If you encounter problems viewing this email go to http://www.publicforuminstitute.org/nde/news/nde-news.htm

Week of July 31 - August 6, 2006

Welcome to the National Dialogue on Entrepreneurship, an initiative of the Public Forum Institute made possible by a grant from the Kauffman Foundation of Kansas City. Through NDE-news, we bring you short summaries and analyses of various trends driving the innovation economy. Subscribe now to receive your weekly copy. Archived issues are available online. Links to the day's entrepreneurship stories from across the nation and around the world are posted each weekday on the NDE main page - bookmark it and stay informed about the latest entrepreneurship news.

The Best Lemonade Stand in America

Inc. Magazine is running a fun and interesting contest this summer to identify “The Best Lemonade Stand in America.” The contest is open to kids between the ages of 5 and 12, and seeks to honor those budding entrepreneurs who take a creative approach to developing a lemonade stand and who also run the stand in an exemplary manner. Winners are selected by Inc. writers and readers of Inc.com. The summer’s grand prize winner will receive a $1000 savings bond. Winners are selected each week. Last week’s winners hail from Brett, NJ, and previous winners have come from all across the US. If you know of a budding lemonade stand entrepreneur, please encourage them to participate in this fun event.

To learn more about Inc. Magazine’s “The Best Lemonade Stand in America”
contest, visit http://www.inc.com/lemonade/index.html.

Venture Capital Boom, Version 2.0?

Things are going well in the venture capital industry. According to the latest MoneyTree figures from PriceWaterhouseCoopers and the National Venture Capital Association, the It’s been a very good year for both fundraising and for investing. Last week, the latest figures for the 2nd quarter of 2006 were published. They show that invested VC funds grew 2% in the 2nd quarter. While the dollar increases were not huge, there is some good news in these figures. Investment in early stage deals is growing, and investors are placing their funds in a diverse set of industries. Biotechnology, industrial/energy, and networking equipment were the leading sectors for new investment. Overall, VCs invested in $6.3 billion in 856 deals during the 2nd quarter.

To get the latest PriceWaterhouse Coopers/National Venture Capital Association MoneyTree reports, visit www.nvca.org.

Linking Youth Entrepreneurship and Savings Programs

A number of regions have developed innovative entrepreneurship programs. These efforts provide some type of training, and perhaps some funds via a business plan competition. But, what if kids could be assisted in saving money, which could then be used to build a new venture? This concept is driving a new effort, the Savings for Education, Entrepreneurship and Downpayment (SEED) Initiative, a youth financial literacy program led by the Corporation for Enterprise Development (CFED). A new CFED White Paper reports on this program and offers recommendations for more closely linking financial literacy and youth entrepreneurship programs. The paper notes that both types of programs help build a better sense of self-determination and positive attitudes among youth. Not surprisingly, they also make it easier for youth to start a new company should they choose to pursue this path. The study reports on preliminary pilot projects in Oklahoma and Pennsylvania, and also offers suggestions for effectively integrating these programs in other communities.

The July 2006 Corporation for Enterprise Development White Paper, “Linking Youth Savings and Entrepreneurship,” by Kim Pate, can be accessed at:
http://www.cfed.org/publications/documents/Linking_Youth_Savings_Entrepreneurship_final.pdf

The 2007 Farm Bill and Rural Entrepreneurship

2007 is likely to be a busy year for those with an interest in supporting rural development and rural entrepreneurship. That’s because, in 2007, Congress will be considering reauthorization of the Farm Bill. While most people think of the Farm Bill only as it relates to agriculture subsidies and programs, the bill covers much more than that. In effect, it is the primary opportunity to influence the Federal government’s approach to rural America. In an effort to obtain community input, US Department of Agriculture (USDA) Secretary Mike Johanns has sponsored a series of Farm Bill Forums across the US. These Forums provide rural residents with an opportunity to provide their own ideas on what should be in the 2007 Farm Bill. A summary of these forums has been published, and USDA staff have published a series of papers on key topics such as rural development, crop supports, and the like. E-News readers may have special interest in the staff’s paper on rural development, which reviews prospects for a more extensive program of support for rural entrepreneurs. Overall, the Farm Forums and other discussion have highlighted strong interest in entrepreneurship among rural Americans.

To learn more about the Farm Bill Forums and to access papers on various issues related to agriculture and rural development, visit the US Department of Agriculture’s Farm Bill Forums webpage.

Kauffman Foundation    The Public Forum Institute

National Dialogue on Entrepreneurship
2300 M Street, NW; Suite 900
Washington, DC 20037

Mark Marich, Editor

All stories © 2006 The Public Forum Institute
Content from this newsletter may be reproduced for non-commercial purposes with proper attribution to the National Dialogue on Entrepreneurship and a link to www.publicforuminstitute.org/nde. 

Subscribe: 
 To sign up to receive NDE-news, visit www.publicforuminstitute.org/nde/join/

Unsubscribe:
This email was sent to (%Email%).   Unsubscribe this email address.  If you have problems with the automated process please e-mail Mark Marich with your email address in the body and your unsubscribe request will be handled promptly.

Privacy Statement: 
 The Public Forum Institute recognizes and respects the importance of protecting the privacy of all information provided by recipients of our e-mail newsletter. We use a variety of security technologies and procedures to help protect your personal information from unauthorized access, use, or disclosure and will not share personally identifiable information with other companies or organizations.