Network For Teaching Entrepreneurship

Network for Teaching Entrepreneurship

Type	Non Profit Organization
Founded	1987
Headquarters	New York, New York
Key people	Steve Mariotti, Founder Amy Rosen, President & CEO Ben Rodriguez, Chief Operating Officer
Website	www.nfte.com

The Network for Teaching Entrepreneurship, also referred to as NFTE (pronounced Nifty), is an international non-profit organization providing entrepreneurship education programs to young people from low-income communities.

Through entrepreneurship education NFTE helps young people from low-income communities build skills and unlock their entrepreneurial creativity. Since 1987, NFTE has reached^{[clarification needed]} more than 300,000 young people, and currently has programs in 21 states and 10 other countries. NFTE has more than 1,500 active teachers.^{[citation needed]}

NFTE provides a highly experiential^{[clarification needed]} and academic program that inspires young people from low-income communities to recognize opportunity and plan for successful futures by pursuing educational opportunities and starting their own businesses.^{[citation needed]}

History

Founded in 1987 by Steve Mariotti (a former business executive and entrepreneur) while he was a public high school teacher in New York City’s South Bronx, NFTE began as a program to prevent dropouts and improve academic performance among students who were at risk of failing or quitting school. Combining his business background with his desire to teach at-risk students, Steve discovered that when low-income youth are given the opportunity to learn about entrepreneurship, their innate “street smarts” can easily develop into “academic smarts” and “business smarts.”^{[citation needed]}

To date, NFTE has worked with more than 230,000 young people from low-income communities in programs across the U.S. and around the world.^{[citation needed]}

Programs

President Barack Obama greets NFTE Challenge finalists at the White House in October 2010.

NFTE’s programs teach entrepreneurship using its exciting, experiential curriculum. There are versions for middle school, high school, and young adult students, with corresponding reading levels and complexity.

The curriculum may be used in a semester-long or year-long entrepreneurship course, integrated into an existing course, or used for an after-school program or intensive camp. The programs are offered in a variety of settings, including public schools, after-school programs at community-based organizations, and intensive summer business camps.

In a NFTE program students learn business concepts, practice skills including negotiation and pricing, and work on completion of business plans for their own individual businesses. Many teachers and youth workers also organize field trips to a wholesale district, where the students buy goods to sell later in a “selling event” at their school or after-school program.

Business plan competitions are often held in schools by the teachers with help from NFTE. Regional competitions are organized by the NFTE offices and program partners in an area. NFTE holds a national business plan competition for NFTE students each school year. Winning students receive a trip to the annual awards dinner in New York City and a grant to apply toward their business or college expenses.

NFTE also runs two-week, intensive summer program for students ages 13–18 who are interested in entrepreneurship called BizCamps. The day camp includes field trips and guest speakers focused on providing students with a solid understanding of business. At the end of the camp, students compete for cash awards to fund their businesses.^{[citation needed]}

External links

• NFTE Worldwide