SYRACUSE — The Entrepreneurship Bootcamp for Veterans (EBV) is an initiative “combining entrepreneurial education with hands-on experience,” the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) says. 

Syracuse University’s Institute for Veterans and Military Families (IVMF) operates the EBV program. The SBA on Sept. 16 awarded the university a federal grant of $100,000 to further develop the initiative both locally and at partner institutions. 

Syracuse has hosted the program annually since it founded and launched EBV in 2007. 

The grant award represents one-third of the $300,000 in funding distributed nationally to organizations offering entrepreneurship training to service-disabled vets.

It’s similar to funding that the SBA has awarded Syracuse previously, and this latest award will continue helping the IVMF to develop the EBV. 

That’s according to Misty Stutsman, director of the entrepreneurship and small-business portfolio at the Institute for Veterans and Military Families at Syracuse University.

“The thing that people don’t realize is that … we host the EBV at Syracuse University but we actually have partnering universities across the nation that are also hosting this program,” says Stutsman. “It allows us to really give those schools the support that they need … as well as the ones that come through the [program at] Syracuse University.” 

She spoke with CNYBJ on Sept. 24. 

The partner institutions include Cornell University, University of Connecticut, St. Joseph’s University, University of Missouri, University of California at Los Angeles (UCLA), and Texas A&M University, per the EBV page on the IVMF website. 

Syracuse likes to host 30 veterans for its annual EBV program, which is free for participating veterans. The university uses the grant funding for food, lodging, and classroom materials for veterans who come in from out of town, says Stutsman.

The program curriculum is designed to take service-disabled veterans through the stages of venture creation, while providing the training, professional networks and support necessary to successfully launch a business. 

The funding — offered through SBA’s Office of Veterans Business Development — supports each organization’s programs for service-disabled veterans planning to start a new business or expand and diversify existing small businesses. The SBA chose Syracuse University based on its “demonstrated history of and commitment to providing training programs and resources to service-disabled veterans.” 

“Service-disabled veteran small business owners bring a unique and valued skill set to entrepreneurship,” SBA Acting Administrator Chris Pilkerton said in a statement. “Funding these organizations involved in helping service-disabled veterans establish successful businesses will go a long way toward securing the future for these veterans and their families.”

“Thanks to this new SBA Office of Veteran Business Development grant of $100,000, more service-disabled veterans will be able to access Syracuse University’s IVMF Entrepreneurship Bootcamp for Veterans with Disabilities training to help them start and grow their own small businesses,” SBA Syracuse District Director Bernard J. Paprocki contended.         

AUBURN — Unity House of Cayuga County, Inc. announced it has elected a new community leader for the agency’s board of directors. 

David C. Wilder, president of the Illinois–based St. Thérèse of Lisieux Foundation, began his new duties in August. St. Thérèse of Lisieux Foundation is a nonprofit that fosters national programs to create and enhance what Pope John Paul II called a “culture of life” and a “civilization of love,” according to a news release from Unity House.

Wilder is the former managing director of Lumen Institute Inc. in New York City, an international organization providing highly personalized formation in character, faith, and leadership for hundreds of Fortune 500 C-Level business executives and cultural leaders, Unity House said.

Wilder is a graduate of Syracuse University’s Maxwell School of Citizenship with degrees in political science and business administration. He has also worked in sales and sales management within the transportation industry, and is a “sought-after operations and development consultant for nonprofits,” the release stated. 

Unity House says it is a nonprofit that provides transitional and permanent housing, rehabilitative, respite, and employment services for individuals with mental illnesses, developmental disabilities, and/or chemical dependencies from which they are recovering. 

SALINA — The struggle historically for small businesses that employ lower-wage workers is needing their employees to have a car to get the job, while the employees need the job to get the car. That’s according to Eileen Brophy, president of Brophy Services Inc. 

Public-transportation options like buses don’t completely fill the void. But the growth of ride-sharing services is providing another option to get those workers to their job sites. 

“With the creation of transportation services such as Lyft, we now have an opportunity to work with the county, the city, and the state to put that population that hasn’t been able to get those jobs back to work,” she said.

