OSU's Veterans Entrepreneurship Program receives grant from Wounded Warrior Project

Wednesday, November 7, 2012

The Riata Center for Entrepreneurship in Oklahoma State University’s Spears School of Business is the recipient of a $75,000 grant from the Wounded Warrior Project (WWP), a non-profit organization whose mission is to honor and empower Wounded Warriors.

The grant was presented to the Riata Center to support the highly successful Veterans Entrepreneurship Program (VEP), which was created to empower disabled American veterans to turn their business ideas into reality, and to find a path to financial independence through entrepreneurship.

“The Veterans Entrepreneurship Program is one of the most rewarding outreach programs that we put on each year and we are privileged to be able to offer our resources and expertise to men and women who have paid a price for our freedom,” said Michael Morris, OSU’s N. Malone Mitchell, Jr. Chair in Entrepreneurship and founder of the VEP. “Our goal is to help these veterans become entrepreneurs as a way to make their transition into the private sector successful and sustainable.”

The VEP consists of three phases. Phase one involves delegates developing their business concepts with the assistance of OSU faculty and graduate students from December through mid-January. Phase two is an eight-day residency in Stillwater, Okla., that allows participants an opportunity for hands-on learning and interaction with faculty, guest entrepreneurs, business experts and peer delegates. Phase three provides the VEP graduates with 10 months of ongoing support and mentorship from the entrepreneurship experts at OSU.

The VEP is free to eligible veterans who are selected to the program. Travel expenses, lodging and meals for the eight-day residency areprovided at no cost to each delegate.

“WWP is very proud to be collaborating with so many diverse organizations through our grant program as we understand that only by working together with additional organizations will we be able to meet all the needs of our Wounded Warriors,” said Steven Nardizzi, executive director of WWP.

“We believe in order to ensure this generation of injured veterans is the most successful and well-adjusted in our nation’s history we must create a strong network of community resources united in support of them.”

It is estimated that more than 48,000 servicemen and women have been physically injured in recent military conflicts, another 320,000 have experienced a traumatic brain injury while on deployment, and as many as 400,000 additional service members live with the invisible wounds of war including combat-related stress, major depression, and post-traumatic stress disorder.