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Creighton University
2500 California Plaza Omaha, NE 68178
780170 California Plaza Omaha, NE 68178-0170
www.creighton.edu
Instagram - @creighton1878; Facebook - Creighton University; LinkedIn - Creighton University; Twitter - @Creighton; TikTok - @Creighton1878
Joshua Fershee, JD
Dean and Professor of Energy and Business Law
joshuafershee@creighton.edu
+1 (917) 921-7148
Yes
Anthony Hendrickson, PhD, Dean and Professor of Business Intelligence & Analytics; Joshua Fershee, JD, Dean and Professor Energy and Business Law; Project Excution Team: Executive Director; Subject Matter Experts
See attached
Innovation & Entrepreneurship Service Center
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Service/program
Innovation & Entrepreneurship Service Center (IESC) is one of four proposals being submitted by Creighton University. The four innovative and thoughtful projects collectively have the potential to be transformative, lead generational change, and have long-lasting economic growth. IESC will include a full-service legal clinic (IEL Clinic) and select programming for business and technology and is intended to support and be a part of the iHub proposal submitted by SanKoFa Economic Development Corporation through academic and educational programming that would enhance and support wraparound services provided by SanKoFa and its other partners. This initiative is positioned to have a lasting impact on the Omaha community. IESC would provide new individual entrepreneurs, small businesses, nonprofit and community organizations with opportunities to learn and develop a broader understanding of fundamental business and technology practices, and more advanced financial technology, providing wrap around services to support entrepreneurs from idea to execution. The program could start June 2023. The Legal Clinic would be a critical part of the IESC and would provide legal and transactional (non-litigation) assistance for new and developing businesses. These services would help facilitate entity formation, wealth protection, risk management, tax planning, intellectual property registration, and other critical elements of running a profitable and sustainable business that will support and enhance the community it serves. IESC and the Legal Clinic would be housed in North Omaha, both on Creighton’s Campus and in the innovation hub space that would be available. The Legal Clinic would plan to begin supporting clients in June 2023, with the first group of law students in August 2023. The IESC could also support student entrepreneurs seeking to develop businesses in North and South Omaha. These students could be from identified local high schools, as well as Creighton University, University of Nebraska-Omaha, Metropolitan Community College, and other institutions. The IESC would provide support to the potential clients discussed above, as well as serve as a teacher-trainer model educating law students from Creighton University School of Law, helping clients seeking to grow businesses in the community and provide important experiential learning opportunities for students from the Heider College of Business.
Operations would be scheduled to begin in June 2023. For the Legal Clinic, law students would begin work in August of 2023. Work based on this grant funding would plan to end in June 2023, though Creighton Law would being seeking to commit additional private donor funding, foundation grants, and operational funds, as available, to continue operations indefinitely. All programs within the proposal that use funding from this grant can be completed by July 2026.
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Fundamental Change (i.e., a proposal that will continue to elevate North or South Omaha's presence and perception within the region, significantly improving the lives of area residents through physical development) Long-Lasting Economic Growth (i.e., a proposal that will foster gainful employment opportunities and financial investment in the area, leading to the creation of generational wealth and widespread economic vitality in North and South Omaha) Transformational (i.e., a proposal that will help energize, recharge, or spur significant and favorable advancements in North or South Omaha's function or appearance)
Policy (i.e., develop or improve context-sensitive education, finance, health, training, zoning, etc.) Sustainable Community (i.e., create or enhance housing, services, education, civic uses, recreation, etc.)
See attached Proposal Description and Needs Alignment file.
