OtherOregon Entrepreneurs Network (OEN) receives $50,000 grant from The Oregon Community Foundation to Continue Accelerator Boot Camps throughout Oregon

Portland, OR – The Oregon Community Foundation (OCF) and Oregon Entrepreneurs Network (OEN) are excited to announce that OEN has received a $50,000 grant from OCF to continue OEN’s coordination of a series of Accelerator Boot Camps around the state in 2013. A previous OCF grant awarded in late 2011 helped OEN launch the first year of OEN Accelerator Boot Camps in Bend (FoundersPad), Hood River and Southern Oregon (JeffersonU) in 2012.

The new OCF grant will help fund Year Two of the OEN Boot Camps in these regions.

The OEN Accelerator Boot Camp programs are designed to be a strong economic development engine for communities outside of the Portland area. Last year’s Boot Camps in Bend, which took place at the FoundersPad incubator, helped grow 11 companies, which in turn helped create 25 jobs and raise more than $625,000 in capital to fund those companies. Last year’s JeffersonU boot camp in Medford supported the growth and development of five companies and the program in Hood River supported an additional five startup companies.

“The Oregon Community Foundation Board is very supportive and appreciative of OEN’s work in communities around the state and excited by the traction that the first graduates of the Accelerator Boot Camps in Central Oregon, the Gorge and Southern Oregon have had,” said Kirby Dyess, OCF Board Director. “Our vision is that these businesses will become successful, contribute economically to their communities and help the next generation of entrepreneurs.”

“I am absolutely convinced that the strategic value in building the startup eco-system will result in long-term benefits for the state, and we are already seeing the benefits from just the first two sessions at FoundersPad,” said Jim Coonan, Manager Venture Catalyst program, Economic Development for Central Oregon (EDCO).

“OEN’s coordination of Accelerator Boot Camps is something we can all be proud of, but it’s just the beginning,” said Linda Weston, President and Executive Director, OEN. “We sincerely appreciate the generous support of OCF and look forward to helping more entrepreneurs realize their dreams and build strong companies that will benefit the region.”

OCF Contact: Joan Vallejo, OCF Communications Director, 503-227-6846 jvallejo@oregoncf.org
OEN Contact: Linda Weston, 503-222-2270, lindaw@oen.org
EDCO Contact: Jim Coonan, 541-388-3236, jim@edcoinfo.com