NFTE Announces a $300,000 commitment from Ernst & Young
Press release (Jan. 12, 2012) — In recognition of Ernst & Young’s more than 8,000 Entrepreneur Of The Year Award® winners and the organization’s commitment to support future market leaders everywhere, Ernst & Young LLP has established the Ernst & Young Entrepreneur Of The Year® Alumni Fund to reward top Network for Teaching Entrepreneurship (NFTE) students with college scholarships as well as aid NFTE’s Adopt-a-Class initiative. This fund represents a $300,000 commitment toward matching donations by Ernst & Young LLP partners and Entrepreneur Of The Year alumni over the next three years.
Ernst & Young LLP will support NFTE in its efforts to help young people from low-income communities build skills and unlock their entrepreneurial creativity. Founded in New York in 1987, NFTE began as a program to encourage children not to drop out of school and to improve academic performance. Today, it has grown to provide educational programs around entrepreneurship for at-risk students that include; core business and financial lessons, developing a business plan, and training to compete in local and national entrepreneurship competitions. These programs further enable students to take control of their own education and find a path to success.
In addition to funding college scholarships for students, the Ernst & Young Entrepreneur Of The Year Alumni-Youth Entrepreneurship Fund will support NFTE’s Adopt-a-Class initiative, in which Ernst & Young LLP personnel volunteer as coaches and mentors to students.
“At Ernst & Young we know our future depends on entrepreneurs, as they are the key to innovation, economic growth, and job creation,” said Herb Engert, Ernst & Young’s Americas Leader of Strategic Growth Markets. “To that end, we are committed to helping these young people achieve their potential through education around entrepreneurship so that we can one day celebrate their story.”
“As one of our corporate partners, Ernst & Young is a critical part of the NFTE network,” says NFTE President & CEO Amy Rosen. “Beyond establishing the generous Ernst & Young Entrepreneur Of The Year Alumni- Fund, the organization is actively involved across the organization. Ernst & Young LLP partners serve on each of the 11 NFTE boards in the US; the firm grants Youth Entrepreneur awards in conjunction with 15 of its Entrepreneur Of The Year programs, and hundreds of Ernst & Young LLP people volunteer to coach NFTE students in cities across the country.”
Ernst & Young recently announced the global expansion of its relationship with NFTE to include a new youth scholarship for every NFTE youth program around the world, including new scholarships in Belgium, China, Germany, India, Ireland, Israel, the Netherlands and New Zealand.
