J. Boney, founder Texas Business Alliance HOUSTON- Texas Business Alliance has been awarded an American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) grant from the Gulf Coast Community Services Association (GCCSA) to strengthen its Youth Entrepreneurship Academy® (“YEA”) program. The YEA supports President Barack Obama’s ARRA goals to create and save jobs, spur economic recovery and invest in long-term economic growth. YEA applications will be accepted through Jan. 15, 2010. The first class day is Saturday, Feb. 6, 2010. Students will meet twice per month for seven months.

 The goals of YEA are to: encourage youth to invest in their community through entrepreneurship; grow the number of up-and-coming new, qualified small businesses in Harris County; ensure the growth, self-sufficiency and sustainability of small businesses; and to create new jobs and wealth long-term.
YEA equips high school and college students with the tools and resources to pursue an entrepreneurial alternative. YEA program modules include: the entrepreneur experience, role of entrepreneurs, key characteristics and skills, learning how to spot opportunities, idea generation, business plan creation, marketing, credit management, financial literacy/management, accessing funding, technology, life skills, and community involvement/volunteerism.

Statistics show that an unacceptable number of U.S. students in unserved and underserved communities fail to develop the academic, social and citizenship skills necessary to compete and succeed in today’s economy.  YEA is a method to bridge the gap and provide an alternative to the traditional career footprint. “Many of our youth have extremely creative, natural entrepreneurial minds prime to be successful in business with direction and guidance,” said TBA Founder and CEO Jeffrey L. Boney. “Additionally, many college students earn degrees with intentions to start a business. YEA serves both populations.”

Up to 15 high school and college students enroll in the seven-month program per year. Youth receive a hands-on, dynamic experience of the fundamentals of business ownership. The participant experience includes a real-life creation of a small business and an individual deposit account (IDA). At program conclusion, students also will have the theoretical and practical experience for exemplifying leadership, teamwork and citizenship.

Capital One Bank is a supporter of YEA. The Texas Business Alliance, a member-driven, solutions oriented, 501(c)(6) nonprofit organization, with a mission to equip minority- and women-owned businesses to be qualified suppliers, ready to compete for public, private and international opportunities through progressive development, and specialized training. Its vision is to strengthen the Texas economy and spur job creation by expanding minority- and women-owned businesses, and encouraging youth entrepreneurship. Chapter organizations are being pursued in Dallas/Ft. Worth, San Antonio, Austin and El Paso.  Visit www.texasbusinessalliance.org for more details or call (281)213-9554.
Students interested in YEA should complete the online qualifying application accessible from the TBA Web site or request a hard copy at (281)213-9554.