Spotlight On

Mission: The mission of the National Foundation for Teaching Entrepreneurship (NFTE) is to teach entrepreneurship to low-income young people, ages 11-18, so they can become economically productive members of society by improving their academic, business, technology and life skills. NFTE is widely viewed as a world leader in promoting entrepreneurial literacy among youth. To date NFTE has reached over 80,000 young people.

NFTE believes that learning about and practicing entrepreneurship can not only help young people to become business entrepreneurs, but that entrepreneurial education can have relevant applications for youth in multiple areas of their lives. If students practice meaningful reading, writing, math problems, and technology applications, students’ attitudes about school can improve which leads to further engagement in school and academic skill building.

Headquartered in New York City, NFTE has regional offices in New York City, Boston, Fairchester (Westchester County, NY, Fairfield County, CT), Pittsburgh, Northern California, and Washington, DC. NFTE has national program partners in Kansas, Florida, Iowa, Mississippi, Kentucky, Ohio, and international partners in the United Kingdom, Belgium, India, Argentina, South Africa, Tanzania, and El Salvador.

Background: NFTE was founded in 1987 by Steve Mariotti (a former business executive and entrepreneur) while he was a public high school teacher in New York City’s South Bronx. NFTE began as a dropout prevention and academic performance improvement program for students who were at risk of failing or quitting school. Combining his business background with his desire to teach at-risk students, Steve discovered that when low-income youth are given the opportunity to learn about entrepreneurship their innate "street smarts" can easily develop into "academic smarts" and "business smarts." Through entrepreneurship, youth see that what they are learning in the classroom is relevant to the real world.

Current Programs: Often referred to as a "mini-MBA" style course, NFTE's youth entrepreneurship programs cover a wide variety of topics in a simplified, easy-to-understand way including return on investment, supply and demand, opportunity recognition, personal finance, cost/benefit analysis, and sales and marketing. Programs are offered in public schools, after-school programs at community-based organizations, and intensive summer business camps around the world.

In addition to programs for youth, NFTE offers accredited training for educators and youth workers on how to teach entrepreneurship to students. It is through this leveraged program model that we certify and provide technical assistance to hundreds of dedicated teachers and youth work professionals who then go back to their schools/organizations/communities and teach the NFTE course. Known as “NFTE University,” our train-the-trainer program offers specific insights and techniques about the pedagogy of entrepreneurship. Offered as three-day or week-long courses, teacher certification programs are led by seasoned NFTE instructors and expert guest speakers who build upon NFTE’s nationally recognized, award-winning curricula. All course materials introduce participants to the basics of entrepreneurship and business ownership. Once concepts are mastered, a significant portion of the training focuses on how to successfully develop a business plan for the beginner.

Funding Needs: NFTE has ongoing funding needs to support its programs and general operations. Programmatically, NFTE needs support for alumni services, teacher training programs, program partnerships, research and evaluation, and curriculum development.

Every month, the "Spotlight On" highlights the activities of a different 501(c)3 nonprofit organization located in the tri-state region (NY, NJ, or CT). The selection of organizations for the "Spotlight On" is based on criteria such as programmatic interests, geographic focus, and size, to ensure the broadest possible representation of the region's nonprofit sector.

If you'd like to see your NPO in the "Spotlight," please use this submission form to send us a profile of your organization. Or e-mail a description of your organization, following the above format, to nyweb@foundationcenter.org, with "Spotlight Submission" in the subject line.