Veteran entrepreneurs can ‘STRIVE’ at COCC with free business training

BEND, Ore. (KTVZ) — As one of only eight educational sites in the country to be a designated partner for Syracuse University’s new Startup Training Resources to Inspire Veteran Entrepreneurship program, or STRIVE, Central Oregon Community College’s Small Business Development Center is now taking applications for its inaugural training and mentorship cohort, with the eight-week evening program to begin Jan. 14, 2025.

The free program is limited to 15 enrollees; visit cocc.edu/sbdc to learn more and apply.

Hosted on the Bend campus, the in-person training — held on Tuesday evenings — will show attendees how to successfully launch their own business and connect them with mentorship. STRIVE offers post-program support and even awards several cash prizes.

“We’re giving away $10,000 during a ‘pitch your idea’ competition,” explained project lead Keith Sherrill, coordinator for COCC’s Small Business Development Center’s management program, who was trained by STRIVE faculty to teach the sessions. Complimentary dinners are provided for the duration of the training, Sherrill added.

The program is open to all Central Oregon honorably discharged veterans, spouses, active-duty service members (with less than one year remaining before discharge) and current or former members of the National Guard or Reserves. Fifty percent or more of the business must be owned by a veteran, active military service member or military spouse.

A grant that COCC’s Small Business Development Center received in April from Business Oregon, the state’s economic development agency, helped initiate the partnership with STRIVE.

STRIVE is one of a series of entrepreneurship-oriented programs offered through Syracuse University’s D’Aniello Institute for Veterans and Military Families, which was founded in 2011 to serve some 25 million U.S. veterans, focusing on the social, economic, education and policy issues affecting them and their families.

For more information, contact Keith Sherrill at ksherrill@cocc.edu or 541-383-7290.