This proposal can help address some of the key opportunities that were identified in the Visioning Workshop Summary. Specifically, the IESC and its Legal Clinic can help entrepreneurs and businesses “leverage money to execute strategic plan.” Through financial education and access to resources to help access and maximize available funds, this proposal will support development of new and expanded businesses to support community revitalization and stabilization. In addition, by working with our iHub partners, the program would help “nurture and support what already exists with funding and technical assistance; networking related to entrepreneurs and community groups (opportunities).” We recognize that there is already available expertise in the community, and this program would work with and seek to amplify the power of those voices, while expanding their bandwidth to support a larger and broader community of people. The Summary identified “lots of vacant land along corridor” and note the “great opportunity for development with minimal physical displacement and trans[portation] potential.” Through the educational efforts of IESC and the legal services of the Legal Clinic, entrepreneurs and nonprofit organizations would have access, in their community, to the necessary expertise and advice to ensure this opportunity is not missed or underdeveloped. Further, the Summary noted that that for “economic development,” there was “not enough support for established businesses.” The IESC and its Legal Clinic would be initially focused on supporting development of new businesses, but both would also be available to serve existing businesses directly and by supporting new businesses that support existing businesses (such as cleaning services for apartment buildings or offices). We also know that many small businesses, operating as sole proprietorships, do not have the resources to expand because the cost of accessing necessary legal services is cost prohibitive. The Legal Clinic would be available to facilitate expansion by providing risk advice, the ability to create an entity, and support the necessary legal infrastructure to allow a small business to add employees, seek loans, and take other opportunities to expand.
In LB1024, the Legislature stated several findings that are priorities that need to be addressed. This proposal is designed to support the varied priorities, but specifically addresses priority #4, which states, “The social and economic challenges in North Omaha and South Omaha have persisted for multiple generations, partially fueled by past racial segregation and the historical practice known as redlining.” Redlining is a leading impediment to building generational wealth, and this program is designed to help put in place strategies to help people in North and South Omaha begin that process. LB1024 provides funding opportunities to the affected communities, which is an important start, and the financial educational opportunities created by the IESC will help give community members the information tools to begin creating wealth. While the opportunities to build such wealth are far past due, these are essential skills to change the future. The Legal Clinic can be a critical part of helping to create a great wealth future by providing legal protection preserve and protect wealth that is created, as well as by creating succession planning to ensure that wealth is passed on from generation to generation.
The Legal Clinic anticipates a significant economic impact on the community. It is difficult to anticipate specific needs that particular businesses will have in any given year, especially depending on the economic climate, but based on the operations of other clinics and the program design, we have some estimates for the businesses we will serve. Among our services, the following should have a direct economic impact. We estimate that we will be able to, each year: • Provide legal representation to more than 40 clients, including small businesses and nonprofits, for a total of 120 over the three-year term. • Assist in forming 12 to 24 small businesses each year (36 to 72 for the term) • Obtain federal 501(c)(3) tax-exemption status for 3-6 nonprofit corporations (9-18 for the term). Each of these businesses and nonprofit organizations would help provide employment and other economic opportunities to the community. New Ventures The economic impact of new business creation is significant both in monetary and social benefits. In terms of monetary impact, we believe we can assist in the creation of 25 new businesses annually over the three years of the grant period. Certainly, there will be many more ideas and business startups than just 25. However, knowing that less than half of new businesses fail within the first year, we believe 25 ongoing concerns is a reasonable estimate. Based upon our estimate and the US Census data below, we have projected the overall economic impact of new ventures. According to the US Census the average economic impact of a new small business: • No Employees - $47,000 • 1-4 Employees - $387,000 • 5-9 Employees – $1,080,000 • 10-19 Employees - $2,164,000 • 20-99 Employees - $$7,124,000 • 100-499 Employees - $40,775,000 Of the 25 new ventures we anticipate creating annually over the 3 years of this initial grant period, it has been projected that five will employ 1 to 4 employees, 15 will employ 5 to 9 employees, 3 will employ 10 to 19 employees, and 2 will employ 20 to 99 employees over the three-year period. Thus, by the end of the grant period there will be 75 total new businesses created with 15 employing 1 to 4 employees, 45 employing 5 to 9, 9 employing 10 to 19, and 6 employing 20 to 99 employees. This would translate to $116,625,000 in annual gross revenues generated by these new businesses. Equally important these new enterprises will create employment opportunities for 450 to 1,230 individuals in the community (720 would be the median job creation expected). Typical studies indicate that 68% of money spent locally remains within the community. Thus, it is anticipated that these new businesses would create another $79,000,000 of economic impact annually within the target communities. Technology Education and FinTech Literacy Both of these programs are designed to enhance the skillsets of program participants. Participants will be able to secure employment opportunities in positions which should pay between $45,000 and $100,000 annually, based on US Labor Department statistics for the job categories that these programs provide. This is a significant increase over the average income in the target communities.
