Receives federal grant to determine viability and develop business plan
DENVER—The Women’s College (TWC) of the University of Denver recently received a $75,000 grant from the federal Economic Development Administration (EDA) to determine the viability of launching a new Center for the Advancement of Business Leadership and Entrepreneurship (ABLE) for Women in 2010.
According to Lynn M. Gangone, Ed.D. dean of TWC, the grants are given to programs or entities and support regional economic development. The funds received will be used to hire a director to complete a feasibility study and develop a business plan for the Center.
“Depending on the results of the study, it is our goal to open the new Center by the end of the year,” she says.
Denver has the second-largest percentage of women-owned start-ups in the country so locating a women-focused entrepreneurship Center at TWC makes a lot of sense, Gangone states.
“Starting a business is only one piece in becoming a successful businessperson. Our goal is for the Center to create the networks, tools and connections that entrepreneurially-minded women need to grow and sustain a new or existing business,” Gangone adds.
Through these resources, she says, the Center would provide women with the information they need to move from start-up to the next level, so women-owned businesses are not just surviving, but thriving and growing.
She notes TWC already has a focus on educating women as leaders. Earlier this year, it began a new Entrepreneurial Studies Certificate program to prepare and provide entrepreneurially minded women with the tools they need to grow and sustain new or existing start-up businesses. TWC also is enlisting the expertise of its Founders Committee, consisting of members of the top 100 women-owned businesses in Colorado, to help conceptualize the Center.
The Center will be located in the Merle Chambers Center for the Advancement of Women where TWC also is housed.
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