Just in: UNITY Selects 2011 Class of New U Entrepreneurs
The New U: News Entrepreneurs Working Through UNITY is a competitive program for journalists of color who want to become entrepreneurs. It supports and helps grow the creative ideas of participants through a national “startup camp.” In addition to offering a unique formula based in training and one-on-one mentoring, the program includes a competition for start-up funding to assist media entrepreneurs in realizing their ideas.
Since its inception in 2010, a total of 16 fellows, members of AAJA, NABJ, NAHJ and NAJA, have learned about entrepreneurship and had an opportunity to pitch their ideas to a carefully-selected group of mentors, panelists and guest financial experts. In fall 2010, the participants’ video pitches were voted on by their industry peers, and 4 of the 16 participants– one from each of UNITY’s alliance partner organizations – each won $5,000 in seed money to further their entrepreneurial ideas.
In 2011, The New U project will offer one group training start-up camp for 20 selected fellows in Las Vegas that will convene October 17-19 of 2011. New U’s leadership team and returning mentors remain committed to its mission of increasing the number of innovative thinkers and product developers who are of color, providing them with a forum in which to develop and express innovative ideas. Participants’ travel expenses are covered through the grant, as is the cost of the program, and award grants for 2011 will increase to $10,000 per winner, of which there will be four.
The application period for the 2011 New U Fellowship is now closed.
Thank you for your interest in the New U program. The New U team is currently reviewing all applications and will soon be contacting short-listed candidates directly as part of the review process. An announcement of the selected 2011 New U Fellows will be made publicly available here, through our newsletter, UNITY NEWS® and social media pages.
Thank you again for your eagerness to be a part of a growing mission dedicated to increasing the number of innovative thinkers and product developers who are of color and that provides them with a forum in which to develop and express innovative ideas.
Questions? Contact program directors Doug Mitchell and Alli Joseph with questions or to express interest in New U 2011.
Here’s more current information, as it becomes available, about this year’s NewU program:
[...] In this week’s career chat, we’ll talk with Doug Mitchell and Alli Joseph, the folks behind NewU: News Entrepreneurs Working Through UNITY. [...]