She’s “excited to be part of the solution,” she added in her remarks to open a Sept. 12 news conference in which Onondaga County announced a pilot program with Lyft as a transportation provider for its JOBSplus clients.

San Francisco, California–based Lyft has drivers in the Syracuse and Central New York area.

JOBSplus will be working with three employers — Brophy Services, Loretto, and Giovanni Food Co. Inc. — to start the pilot program, Onondaga County Executive Ryan McMahon said in discussing how the initiative works.

Officials announced the program at Brophy Services at 1972 Teall Ave. in the town of Salina. 

JOBSplus is a contractor of Onondaga County Department of Social Services – Economic Security (DSS-ES), per its website. JOBSplus serves individuals that have qualified for temporary assistance, or what people know as welfare,” Sarah Merrick, DSS-ES commissioner, said during the event. 

“One of the biggest challenges for our small businesses … and for our folks who are really trying to develop a pathway out of poverty is transportation,” McMahon said in his remarks.

The employment opportunities are either for non-traditional hours or in locations where Centro does not have an existing bus route, he noted.

“[Centro] does not work every hour,” said McMahon. “That’s an important gap that needs to be filled.”

Kim Townsend, president and CEO of Loretto, also stressed the need for convenient employee transportation.

“So many of Loretto’s employees rely on public transportation to get to and from work … It’s not available 24 hours a day and it’s not available in all of our locations,” Townsend said in her remarks during the event. “We see this program as a bridge to our employee car-buying program, which will help people achieve financial stability and independence.”

How it works

JOBSplus coaches will work with eligible temporary-assistance clients to estimate the cost of Lyft routes from home to work and back, McMahon said in explaining the program.

If clients need to drop off their children at child care, that will also be included in the Lyft estimate, he added. 

Then, based on the client’s verified work schedule, the Lyft administrator will request and schedule rides. Lyft will provide a ride quote and at the end of the month, the company will email JOBSplus an invoice for the actual cost of the ride for each participant.

“When someone is on public assistance, 100 percent of those costs are paid by the county. It’s already part of the temporary assistance budget,” said Merrick. 

“It’s a new partner. It’s not a new cost,” McMahon noted, referring to the pilot program with Lyft. 

Onondaga County is “starting small” with the pilot program, beginning with three employers.

“Hopefully over the next three months, we can employ about 50 temporary-assistance clients,” said Merrick. “The idea is to perfect a model that then can be expanded to other employers.” 

Lyft’s ultimate objective is to provide the “world’s best transportation experience,” but that’s “not something that we can do alone,” Matt Rodriguez, Lyft’s general manager in the New York area, said in his remarks.

“This is why we have over 40 transit partnerships with government agencies [and] transportation agencies across the country,” said Rodriguez. 

This pilot program is “the first of its kind” in New York, the Lyft manager added.

CLINTON — The Kirkland Art Center (KAC) in Clinton recently announced it has appointed Kathleen Avery as its development director.

In her new position, Avery will work closely with KAC staff and board members in planning and executing fundraising and capital projects, according to a KAC news release.

Avery brings extensive experience in the nonprofit arts sector, having served as director of Upper Catskill Community Council of the Arts, where she was responsible for all development efforts and worked to implement strategic initiatives to secure major gifts, grants, and expand membership. She has also worked in development in the private sector, and is skilled in strategic planning, the KAC stated.

“I’m delighted to join the KAC staff and contribute toward its future success,” Avery said in the release. “I’ve been familiar with the organization for years and have always admired the facility and the diverse community programming KAC provides.”

Avery’s position at the Kirkland Art Center is made possible by a $25,000 grant from the Mohawk Valley Regional Economic Development Council, one of only three arts awards made in Oneida County this year.

The Kirkland Art Center says it’s one of the oldest community arts centers in the state and has provided year-round programming for adults and children for nearly 60 years. Its mission is to educate children and adults, to advocate for artists and the arts, and to engage the community in a variety of cultural experiences and opportunities. The organization’s year-round offerings include art, dance, and pottery classes; community art projects; a live music series; and juried art shows of national and international artists.