Richard M. Schulze Family Foundation Grants $50,000 to Goodwill Industries of Southwest Florida

FORT MYERS, Fla. - Dec. 11, 2015 - PRLog -- Goodwill Industries of Southwest Floridahas received a $50,000 grant from the Richard M. Schulze Family Foundation.  The grant will provide support to the Goodwill SWFL MicroEnterprise Institute, Goodwill’s small business training program.

“This funding will really help the expansion of our program across the region,” says Dorothy Browing, Goodwill’s community education program manager.  “We will be able to offer ten additional classes across our area, and pilot an online version of the program to service rural communities and people with transportation barriers.”

Goodwill started its microenterprise program in 2011, as a response to the area’s high unemployment during the recession.  Since its inception, the microenterprise program has honored 44 graduating classes and 428 program graduates.  Those graduates have started 161 local small businesses.

“The Richard M. Schulze Family Foundation is pleased to be a part of the Goodwill SWFL MicroEnterprise Institute initiative” says Mary Beth Geier, region coordinator for the Richard M. Schulze Family Foundation.  Giving people the opportunity to learn about entrepreneurship, as well as create sustainable business plans, will positively impact both the participant and community.”

The Richard M. Schulze Family Foundation http://www.schulzefamilyfoundation.org was created in 2004 by Best Buy founder Dick Schulze.  The foundation supports organizations that operate in the areas of human and social services, education, health, and entrepreneurship.  The grant to Goodwill is part of an initiative to bolster entrepreneurship and improve the odds of success for future generations of entrepreneurs.

Goodwill Industries of Southwest Florida http://www.goodwillswfl.org is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization that serves Lee, Collier, Charlotte, Hendry and Glades Counties.  Goodwill’s mission is to help people with disabilities and disadvantages by offering life-changing opportunities to achieve independence. In addition to the microenterprise program, Goodwill also offers job training and employment assistance at its Job-Link centers, education through its L.I.F.E. Academy charter school, disability accessible housing, and numerous other programs.  In 2014, Goodwill helped nearly 40,000 Southwest Floridians, and expects that number to increase in 2015.