Application deadline is Friday, May 9
LINCOLN, NEB. (April 3, 2008)—In today’s economy, getting the most bang for the buck is a challenge to put it mildly. Yet the Building Entrepreneurial Communities Act (BECA) grants awarded to date are actually reshaping people’s thinking and whole approach to effecting positive community and economic growth and development with available resources. 
BECA, based on the premise that when organizations unite for a common cause and pool their resources, great things really can and do happen, is not only paying cost-saving dividends, but more intangible benefits, such as long-lasting partnerships and dream projects coming true for an entire region.
Rawnda Pierce, executive director of Twin Cities Development Association, Inc. in Scottsbluff, Neb., is very knowledgeable about the good things being done through BECA grants.
Twin Cities Development Association applied for and received a $28,000 BECA grant, on behalf of itself, Western Nebraska Community College, Scotts Bluff County, the cities of Scottsbluff, Gering, Bridgeport and Mitchell, and the village of Morrill to kick start the Western Nebraska Entrepreneurial Initiative. In its formative stages, the Initiative has created a program to educate and technically assist young small business owners and entrepreneurs. Twin Cities prepared the grant application, while the other partnering organizations pledged funds to match the grant amount, providing the initiative with a solid financial base to really make a difference.
 “Scottsbluff/Gering has sponsored summer E-camps for 3rd-12th graders for the past two summers. Separate camps, including robotics camp, builder’s camp, writer’s/artist’s camp, Entrepreneur for a Day camp, Make it and Market it camps, and Entrepreneurs of Tomorrow camps have all grown in yearly enrollment and new material. This year, we’re trying to get local contractors to offer “hands on” construction trades workshops. We hope to offer one day where kids learn about electricity, plumbing, HVAC, GPS and surveying, and one day where kids actually build a product,” Pierce said. “Many of these are programs we cannot offer within our normal budgets. Without these funds, we struggle to think how we would have funded these projects at the level that [together] we were able to achieve.”
As recently as last December, Scottsbluff/Gering received a $70,000 BECA grant to market a new workforce recruitment Web site: www.wehavejobs.net.
“The BECA grant enables us to reach a broader target audience and enhance our marketing campaign to reach potential workers outside the immediate area,” Pierce said. “We have been to eight college fairs this past February and March alone. And the grant funds allowed us to purchase professional marketing materials to promote the Web site. We are now in the process of obtaining bids to place billboards along the Front Range, and develop cable ads that can be run in various economically hard hit areas, such as Detroit.”
So what about your region? Are there projects you want to accomplish? Are there organizations that can come together to help you accomplish them?
Now is the time to apply for the second application cycle of BECA grants for FY2007-2008. The BECA program, which is part of the Nebraska Advantage package, is funded by the Nebraska Department of Economic Development and administered by the Nebraska Rural Development Commission.
The application deadline is Friday, May 9, noon, Central Daylight Time. To apply online, go to: www.ruralnebraska.info
For more information on BECA, or the application process, contact Linda Fettig at 308-749-2291, or email: This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it