Edmonds CC receives $65,000 Herbert B. Jones Foundation grant

Edmonds Community College was awarded a $65,000 Herbert B. Jones Foundation grant in support of the college’s Entrepreneurship Across the Curriculum initiative.

“A significant percentage of our students indicate that they are pursuing higher education with the intent to start their own business,” said Dr. Terry Cox, Edmonds CC’s vice president for workforce development and training.

The Herbert B. Jones Foundation supports its belief that entrepreneurism and small business are the backbone for the strength of our economic system by providing funding for programs managed by post-secondary educational institutions in Washington state.

The grant includes a partnership between the college and the Center for Inclusive Entrepreneurship (CIE), led by Executive Director Mike Skinner. It will also provide funding for 25 instructors to complete the Ice House Entrepreneurship Mindset certification training, the creation of coursework that will address entrepreneurship as a 21st century skill and attract students, and support for future entrepreneurs and the cultivation of potential student and community business owners.

Students who are introduced to the Ice House curriculum and who wish to start a business will be connected with CIE for further assistance.

“We hope to connect to the hardest to reach and most severely underserved communities – not only as an ‘on ramp’ to introduce the promise of small-scale entrepreneurship and the programs and resources that support it, but as a mindset for hope, empowerment, and effectiveness in whatever goals participants choose to pursue,” Skinner said.

Edmonds CC has embraced entrepreneurship as an academic discipline and an operational “way of being” since 2006 through courses and a certificate program in entrepreneurship/small business and innovative projects, Cox said.

"We couldn't be nearly as entrepreneurial without our excellent Grants Development department,” Cox said. “Cat Carothers, our executive director of grants, really brought this one home for us.”

The Business Management Entrepreneurship and Small Business Management certificate gives students a strong foundation of skills in entrepreneurship and small business management.