Washington, DC, April 10, 2014 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Thurgood Marshall College Fund (TMCF) has partnered with Gallup to launch the first entrepreneurial talent assessment program for Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) during the OFC Innovation and Entrepreneurship Program, held April 10-13 in Atlanta at the W Atlanta Midtown, announced TMCF President & CEO Johnny C. Taylor, Jr.
The TMCF Entrepreneurial Development Program is the newest component of the Opportunity Funding Corporation's (OFC) Innovation & Entrepreneurship Program, which also includes a Business Plan Competition and Dean and Faculty Development Seminar.Gallup will launch its new Entrepreneurial StrengthsFinder®- designed to help people discover their innate talents for starting and growing businesses - a first in the higher education field. Similar to the Clifton StrengthsFinder, the Entrepreneurial StrengthsFinder provides common language people can use to discuss what they do best as it relates to starting or growing a business.
Each student participant will be provided a free access code to complete the Gallup Entrepreneurial StrengthsFinder® prior to the Business Plan Competition. In addition, OFC secured codes for deans and faculty from participating schools to receive up to 100 additional codes to use when they return to their campuses, to infuse this innovative tool into their entrepreneurship curriculum.
"We are excited to team up with Thurgood Marshall College Fund to launch our new StrengthsFinder® tool," said Gallup Chairman and CEO Jim Clifton. "This unique approach of marrying science with the spirit of entrepreneurship is a key differentiator from other programs and the focus is to identify a student's entrepreneurial talents and strengths to create jobs that will fuel our economy."
As a new division of the Thurgood Marshall College Fund, OFC has a 40-year history of developing minority businesses in the United States for entrepreneurs like BET Founder Bob Johnson and Radio One Founder Cathy Hughes, with a focus on developing strategies for attracting capital, as well as nurturing the creation of a new class of professional African-American entrepreneurs.
"More than 100 of the best and brightest entrepreneurial students from our participating schools will show off their talents over the next few days while connecting with some of the country's most successful entrepreneurs and business leaders," said OFC President M. Scott Lilly. "We are anticipating some innovative and fresh ideas from the next generation of business builders and feel the Gallup Entrepreneurial StrengthsFinder® will help our partner schools identify this next generation of talent on their campuses."
For more information on OFC Innovation and Entrepreneurship Program, OFC Business Plan Competition or the TMCF Entrepreneurial Development Program, visit OFC's website at http://ofc.thurgoodmarshallfund.net/index.php.
Media interested in attending the Business Plan Competition or reviewing the Entrepreneurial StrengthsFinder® in Atlanta, please contact TMCF Public Relations Director Tangie Newborn at tangie.newborn@tmcfund.org or 202.888.0039.
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