UConn Foundation Receives $40,000 Grant from Newman’s Own Foundation

Tiffany Ventura Thiele

2 min read

The UConn Foundation has been awarded a $40,000 grant from Newman’s Own Foundation, the independent foundation created by the late actor and philanthropist, Paul Newman.

The funds will support the UConn School of Business’ Entrepreneurship Bootcamp for Veterans with Disabilities, a program offering cutting-edge, experiential training in entrepreneurship and small business management for post-9/11 veterans with disabilities resulting from their service to the country.

“This grant is an incredible help for our program,” said Lt. Col. Michael Zacchea (USMC retired), director, Entrepreneurship Bootcamp for Veterans with Disabilities (EBV). “It’s about 11 percent of our annual budget. In real terms, it covers the cost of having the veterans here for the 10-day boot camp.”

UConn’s School of Business is one of 10 business schools and universities nationwide that offer the EBV program. Since 2010, UConn’s program has helped many veteran graduates launch their own businesses and attain economic self-sufficiency.

“We are now in our seventh class,” said Zacchea. “We’ve graduated 157 veterans, who have started 107 for-profit businesses and 11 non-profits, which have produced more than $35 million in gross revenues and employ more than 300 people. We’ve also helped 13 veterans get into a career-track higher education, and another 24 find career-track employment.”

“We are proud to fund the team at UConn’s EBV program as they work to make a difference for the men and women who have served,” said Bob Forrester, president and CEO, Newman’s Own Foundation. “It is one of the many organizations empowering veterans to learn and to build successful careers.”

Newman’s Own Foundation has been supporting military nonprofit organizations for more than 20 years, with a total of $13.5 million donated since 2010. The Foundation continues Paul Newman’s commitment to give all profits and royalties from the sale of Newman’s Own food and beverage products to charity. Since 1982, more than $475 million has been donated to thousands of charities around the world.

For more information about UConn’s EBV program, and to see a video about how veterans transform from “warriors to entrepreneurs,” visit http://ebv.business.uconn.edu.

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Bank’s Gift Helps Disabled Veterans Become Entrepreneurs

Grace Merritt

2 min read

People’s United Community Foundation, the philanthropic arm of People’s United Bank, has given a $7,500 gift to UConn’s Entrepreneur Bootcamp for Veterans with Disabilities.

The gift will go toward the cost of educating veterans who go through the program. The bootcamp program is entirely funded by private donations from individuals, foundations, and corporate philanthropy made through the UConn Foundation.

The yearlong program, based at UConn’s Graduate Business Center in Hartford, gives disabled veterans the knowledge, skills and support to start and grow their own businesses and achieve financial independence. The program has helped veterans launch 97 businesses so far.

The program pays for tuition, room, board, travel and all other expenses for the roughly 25 veterans who go through the program each year.

“It’s really important that banks invest in veterans and veteran ownership,” said Bootcamp Program Manager Michael Zacchea, a retired Lieutenant Colonel in the U.S. Marine Corps. “It’s very important that veterans become bankable as they transition from the military to the civilian economy.

“For every dollar that comes into program we have produced $19,” he said. “This is really an investment by People’s Bank in the Connecticut economy.”

Established in 2007, People’s United Community Foundation was formed to help support programs and activities that enhance the quality of life in communities that People’s United Bank serves, from New York to Maine. The Foundation’s funding priorities include affordable housing, community development, and youth development.

“The UConn Foundation is proud to facilitate this important program, which not only helps veterans, but has a positive ripple effect on the state’s economy,” said Joshua R. Newton, President & CEO of the UConn Foundation.

Now in its sixth year, the program has graduated a total of 135 veterans who have launched 97 businesses. Half of those businesses are in information technology or construction contracting. The rest cover a range of other ventures, including launching fitness centers and lines of clothing, starting farms, opening a biotech company, and starting a 3-D manufacturing businesses.

A typical UConn bootcamp business generates $150,000 to $200,000 in gross revenues and creates two jobs in addition to the principal after five years.

Half of the veterans who go through the program, run by UConn’s School of Business, are from Connecticut while the rest are from the northeast region.

UConn is part of an eight-school consortium administered by the Institute of Veterans and Military Families at Syracuse University and offers the program nationwide. It is recognized nationally as a best-in-class entrepreneurial training program.

