Obama Administration support for US Entrepreneurs

... a little late to the game but still here!

Last July Obama established the National Advisory Council on Innovation and Entrepreneurship. The group supports his innovation strategy by helping to develop policies that foster entrepreneurship, and by identifying new ways to take great ideas from the lab to the marketplace. One of the members is Holden Thorp, the Chancellor, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. I got to see him speak at TEDxAshokaU on Feb 25. So exciting to see that he is a member of this team.

That was the main point that I wanted to cover in this post, but I'll breeze through some other things that I pulled up by flipping through the White House website:

Where's the federal money to support entrepreneurs?

* Through the Recovery Act and the Small Business Jobs Act, the SBA was able to work with its lending partners to provide SBA loans to entrepreneurs and small business owners.

* The Export-Import Bank has loans that can help small businesses who are looking to export their goods and services.

* The USDA offers loans to farmers and rural businesses.

* The Department of Transportation helps small businesses who need working capital to finance a contract they’ve won from that agency.

* Energy-related research funding opportunities here.

Speaking of energy, the annual ARPA-E Energy Innovation Summit kicked off yesterday, just outside of DC. It showcases the most advanced and revolutionary breakthroughs in energy technology - check out the agenda.

Support for entrepreneurs?

* Via a partnership with the Small Business Administration, the Administration is reinventing the Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Program, one of largest federal innovation programs, to encourage entrepreneurship.

* Creation of the i6 Challenge, a $12 million innovation competition administered by Commerce’s Economic Development Administration in partnership with the National Institutes of Health and the National Science Foundation. (Winners were announced last September.)

* A selection of resources specifically for military veterans.

And for students ...

* The deadline for the Race to the Top High School Commencement Challenge has been extended to March 11! Details here.

Another GOTV volunteer opportunity

I like everything that John Legend does, so naturally I'm a fan of this video:



The NAACP has set up an online phone banking program so that anyone can help the NAACP get out the vote. Check it out here.

I don't know who you would be calling, but the tutorial makes their online program look very easy to use:

Election Day Reminders from the Music World

The Obamas, John Legend & 35,000 Ohio State Students. Sun Oct 17.

Ah, my favorite story again:) Grabbed this from the OSU speech transcript:

Look, this is the same theory they have been peddling for years. And, Ohio, it is up to you to tell them we do not want what they are selling. We’ve been there before and we are not going back. (Applause.)

Let me -- I’ve been explaining to people around the country it’s as if they drove America’s car into the ditch. They drove it into the ditch, and it was a big ditch. And so I came along and Ted Strickland came along and we put on our boots and we went down into the ditch. And it was hot down there. And it was muddy. (Laughter.) There were bugs. (Laughter.)

But we said, that’s okay. Even though we didn’t drive it into the ditch, it’s still our responsibility to get that car out of the ditch. (Applause.)

And so we pushed and we pushed. And every once in a while, we’d look up. And up on the road, you’d see the Republicans standing there, fanning themselves. (Laughter.) Sipping on a Slurpee. (Laughter.) Having a latte. (Laughter.)

And we’d say, “Hey, why don’t you come down and help push a little bit, we need some help down here.” And they’d say, “No, that’s all right.” (Laughter.) They said, “But you need to push harder. You’re not pushing the right way.”

And we just kept on pushing. We kept on pushing. Finally we get this car up on level ground. It’s pointing in the right direction. We’re ready to move America forward. (Applause.) But the next thing we know, we get this tap on our shoulder, and we look back and who is it? It’s the Republicans. And they say, “We want the keys back.” (Laughter.) You can’t have the keys back. You don’t know how to drive! (Applause.)

Now, if you want, you can roll with us. (Laughter.) But you got to be in the back seat. (Applause.) I don’t know if you’ve noticed, if you want to take your car forward, you got to put it in what?

AUDIENCE: D!

THE PRESIDENT: In D. If you want to go backwards, it goes what?

AUDIENCE: R!

THE PRESIDENT: We don’t want to go backwards. We’re moving America forward. (Applause.)



Michelle & Barack's speeches:




John Legend's performance:

Millennium Campus Network National Conference :: Sept 17 - 19, NYC.

The Millennium Campus Network (MCN) is a national network of student organizations dedicated to the eradication of extreme poverty and the achievement of the UN Millennium Development Goals.

