MADISON — The Wisconsin Department of Veterans Affairs granted more than $174,000 to provide entrepreneurship training and support for veterans seeking to start or grow a business.
Veterans Affairs Secretary James Bond announced a $99,970 grant for Fox Valley Technical College, Appleton, and $75,000 grant for Lakeland University, Plymouth, on Thursday.
Fox Valley Technical College will use the funds for its Innovation Accelerator for Veterans program. It builds on the program previously funded by DVA grants to address the needs of veterans seeking to start of expand a business. The grant will help provide two Innovation Accelerator for Veterans cohorts, including entrepreneurial training and technical support, networking opportunities, one-on-one mentoring, and seed funds for startup/growth expenses for 30 Veteran-owned businesses. Veterans can learn more here.
Lakeland University will create a renewed focus on entrepreneurship at Jake’s Café, a co-working space owned and operated by Lakeland University. The grant will allow new programs to fill gaps identified by community partners, including offering veteran-owned launch startups, accelerator programs, quarterly round tables, statewide virtual networks for veterans, co-working memberships, and promotional material and outreach. Lakeland currently has 50 veterans enrolled as students, and the university has a director of veterans services who coordinates additional programming and support for veterans. Veterans can learn more here.
