PA Small Businesses

PITTSBURGH, PA — U.S. Senator Bob Casey (D-PA), Chairman of the Joint Economic Committee (JEC), joined small business leaders from the Pittsburgh region to provide an overview of the federal procurement process and resources available to small businesses.

David Ehrenwerth, Regional Administrator for the General Services Administration, and Barbara Weaver of the Small Business Administration’s Office of Government Contracting joined Senator Casey to provide an overview of the federal procurement process to small businesses from Western Pennsylvania and Ohio representing a range of industries, including military contractors, industrial manufacturers, energy companies and engineering firms.

In remarks to the group, Senator Casey highlighted the importance of Pennsylvania’s small businesses that employ nearly 2 million people. Each year, federal agencies provide more than $500 billion in contracting, $400 billion of which is considered small business eligible. Senator Casey expressed his desire to give Pennsylvania companies the tools and resources needed to navigate the procurement process and gain an edge in innovation and competition.

Earlier this month, Senator Casey secured passage of an amendment to the Small Business Innovation Research reauthorization bill he introduced to protect small businesses. It will prevent contractors from adding subcontractors to bids without the intention of following through to deliver work to listed subcontractors.

As the Chairman of the JEC, Senator Casey is meeting with business leaders across Pennsylvania to discuss job creation strategies.

Virtual Neighborhood Watch grant in Erie

[from Erie Blogs]

Erie County District Attorney Using Markham Winery Grant Funds To Create A Virtual Neighborhood Watch

Erie County District Attorney Jack Daneri will announce a cooperative effort between his office and the Mercyhurst College Institute for Intelligence Studies to provide every Erie County citizen with a virtual neighborhood watch alert network tomorrow, March 24, 2011 at 2:15 P.M. at the Mercyhurst College Institute for Intelligence Studies building at 3928 Wayne St., Erie, PA.

”The Markham Winery grant is allowing us to provide scholarship funds to Mercyhurst College students that participate in the monitoring of emergency radio traffic and then post the information to the “ErieAlerts” account on Twitter, where people can follow the activity on their smart phones or computers, says Daneri. This kind of program makes it very easy for each and every citizen of Erie County to become a member of the the neighborhood watch program and enhance our quality of life as one large community”.

InnovateErie competition

People are inventing the future everyday, and some of them are right here in
Pennsylvania. If you’re one of them, there’s a chance to take your bright idea and turn it
into a reality.

Now in its third year, InnovationErie Design Competition is a collaborative effort
among professionals in the science, art, manufacturing, engineering and design (SAM &
ED) industries, and emerged to encourage local economic development by allowing
people to showcase their product ideas, with the possibility of taking them to the next
level: the marketplace. The competition seeks ideas for products that can be
manufactured in the Erie region.

The contest is open to all individuals, 18 and over, whose product design could be
manufactured in the Greater Erie Area. The contest begins by submitting an electronic application to InnovationErie@gmail.com by midnight, May 11, 2011. Design entries
will be juried by an independent panel of competition judges who will select semifinalists. Semi-finalists will exhibit works at the Erie Art Museum July 16-October 16,
2011 and compete for the Grand Prize, over $10,000 worth of assistance prizes.
Interested candidates can find out more information and download an application by
visiting www.innovationerie.net.

The 2011 InnovationErie Sponsors include Civitas, Edinboro University, Erie Art Museum, Gannon University, Keystone Innovation Zones, MacDonald Illig Jones & Britton, Paradign Design, Penn State Erie, The Behrend College, StARTup Incubator.

Cinereach Film grants

[From Philanthropy News Digest]

Cinereach is a not-for-profit film production company and foundation that supports fiction and nonfiction filmmakers from all over the world through grants and awards, the Reach Film Fellowship, an internal productions department, and partnerships with the Sundance Institute and other organizations.

Through its grants program, Cinereach supports feature-length nonfiction and fiction films that are at the intersection of engaging storytelling, visual artistry, and vital subject matter. Cinereach seeks to support films that utilize cinematic artistry and storytelling to provide insight and spark dialogue,challenge prejudice and advance human rights, discover humanity and hope, and foster global community.

Through its grants program, Cinereach supports feature-length nonfiction and fiction films that are at the intersection of engaging storytelling, visual artistry, and vital subject matter. Cinereach seeks to support films that utilize cinematic artistry and storytelling to provide insight and spark dialogue,challenge prejudice and advance human rights, discover humanity and hope, and foster global community.

Cinereach does not award multiyear grants, grants for capital or endowment campaigns, or individual scholarships for study or travel. Cinereach is not currently accepting applications for organizational support or to support a project's outreach or distribution activities.

In order to receive support from Cinereach, a prospective grantee must be a tax-exempt 501(c)(3) organization or be fiscally sponsored by a 501(c)(3) organization.

There are two grant cycles per year (summer and winter). Within each cycle, between five and fifteen projects are selected to receive support.

Cinereach requires all prospective applicants to submit an initial letter of inquiry, and will consider full proposals only by invitation. The LOI deadline for the Summer 2011 grants cycle is June 1, 2011.

Visit the Cinereach Web site for complete program guidelines, application procedures, and the online LOI form.

Contact:
Link to Complete RFP

Angel Investing 101 at Edinboro U

[from Erie Times News]

EDINBORO -- Have you ever thought about starting your own business?

"Angel Investing 101," a program hosted by Edinboro University's Business & Economics Department, can provide budding business owners with a head start.

Catherine Mott, CEO of BlueTree Capital Group, will discuss the differences between angel investors and venture capitalists for financing startup businesses during "Angel Investing 101."

The event will be held Tuesday from 3:30 to 4:45 p.m. in Room 117 of Wiley Arts & Sciences Center. This interactive presentation is especially appropriate for would-be entrepreneurs.

A two-time alumna of Edinboro University, Mott was a high schoolteacher for eight years before she began working in finance. She founded BlueTree Capital Group in 2003 as a way to support new businesses and coach entrepreneurs throughout the process of launching a company.

"Angel Investing 101" is free and open to the public. It is offered as part of the Business Speaker Series sponsored by Edinboro's Department of Business & Economics, and is also supported by the Delta Mu Delta business honor society.

For more information, contact Michael Hannan, associate dean of Science, Management & Technology, at hannan@edinboro.edu.

SBIR

The Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Program stimulates technological innovation in the private sector by strengthening the role of small business concerns in meeting Federal research and development needs, increasing the commercial application of federally supported research results, and fostering and encouraging participation by socially and economically disadvantaged and women-owned small businesses.The SBIR program solicits proposals from the small business sector consistent with NSF's mission. The program is governed by Public Law 112-1. A main purpose of the legislation is to stimulate technological innovation and increase private sector commercialization. The NSF SBIR program is therefore in a unique position to meet both the goals of NSF and the purpose of the SBIR legislation by transforming scientific discovery into both social and economic benefit, and by emphasizing private sector commercialization. Accordingly, NSF has formulated broad solicitation topics for SBIR that conform to the high-technology investment sector's interests.The four broad topics are: Biological and Chemical Technologies (BC) · Education Applications (EA) · Electronics, Information and Communication Technologies (EI) · Nanotechnology, Advanced Materials, and Manufacturing (NM)For detailed description of the four topics reference section V. Proposal Preparation and Submission Instructions, A.10. Research Topic.

Link to Full Announcement

NSF Publication 11-691