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Disabled Vets Get Job Training from UConn School of Business

Jack Kramer

2 min read

UConn’s Entrepreneurship Bootcamp for Veterans with Disabilities has received a $15,000 grant from the Bank of America Foundation.

The grant will support UConn’s program in the School of Business that provides disabled veterans with training in entrepreneurship and small business management, the UConn Foundation, which applied for the grant, announced.

“These men and women made great sacrifices in service of our country,” said Kevin Cunningham, Connecticut president, Bank of America. “UConn’s program connects veterans with the resources they need to pursue their dreams of starting a business.”

UConn’s EBV provides disabled veterans with the knowledge, skills, and support to start and grow their own businesses and achieve financial independence. Since its inaugural class in 2010, UConn’s EBV program has helped 110 veterans start 90 businesses, 18 find full-time employment, and 10 access professional business education programs.

“This grant will provide significant support,” says program manager Michael Zacchea, Lt. Col USMC (ret). “This grant will have a significant ‘ripple effect’ on our veterans and our state’s economy.”

In each of the last two years, the UConn School of Business has been ranked as a “Top Vet-Friendly” school by the Military Times. “Bank of America has supported the UConn EBV from the beginning. They are important partners in creating economic and social value for veterans re-entering the workforce,” says Zacchea.

Over the past five years, veteran businesses started through the UConn EBV have provided a 6-to-1 return on capital, says Zacchea. A typical UConn EBV business, after five years, has $150,000 – $200,000 in gross revenues and creates two jobs in addition to the principal.

UConn is part of a 10-school consortium administered by the Institute of Veterans and Military Families at Syracuse University offering the EBV program nationwide. The EBV program is widely recognized as a best-in-class entrepreneurial training program in the nation.

More About the EBV Program

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Newman’s Own Award Supports UConn Veterans’ Program

Jennifer Doak-Mathewson

2 min read

Newman's Own winner UConn EBV program — From left to right: Gen. Martin E. Dempsey, Chairman, Joint Chiefs of Staff; Tom Indoe, President & COO, Newman’s Own, Inc.; Mike Zacchea, LtCol USMC (Ret.), manager of the UConn EBV program.

UConn’s Entrepreneurship Boot Camp for Veterans with Disabilities has received a $37,500 grant from the Newman’s Own Award program to support its training for veterans in entrepreneurship and small business management, the UConn Foundation announced today.

The award is provided through a competition established by the Newman’s Own Foundation, the Fisher House Foundation, and the Military Times part of Gannett Government Media Corporation to reward programs that benefit service men and women and their families. The UConn Foundation applied for the grant on behalf of the EBV program and will receive the funds, which will then be distributed to the program.

At the awards ceremony Wednesday at the Pentagon, Tom Indoe, president and chief operating officer of Newman’s Own, said, “We have been collaborating since 1999 with a primary mission: recognize these incredibly innovative and selfless ideas that help improve the quality of life for the military community and help make dreams possible. Newman’s Own is proud to be part of this worthwhile endeavor.”

UConn’s EBV was one of eight programs selected from nearly 300 applications to receive a grant. Since it began in 1999, the annual competition has recognized 158 programs with awards totaling more than $1.1 million.

The UConn Entrepreneurship Boot Camp for Veterans with Disabilities provides disabled veterans with the knowledge, skills, and support to start and grow their own businesses and attain economic self-sufficiency. Since it began in 2010, UConn’s EBV program has helped more than 25 veterans open 27 businesses.

“The grant will provide significant support,” says Michael Zacchea, LtCol USMC (ret), who manages the program. “It’s enough to sponsor 2.5 veterans for the entire year-long program, but, more importantly, this grant will have a significant ‘ripple effect’ on our veterans and our state’s economy.”

Over the past four years, veteran businesses started through the UConn EBV have provided a 7-to-1 return on capital, says Zacchea. A typical UConn EBV business after four years has $150,000 – $200,000 in gross revenues and creates two jobs in addition to the principal. “By essentially covering the cost of 2.5 veterans for the year, I expect to see two businesses eventually, creating six jobs and about $300,000 – $400,000 in gross revenues annually,” he added.

The UConn is part of an eight-school consortium offering the EBV program nationwide.

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