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New Mexico: The Northern New Mexico Entrepreneur Development System will serve business owners and aspiring entrepreneurs in northern New Mexico.

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North Carolina: The Entrepreneurship Development System for Rural North Carolina is a collaborative project of the North Carolina Rural Development Center and more than twenty other partners. To learn more, visit http://www.ncruralcenter.org/entrepreneurship/

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Oregon: Connecting Oregon for Rural Entrepreneurship (CORE) will support entrepreneurs in five rural Oregon Counties. http://www.rdiinc.org/pdf/CORE-Kellogg-News-Release-042905.pdf

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South Dakota/Wyoming: The Oweesta Collaborative will serve the Pine Ridge and Cheyenne River reservations (Lakota Sioux) and the Wind River Reservation (Eastern Shoshone and Northern Arapahoe). http://64.62.196.98/News/2005/008038.asp

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West Virginia: The Advantage Valley Entrepreneurial League System serves a 12 county region in three states: Kentucky, Ohio, and West Virginia. To learn more, visit http://www.advantagevalleyels.com/