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Veterans who need expert guidance on a business idea can once again find assistance through the Veterans Entrepreneurship Training (VET) program offered through ������ý����’s Center for Entrepreneurial Studies. The seven-week program is returning for the fifth straight year with evening classes held at the University and taught by professors from ������ý����’s College of Business Administration. For the first time, participating veterans can also earn three college credits through the program.

The VET program, which also provides help for veterans wishing to expand an existing business, is made possible through the support of the New Jersey Bankers Charitable Foundation, Inc. and The Uncommon Individual Foundation.

“As we move into our fifth year of offering this program, we are very fortunate to have the support of these two foundations that share our vision of helping veterans pursue their entrepreneurial dreams,” says Dr. Ronald Cook, director of ������ý����’s Center for Entrepreneurial Studies and associate dean, graduate programs.

The program starts with the veterans developing their business concept. Cook notes that this concept must be finalized before a veteran can continue developing their idea. “Only veterans whose business concept is developed are able to determine its viability,” he says.

Cook says the 2018 cohort of veteran-students will benefit from ������ý����’s proven program. The program offers hands-on assignments and a mentoring program, where veterans apply to work with an entrepreneurial mentor for a year after the classroom portion of the program ends.  The program also includes a panel of various subject-matter experts who will be available to all the veterans in the program.

"The participants in the program will be able to consult with all of these experts for whatever assistance or advice they may need for their individual business ideas during the classroom part of the program,” Cook says.

The support of The Uncommon Individual Foundation will greatly enhance the post-classroom program. "The Foundation will offer their full resources to help the veterans pursue their ventures once they have graduated from the classroom portion of the program,” Cook says.

Interested applicants can apply online at . For more information or questions about the program email Patricia Adams at padams@rider.edu.

������ý���� New Jersey Bankers Charitable Foundation
The New Jersey Bankers Charitable Foundation was established in 2005 to honor fallen or permanently disabled military members in the post-9/11 Afghanistan and Iraq conflicts by providing scholarships to their eligible dependents. Either the dependent or the service member must have a connection to New Jersey. The Foundation is completely funded by New Jersey banks and governed by industry trustees.

������ý���� The Uncommon Individual Foundation
The Uncommon Individual Foundation was founded 1986 by Dr. Richard Caruso to encourage individuals to pursue their entrepreneurial dreams. The mission of The Uncommon Individual Foundation’s (UIF) Entrepreneur Mentoring Program is to select, mentor, and accelerate the best high-impact entrepreneurs in Philadelphia and the surrounding region, in order to foster corporate expansion, facilitate job creation, and catalyze local economic growth.