$30,000 in Prize Awards Announced for Native Youth Business Plan Competition at RES 2020
Application Deadline January 8, 2020
LONGMONT, Colorado (December 3, 2019) –First Nations Development Institute (First Nations) and the National Center for American Indian Enterprise Development (NCAIED) today announced a Native Youth Business Plan Competition to be held in conjunction with the Reservation Economic Summit (RES) 2020.
Ten semifinalist teams (5 high school division teams and 5 college division teams) will be awarded travel scholarships to attend RES 2020 to pitch their business plans in front of a panel of Native judges and investors. The top three teams from each division will be awarded small prizes to aid in their business ventures. The first-place teams will receive $7,500, second-place will receive $5,000 and third-place will receive $2,500.
The Native Youth Business Plan Competition is open to teams of two to three Native youth who must be able to attend a one-day workshop and on-stage competition on Tuesday, March 3, 2020, at the Reservation Economic Summit (RES). Youth semifinalists are welcome to attend the entire RES Summit which will be held March 1-5, 2020 at the Paris Las Vegas hotel in Las Vegas, Nevada.
Members of each team must be affiliated with a state- or federally-recognized tribe and must be between 14 to 24 years of age. The competition will consist of a high school division and college division. Teams are required to have up to three youth of the same age group/division. You cannot have one high school youth and one college youth.
First Nations will hold two informational webinars to address any questions:
- Thursday, December 12, 2019 at 10:00 A.M. Mountain Standard Time
Register at: https://attendee.gotowebinar.com/register/3636456991131608077
- Thursday, December 19, 2019 at 4:00 P.M. Mountain Standard Time
Register at: https://attendee.gotowebinar.com/register/5711933622628663053
About First Nations Development Institute
For 39 years, using a three-pronged strategy of educating grassroots practitioners, advocating for systemic change, and capitalizing Indian communities, First Nations has been working to restore Native American control and culturally-compatible stewardship of the assets they own – be they land, human potential, cultural heritage or natural resources – and to establish new assets for ensuring the long-term vitality of Native American communities. First Nations serves Native American communities throughout the United States. For more information, visit firstnations.org.
About National Center for American Indian Enterprise Development
The National Center for American Indian Enterprise Development is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization. With over 40 years of assisting American Indian Tribes and their enterprises with business and economic development – we have evolved into the largest national Indian specific business organization in the nation. Our motto is: “We Mean Business For Indian Country” as we are actively engaged in helping Tribal Nations and Native business people realize their business goals and are dedicated to putting the whole of Indian Country to work to better the lives of American Indian people- both now and for generations to come. For more information, visit www.ncaied.org.
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PROGRAM CONTACT: Kendall Tallmadge, Senior Program Officer
(303) 774-7836 x216 or ktallmadge@firstnations.org
COMMUNICATIONS CONTACT: Jennifer Churchill, Senior Communications Officer
303-774-7835 x 213 or jchurchill@firstnations.org