Kaitlyn Benincosa and Fahad Shakir, from Glendale Community College, have each been awarded $2,500 from the Everyday Entrepreneurship Venture Fund.

Benincosa and Shakir received the $2,500 seed funding for their business concepts.

The two student-entrepreneurs will also receive ongoing mentoring and advising from the Maricopa Small Business Development Center as well as Glendale Community College faculty and staff.

GCC has a main campus at 6000 W. Olive Ave., and a north campus at 5727 W. Happy Valley Road.

Benincosa is opening Belle Botanical & Creations, a business that creates permanent flowers and floral arrangements for weddings and events. Shakir is expanding an existing business, Falafel Avenue, a mobile vegan food concept.

Everyday Entrepreneurship Venture Fund (EEVF) is a program created by the National Association for Community College Entrepreneurship (NACCE) to help community college students start and scale their businesses. NACCE is fostering community investment through this program by matching local donations up to $20,000.

Glendale Community College, along with four other colleges in the Maricopa Community College District, participates in the EEVF program and support student-entrepreneurs by providing workshops, classes, advising and sponsoring pitch competitions.

Several Glendale Community College business faculty members have been instrumental in making this opportunity available for students. Dr. Gabriela Cojanu recruits and pre-selects students for the program, and Brent Kleinman helps secure donations, including a $2,500 donation from the Encanto Palmcroft Benefits for the spring 2021 program. Cojanu and Kleinman also served as judges along with business faculty from other Maricopa colleges.

The EEVF program will continue in Fall 2021 and Spring 2022, making it possible for additional student-entrepreneurs to participate and have the opportunity to receive funding.

For more information about EEVF, the Innovation Challenge program, as well as small business and entrepreneurship classes, contact Cojanu at gabriela.cojanu@gccaz.edu.