Governor Blagojevich Announces $250,000 in Funding for North Central Region Entrepreneurship Center
Posted on July 22nd, 2004
Funding to Spur Innovation and Job Creation
PEORIA Continuing to deliver on his Opportunity Returns promise to promote entrepreneurship and innovation in the North Central region, Governor Rod Blagojevich today announced the expansion of the Turner Center for Entrepreneurship at Bradley University. The center is receiving $250,000 in funding from the Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity (DCEO), who will also administer the initiative. The Entrepreneurship Center Network will serve the North Central region of Illinois that includes Dewitt, Fulton, Livingston, Marshall, Mason, McLean, Peoria, Stark, Tazewell, and Woodford Counties. Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity Director Jack Lavin made the announcement at Bradley University in Peoria, where the center is located.
“The North Central region has become a hotbed of cutting edge research and technological innovation. To parlay this research and innovation into the widespread job creation and economic growth we all want to see, the right resources and support system must be in place. The partnership we are announcing today with Bradley University will build on the great services the Turner Center now offers enterprising entrepreneurs to create a dynamic resource that will continue acting as a launching pad for promising young companies - converting promise into productivity and producing economic gains that will be felt region-wide,” Governor Blagojevich said.
The Turner Center for Entrepreneurship in the Foster College of Business Administration at Bradley University is designed to act as a regional hub that will coordinate all small business development, entrepreneurship training and entrepreneurship development activity in the North Central Illinois region, and will provide entrepreneurs with the tools they need to make their ventures successful.
Among the many specialized resources the entrepreneurship center will offer is a financial award program to assist entrepreneurs or small businesses with obtaining professional services for comprehensive business plan assistance, evaluation of a proposed startup or expansion, or other accelerated support purposes. Award funding will be determined based on the potential for successful achievement of a significant business milestone for client firms. Maximum funding per award is up to $5,000 of eligible project costs. Applicants are required to provide a cash match of 100% of the award amount. Applications will be awarded based on their display of project viability, growth potential, public purpose or other merit-based factors.
“The Opportunity Returns funding enhances the work already begun in the Turner Center at Bradley," said Dr. Robert Baer, Dean of the Foster College of Business Administration. "As the region focuses on creating a more entrepreneurial culture, this initiative will provide additional resources to assist high growth businesses in becoming even more successful."
“By expanding the Turner Center at Bradley University through Opportunity Returns, we are pooling resources and expertise in one unified effort to help entrepreneurs convert the innovative technology research being generated in this region into market successes. Entrepreneurs are the leading job producer of the national economy, and facilitating their success will play an instrumental role in creating more wealth and economic opportunity in the North Central region,” DCEO Director Jack Lavin said.
Governor Blagojevich’s Opportunity Returns regional economic development plan is the most aggressive, comprehensive approach to creating jobs in Illinois’ history. Since a one-size-fits-all approach to economic development just doesn’t work, Governor Blagojevich has divided the state into 10 regions – finding areas with common economic strengths and needs, and developing a plan with specific actions for each region. This grassroots effort for the North Central region is a product of significant outreach over several months throughout each region, with business, civic and labor leaders, and elected officials. Each plan is tailored to deliver real results that local businesses will see, feel, and, hopefully, profit from.
