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Dennis and Phyllis Washington Foundation Grants $10,000 to One Montana’s Student & Entrepreneur Exchange

The Dennis and Phyllis Washington Foundation http://www.dpwfoundation.org/ has granted One Montana http://www.onemontana.org $10,000 for its Rural-Urban Student and Entrepreneur Exchange program. They join the Montana Chamber Foundation, Northwestern Energy, the Montana Family Education Savings Program, the Pleiades Foundation, Gaelectric and Red Ants Pants Foundation in support of this innovative entrepreneur education program.

Piloted last year between Bozeman and Harlowton, One Montana has expanded this program in the 2013/2014 school year to include Billings, Forsyth, Great Falls and White Sulphur Springs in addition to continuing with Bozeman and Harlowton.

This innovative program adds a new spin to entrepreneur education by introducing students and businesses to different communities and needs as well as the practical steps required to take a project from beginning to end.

"This grant will have a real impact on these students and our state," says Bill Bryan, President of One Montana.
The Student and Entrepreneur exchange asks high school students in rural and urban schools to visit one another’s communities and learn from their local businesses. (One Montana defines "rural" as less than 10,000 people.) After the visits, the students then develop their own business or community need projects and proposals.

"This program opens up new perspectives students hadn’t considered, while also giving them practical knowledge about starting their own enterprise," says Lisa Grace, Executive Director of One Montana. "Creativity and innovation are encouraged by exposure to diverse ideas and people, which is a key starting point for this program."

This year the students are connecting to a wide range of businesses from seasoned Montana businesses like Davidson Companies and Zoot Enterprises to expanding businesses like West Paw Design and small shops like C & K Meats in Forsyth and BNS Enterprises in White Sulphur Springs. During all the visits, the students hear first-hand about the challenges and opportunities in entrepreneurship and gain practical knowledge as they develop their own projects.

The students will gather together in the spring of 2014 to present their business/project plans to one another as well as local business and community leaders.

"Applying what they’ve learned is a critical component," says Grace, "and where the real education happens."
In addition to local businesses, students are also connected to local college and university entrepreneur and business programs. For instance, the MSU and MSU-B Colleges of Business were stops this year as well as the new Blackstone LaunchPad for entrepreneurs at MSU in Bozeman.

The students also spend time attending one another’s schools which gives them a new perspective on life in a different community.

"This program engages students from many disciplines – -not just business," says Grace, "because we know that entrepreneurs can come from a variety of backgrounds and interests. You never know where the next great idea will grow. And, even if a student opts not to start their own enterprise, the exercise of developing and executing their projects and seeing the potential for staying in Montana economically benefits them and future employers."

Images from the visits and tours that have occurred so far can be seen at the One Montana Facebook page or at http://www.onemontana.org.

One Montana plans to gradually grow the program over the next few years to encompass most of the rural and urban high schools across the state.

One Montana’s mission is to create a vibrant state by connecting rural and urban communities for education and economic development. This program has been a key tactic in achieving that goal.

"While all of Montana may seem rural to those living out of state", says Grace, "those of us who live here see the rural-urban divide play out in Montana as it does around the country. This increasing division can have a negative effect. Our goal is to strengthen these connections and open up new avenues for creating prosperity together. And we believe the ‘Made in Montana’ focus will also raise awareness of how we can develop our own opportunities right in this state."

One Montana’s other programs include a feasibility study for a Montana Meat Processing Facility and a Common Ground working group between landowners and sportsmen that develops win-win solutions for wildlife and land management in Montana. Additional programs can be found on their website.

Businesses and individuals can sponsor a student, a school or an entire exchange. Contact One Montana at [email protected] to learn more about investing in this or any of their programs or to ask about involving your school and community in the exchange.

Contact: Lisa Grace [email protected] 406-599-1461

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