The MCN's goal is to build a generation of leaders who are equipped with the tools they need to make ending extreme poverty a reachable goal within our lifetime.

MCN does this by holding monthly assemblies in each MCN District, where reps from MCN Member Orgs meet to discuss a different topic.

The MCN also holds a national conference every 2 years - the next one takes place this weekend @ Columbia in NYC! Registration is only $10 and meals are included. Register here. In addition to skill-building workshops and info sessions, students will get to hear from speakers including Dr. Bernard Amadei (Founder, Engineers Without Borders USA) and filmmaker Bobby Bailey (Co-founder, Invisible Children). YEAH BOBBY!



John Legend supports the MCN. Check out this related PSA from John Legend, directed at college students:



Participate in the campaign John is promoting, here.

New John Legend & The Roots Album on its way : Wake Up Everybody

John Legend covering "Wake Up Everybody", originally performed in the 1970's by Harold Melvin & the Blue Notes, with Teddy Pendergrass singing lead vocals.



Grabbed the above video from this HeadCount blog post:

In the lead up to the Midterm elections, John Legend and The Roots are dropping an album of covers called "Wake Up Everybody!" with the explicit intention of encouraging civic awareness amongst young people.

The album will also include this leaked track by The Roots & John Legend, "Hard Times", originally performed by Baby Huey and the Babysitters:



The album comes out September 12. You can pre-order it here. Looking forward to it! I've loved John Legend since his involvement with the 2008 Obama Campaign.



If you're out there ...

Pledge to vote in the next US elections on November 2, 2010 and get a reminder phone call from one of your favorite artists. Sign up here.

Climate Rally with Musicians & Speakers - Washington, DC National Mall. Sun, April 25

On Sunday, April 25, from 11am - 7pm, Earth Day Network and partner organizations will be holding a massive Climate Rally on the National Mall to demand that Congress enacts comprehensive climate and clean energy legislation in 2010.

The list of performers includes Sting, John Legend, The Roots, Jimmy Cliff, Passion Pit, Bob Weir, Willie Colón, Joss Stone, Robert Randolph, Patrick Stump, Mavis Staples, Booker T, Honor Society, and Tao Rodriguez-Seeger.


photo: Passion Pit

The list of speakers includes Reverend Jesse Jackson, film director, James Cameron, AFL-CIO President, Richard Trumka, Olympic gold medalist, Billy Demong, producer, Trudie Styler, author, Margaret Atwood, NFL player and television personality, Dhani Jones, and environmental photographer Sebastian Copeland.

Free bus rides to the Climate Rally are available to persons living in WV, VA, PA, NY, MD and OH. Buses will depart from those cities on April 25 and return Sunday evening after the Rally. Sign up here for a ride. If you are not in one of those states, you can contact our Field Organizer to arrange a special deal by emailing cernansky(@)earthday.net. Earth Day Network is also arranging for free vans to transport K-12 or college students from across the country. Contact our Campus Manager to schedule a van by emailing rozas(@)earthday.net.

Or, check it out on the live stream - Earth Day Network will live stream the event here.

John Legend - Billboard's #1 Green Artist of 2009, Hip Hop Caucus partner, Nonprofit Founder, Obama Campaign Supporter

Hip Hop Caucus is handing out tix to see John Legend and India Arie at Merriweather outside of DC on July 17th to the first 20 people who sign up to volunteer with the Hip Hop Caucus' Opportunity Corps, following an email blast that went out to their email list today.

The email noted that the Hip Hop Caucus is partnering with John Legend ... "because of his commitment to going green, we have partnered with IMP Productions and his green summer tour in support of his latest album 'Evolver.'"

To read the Billboard write up on John Legend, who was recognized as Billboard's #1 Green Artist of the Year, click here.

To read about John Legend's 2009 "green tour" in partnership with Reverb, click here.

To check out his philanthropy, the Show Me Campaign, which seeks to eradicate extreme poverty in villages across Africa, click here.

To read more about the origins and details of the campaign, check out this ABC story.

And check out this CNN video interview with John Legend.



And this promo video that John made for Show Me Campaign.



John Legend talking about why he supported Obama for President:



John Legend interview from the Obama Inauguration: