Kindling a ‘Go Before You Know’ Mentality Across Northeast Iowa
April 28, 2022
When Northeast Iowa Community College offered its first Ice House courses in 2020, it ignited what one faculty member described as a “virtuous brush fire.” People would hear about the Ice House program and want to get involved, explained Seth Gilbert, NICC Director of Organizational Development. That’s especially impressive considering that the college has 12 campuses and centers across eight counties covering 5,000 square miles of rural northeastern Iowa. The college implemented the Ice…
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Gaining a Sense of Usefulness and Ending the Cycle of Poverty Thanks to a Cincinnati Nonprofit
April 7, 2022
When the nonprofit Greater Cincinnati Microenterprise Initiative noticed that the individuals it serves needed an extra push beyond the typical business courses to get their ideas off the ground, it introduced the Ice House model to develop their entrepreneurial mindsets. That addition started a series of shifts within the organization. A community development financial institution or CDFI could help would-be small-business founders access capital and gain skills. Ultimately, it changed how Executive Director Willie…
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At Daytona State, Curiosity Turns to Conviction About the Benefits of an Entrepreneurial Mindset
March 15, 2022
In early 2021, Daytona State College received a grant for nearly $100,000 to introduce students in its Career and Technical Education (CTE) programs to an entrepreneurial mindset. Looking back, the college seems prescient. Its Entrepreneurial Mindset Opportunity (EMO) initiative is intentional about helping students recognize the ways to harness their own life lessons in the pursuit of opportunities to create value for others. In addition, the EMO initiative also gives students the confidence and…
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Changing Mindsets in a County of Contrasts
February 25, 2022
If you look at a map of distressed communities within the U.S., the southern and eastern states are overrepresented. If you zoom in on Appalachia and then North Carolina, you’ll find Robeson County, the state’s most-distressed county in 2021. But, if you were to look at Robeson County in another way—as an area full of rich culture and interesting individuals—it would place near the top of the list. For example, U.S. News ranks it as…
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How the City of Albuquerque Grows Entrepreneurial Thinking From the Inside Out
January 25, 2022
Many cities have worked to attract entrepreneurs over the past decade. Albuquerque, New Mexico, is among them—but in an innovative twist, the fast-growing Southwestern city also worked to foster an entrepreneurial mindset from the inside out. City leaders aren’t looking for municipal employees to start their own businesses. Instead, they’re following the Entrepreneurial Learning Initiative’s definition of entrepreneurship as the self-director pursuit of opportunities to create value for others. Here’s the story of how…
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