New JumpStart America Initiative Aligns with the Startup America Partnership to Accelerate Entrepreneurship Nationally

USA - English

• USA - English

CLEVELAND, Jan. 31, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- JumpStart Inc., a nationally recognized non-profit venture development organization based in Cleveland, announces the creation of a new national initiative, JumpStart America. JumpStart America will focus on building robust public, private, and philanthropic partnerships across the country with the goal of aggregating over $2 billion in total funding to create or accelerate regionally-based innovation and entrepreneurship programs. It will also serve as a national center for public policies and programmatic best practices that support high growth entrepreneurship. These efforts will accelerate the economic impact of 100,000 new and existing firms across the U.S. and create hundreds of thousands of new private sector jobs.

(Logo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20060209/CLJUMPSTARTLOGO )

JumpStart America is one of the first implementation partners of the newly-announced Startup America Partnership, a national non-profit alliance of top entrepreneurs, venture capitalists, angel investors, CEOs, university presidents, foundations and other business leaders joining together to dramatically increase the prevalence and success of innovative, high growth U.S. startups. The Startup America Partnership is a response to the White House's call to action via its Startup America initiative. The Startup America initiative was announced today by members of the Obama Administration's Cabinet including Gene Sperling, Director of the National Economic Council; U.S. Commerce Secretary Gary Locke; and Administrator of the Small Business Administration, Karen Gordon Mills.

Two national foundations that have partnered with JumpStart in its expanding national work are the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation and the Surdna Foundation.

"Knight Foundation's partnership with JumpStart in six economically challenged Knight Communities in the upper Midwest has proven that business leadership and communities need to engage with one another in consensus-driven, bottom-up collaboration to arrive at a strategy for creating jobs that's both workable and sustainable," said Alberto Ibarguen, president of the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation.  

"We have been greatly impressed by the work JumpStart has done to advance and support entrepreneurship and economic growth in Ohio, particularly with its emphasis on women and minority-owned businesses," said Phillip Henderson, president of the Surdna Foundation. "With our mission of fostering just and sustainable communities, one of the Surdna Foundation's strategies is to help create and connect people to economic opportunities. JumpStart is uniquely positioned to bring this project to scale in a way that will make a significant impact in this area."

"Being selected as one of the first implementation partners of the Startup America Partnership reflects the recognition on the part of national policy makers that the high growth entrepreneurial activity occurring in Northeast Ohio is needed across the country," says JumpStart CEO Ray Leach. "The outcomes of JumpStart's on-the-ground efforts in Northeast Ohio reflect the results that a collaborative public/private/philanthropic partnership can have. This national partnership will be a vehicle for coalescing support behind job creation, and for regions all across the nation to access funding, best practice learnings, and other resources needed to accelerate their region-specific entrepreneurial activity."

More information on JumpStart America is available at www.jumpstartamerica.org. Information on JumpStart is available at www.jumpstartinc.org or via Twitter at @jumpstartinc.

About JumpStart Inc.

JumpStart Inc. is a nationally recognized non-profit transforming the economic impact of entrepreneurial ventures and the ecosystems supporting their growth. JumpStart's primary service is intensive entrepreneurial development assistance delivered to Northeast Ohio entrepreneurs leading high potential, early-stage companies. JumpStart also supports the growth and strengthening of Northeast Ohio's innovation and entrepreneurial ecosystem by securing a continuous stream of resources for entrepreneurs. In doing this work, JumpStart focuses on economic inclusion and activities that increase the success of minority and women entrepreneurs in growing high impact companies. As Northeast Ohio's entrepreneurial landscape continues to transform, JumpStart collaborates with community and regional leaders nationally to support the startup and development of high growth businesses that have a significant and sustainable impact on the economy.

SOURCE JumpStart Inc.