A sound legal and financial foundation for new and expanding businesses will benefit the community by protecting the individuals involved financially and otherwise from potential harms that mistakes in practices or a lack of entity protection can create. Small business owners can be held liable for actions of people they work with, and they can be vulnerable to massive, and sometimes avoidable, tax liabilities that can devastate a business or even lead to legal proceedings and jail. By having access to necessary information and experts, the community and its members will be benefited, and able to be protected, in ways that are not currently available. The community benefits of new businesses are myriad. Obviously, they create jobs in the community and have a significant impact on the local economy as noted above. They also increase the tax base of the community. This strengthens the community’s position with the municipalities and the state. They also create many social impacts, as well. The presence of new business spurs innovation and growth in those around them. Local businesses make products and services more available to the community members. Smaller firms tend to have more flexible hours that enhances the services available to the community. Local businesses hold events, get involved in the community and give the community an identity. This identity becomes a source of communal pride and builds confidence among those that live and work in the community. Their presence enhances the neighborhoods and lowers crime. They have positive environmental benefits as well. All these items have a flywheel effect that may start slowly but quickly gains momentum and becomes a source of long-term positive change. Many of these same features can be attributed to the community benefits of educational programs such as the Technology and FinTech Literacy programs: 1) More jobs, 2) Less unemployment, 3) Less underemployment, 4) Better paying jobs, 5) Career advancement, 6) More economic resources and capital formation in the community, and 7) increased tax base.
The lESC and its Legal Clinic will be bringing access to best practices to the business community it will serve. The educational programs will help entrepreneurs and existing businesspeople learn about the best and most innovative way to pursue their goals. In addition, the legal services provide will help new businesses create a sound foundation, as well as set of annual best practices to ensure compliance and accountability throughout the life of the business. The Entrepreneurship and Business Development education modules are best in class. They were developed by serial entrepreneurs with extensive experience in Omaha and the region. The modules have been vetted by successful serial entrepreneurs for validity and comprehensiveness. Likewise, the Technology and FinTech Literacy educational materials have been developed by experts. Where applicable the technology materials have been linked to best practice certification programs recognized by industry participants.
The Legal Clinic will measure outcomes in terms of specific services, as noted above, as well as the number of clients served and hours of services provided. We will be able to quantify the legal services provided to the community, and all of the services provided should be in addition to, not in place of, those already provided. Each student will be required to provide at least 150 hours of client service per semester, and each supervising attorney will provide substantially more. The Entrepreneurship and Business Development programming would assist in the creation of 25 new ventures annually over the grant period (75 new ventures in total). The program will monitor the number of startups and follow them through to launch or failure; documenting critical information points. The Technology Education and FinTech Literacy programs will capture data on the number of students served as well as the employment outcomes of the program participants.
Yes
The program is designed to work with the SanKoFa Economic Development Corporation to find and support creating, developing, and expanding new businesses in the community, as well as supporting the broader economic and community development goals of SanKoFa. Additional partnership will be sought, as appropriate, to further the goals of the program and serve the community.
No
Creighton University would designate space at its currently owned and operated property identified as the Cardiac Center at 3006 Webster St., Omaha, NE 68131 which is located in Track 51 of the Qualified Census Tracks. The building is a 65,000 GSF facility and currently scheduled to be primarily vacated by summer 2023. It contains large and small classrooms, collaboration rooms, conference rooms and offices. The current floor plans are attached.
Within one or more QCTs
Yes
Yes
No
As the services described will be provided to qualified individuals/entities free of charge, the request covers the expense to provide the programming.
Funding for the proposed programming would come from the grant. Entities would receive the services for free. Based on successful community engagement, the University could seek additional gift/grant support from other entities interested in continuing the program based upon documented outcomes.
No
Financial sustainability would require additional funding and/or the ability to charge for the services.
Yes
The Legal Clinic program can be scaled depending upon resources. At least one supervising attorney would be necessary and we could serve more clients with more lawyers.
The University would provide the physical and technical infrastructure to deliver programming, including replacement costs of the infrastructure.
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Organizational Chart Plans and detailed descriptions, including pictures and a map of the site location/surrounding area Pro Forma Request Rationale Documentation