Sam's Club Giving Program Grants $700k to Network for Teaching Entrepreneurship (NFTE) to Educate Future Business Leaders

NEW YORK, Sept. 4, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- Today the Network for Teaching Entrepreneurship (NFTE) announced a $700,000 grant from the Sam's Club Giving Program to support the organization's award-winning entrepreneurship education program for young people in 15 U.S. communities. A presentation to celebrate the award and to appreciate NFTE students and alumni took place today at Bladensburg High School in Bladensburg, MD.

NFTE teaches young people how to start their own businesses and helps to develop the entrepreneurial mindset, which creates successful futures. The Sam's Club Giving Program, centered on funding organizations that promote small business growth and success, awarded the grant to support NFTE's entrepreneurial curriculum in 15 domestic markets and to create NFTE's first-ever Alumni Study to track the successes of past curriculum participants.  Over the past year, NFTE taught more than 1,500 students about wholesale business through field trips to select Sam's Club locations, where the students engaged in role playing as business owners and learned skills on how to manage a small business and how to budget for business operations.

"NFTE appreciates the collaboration with the Sam's Club Giving Program and their local associates who welcome students to their clubs to help them understand how big business can serve entrepreneurs in their community," said Amy Rosen, CEO and President of Network for Teaching Entrepreneurship.   "The Sam's Club Giving Program grant will help us reach our goal of the instilling the entrepreneurial mindset in one million young people by 2017."

The NFTE Difference, the organization's first study of its U.S. alumni, funded as part of the Sam's Club Giving Program grant, tracked the long-term impact of NFTE's transformative educational program among 1,282 participants surveyed in early 2013. Results confirm that level of education and business ownership are higher among NFTE alumni as compared to their age group in the U.S. overall.

Some highlights of the study include:

• 90% of NFTE alumni aged 16-24 are enrolled in high school or college, as compared to 60% of the same age group in the US overall.
• In 2012, 73% of NFTE Alumni Business owners turned a profit.  They created 329 new jobs in 2012 (109 self-employed, 220 hired). 
• 88% of NFTE alumni between the ages of 25 and 40 were employed, compared to 69% in the US overall.  Among that population, 22% of NFTE alumni were self-employed, as compared to only 11% in the US overall.

In addition to data points, the study features impactful anecdotes from successful alumni, one of whom is Chante Goodwin, Founder and CEO of Your Way IT Solutions.  When she was in the NFTE program in 2006, Chante started her computer repair company, which served users in the Washington, D.C. area. Today, Your Way IT Solutions provides IT support for businesses and government agencies in the D.C. metropolitan area and has 3 full-time employees. Chante credits NFTE with helping her achieve her success and enabling her to create local job opportunities.

"Since Sam Walton, one of the world's greatest entrepreneurs, founded Sam's Club in 1983 to serve small businesses, we have sought to provide services and solutions to grow small business success," said Steve Schrobilgen, regional general manager and VP, Sam's Club Northeast. "We are thrilled to carry on this commitment through philanthropy. We hope to inspire young people to be the next generation of great entrepreneurs and we appreciate the impact NFTE is making through its program. The first ever Alumni Study will provide valuable insight about entrepreneurship education. Our associates enjoy working with NFTE participants and sharing their experience with our small business members."

For over 25 years, NFTE has been the leading global non-profit organization that brings entrepreneurship education to low-income youth. NFTE students receive hands-on training in launching a business and learn the real-world relevance of math, reading and writing. The NFTE curriculum reinforces students' critical thinking skills and provides them with tools to help them take responsibility of their futures and to think entrepreneurially. 

About the Network for Teaching Entrepreneurship
Too many young people today drop out of school and struggle to break the cycle of poverty. Since 1987, the Network for Teaching Entrepreneurship (NFTE) has been inspiring young people to pursue educational opportunities, start their own businesses, and succeed in life. By providing entrepreneurship education programs relevant to the real world, NFTE empowers students to own their educations in and out of the classroom and to find their own path to success. Hundreds of thousands of students have discovered opportunity all around them through entrepreneurship via thousands of certified educators worldwide. NFTE supports active programs in 19 U.S. locations and 13 countries around the world. Entrepreneurs are a powerful driver of economic growth and NFTE sows the seeds of innovation in students worldwide. To learn more visit www.nfte.com, like us on Facebook at Facebook.com/NFTE or follow us on Twitter at @NFTE.

About Sam's Giving Club Program
The Sam's Club Giving Program is committed to building stronger communities through philanthropic efforts with a focus on small business growth and success. Sam's Club and the Sam's Club Giving Program gave $106.4 million in cash and in-kind gifts over the 2012 fiscal year including donating the equivalent of 50 million meals to local feeding America food banks. Associates from more than 600 U.S. clubs contributed more than 300,000 hours to volunteering at local businesses and nonprofits, enabling more than $3.2 million in awards to eligible organizations through the Volunteerism Always Pays (VAP) program. To learn more, visit SamsClub.com/giving.

Media Contact:
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SOURCE Network for Teaching Entrepreneurship