Blake Willson Group, LLC’s Post

Hiring Our Heroes’ Small Business Grant Program will award five veteran- and military spouse-owned small businesses with a one-time $10,000 grant. To be eligible to apply for the Grant Program, an applicant must be: 1) A legal resident of and currently reside in the contiguous 48 states, Alaska and/or Hawaii; and 2) A for-profit business owned by a veteran or military spouse (at least 51% or more ownership) with 3 to 20 employees including the owner, all full or part-time employees, and independent (1099) contractors. For the purposes of this contest, veteran or military spouse means: a) any person who previously served in the active duty, National Guard or Reserve components of the Army, Navy, Marine Corps, Air Force, Space Force or Coast Guard and has an honorable discharge; b) any person who currently serves in National Guard or Reserve component of the Army, Navy, Marine Corps, Air Force, Space Force or Coast Guard; or c) any person who is presently married to a current member of the Army, Navy, Marine Corps, Air Force, Space Force, Coast Guard, or any National Guard or Reserve components of the military; and 3) A small business with less than $5 million in annual revenue and located in an economically vulnerable community, or the business can otherwise demonstrate financial need brought on by hardship beyond the owner’s control. Economically vulnerable communities are defined as any community in a zip code that receives a “stress score” of 40 or greater, as measured by the Distressed Communities Index. Applicants may complete the entry form at https://loom.ly/6BfVvbc Applicants must submit their entry before 11:59 pm EDT on February 29, 2024. Learn More: https://loom.ly/Jmzb_mo #smallbusiness #veterans #grantprogram #business

Please read and share: As a business owner, nonprofit or church we need to wake up!!!! I am thrilled to share my passion for building programs that benefit people, regardless of any specific group or organization. Throughout my career, I have worked across various industries and always found ways to enhance efficiency and transparency. The end result? A stronger community, with increased volunteerism, and access to the resources and funding necessary to achieve positive outcomes. Whether it's through volunteer work or financial support, I believe that we all have a role to play in creating a better world. I am committed to continuing this work and making a difference in the lives of those around me. Excited to announce my new venture in the merchant services world with MBCard! With the ability to take wealth made from processing credit cards and pump it back into the community, we can help churches, nonprofits, and those in need during these trying times. After Covid, the cost of doing business has gone up in some instances 30%. Why continue to pay processing fees? You’re just punishing your customers and business by adding these fees to your goods and service. Let's work together to make a positive impact and support our community. Here’s where I come into the picture. Dual pricing has been around since 2010, this format is being used by roughly 20% of businesses, and for good reason. By passing the fees onto the customer, businesses can see a significant savings on their bottom line. With MBCard, customers are given the choice to pay the fees using their credit card or pay cash and have no fees. It's a win-win for everyone involved. Don't let processing companies, banks, and credit card companies continue to make enormous profits off of your customers. MBCard is a merchant services company who’s been around for 39 years. In some scenarios they can integrate with what you’re currently using or they can replace what you have, make it better and in some cases give all your equipment to you for free. The fees passed on to the customer is split with the processors (equipment/tech support) credit card companies, banks and MBCard. MBCard is changing the game by giving back up to 50% of their profits from each transaction to the community. And they're not just talking the talk - they're walking the walk by providing transparent access to their books. Have you ever received residual income from your credit card company or merchant service provider? Probably not. That's why I'm excited to be a part of this new ecosystem and disrupt the industry in a positive way for individuals and communities alike. Join me on this journey towards a more equitable and compassionate society. Together, we can build a brighter future for all. Dave Graybill https://lnkd.in/gYunGa7H

Check out the latest Buisness of Defense episode with Blake Willson Group President and CEO R.J. Blake, CPA, CGFM and ASMC CEO Rich Brady. American Society of Military Comptrollers Federal News Network WTOP News

Hope! When the Mission is the Members! I am sure that Navy Federal Credit Union is not the only organization that offered this (I hope). But what a great example.... Being a member driven organization, they have chosen to put their members first. In fact as you will see in the short video below, 'Our Members are Our Mission"... The organization's message (here is the link: https://lnkd.in/g2Y_gD9v) said that in the event of a Government Shutdown that seemed inevitable last weekend, they would ensure that our servicemen and women would be able to pay bills and continue with life as though their pay was not held up. Navy Federal sets a great example. One of the beauties about credit unions is that they are member focused. Not quite "the customer is always right", but certainly, "the customer has good reason to feel the way they do, let's see how we can help!" Fortunately, this time there was no shutdown, but in the past Navy Federal Credit Union has stood by this promise. When considering where to invest, save and spend your money, take a look at the organization's ethos - not just what they say the support but the actions they take. Organizations in general will not be socially responsible until their customers tell them it is a priority and the shareholders discover that you cannot make money if you don't take care of the community. As a coach I love this ethos. There is a lot we can learn from the approach. Community and member care does NOT mean low or no profits. I would love to know about other companies that care first! https://lnkd.in/gYjTAUXZ #Futureofwork #coaching #projectmanagement NCPMI Lola

No small task. While it is easy to point to the numbers, the goal was not numbers driven in the office. How do we better support the Installation? What contract vehicles should we get in place? How do we attract more small businesses and strengthen our base? Figure those out and the numbers will follow.

A recent USAA Education Foundation gift of $500,000 to the Texas A&M Foundation "will support efforts to enhance the financial readiness of future military officers from the Texas A&M Corps of Cadets." This endowed professorship will empower members with the knowledge to understand financial concepts and military financial programs. Thank you, The USAA Educational Foundation, for working alongside us to cultivate financial literacy among future service members. Read the full article below ⬇️ #tamu #financialplanning #financialliteracy #military

Its virtual and easy on the schedule.

🗞️ #SBA Administrator Guzman Celebrates Anniversary of Women’s Business Ownership Act, Announces FY23 Lending to Women-Owned Businesses Administrator Isabel Guzman, head of the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) and the voice in President Biden’s Cabinet for America’s more than 33 million small businesses, celebrated the 35th anniversary of Women's Business Ownership Act of 1988 (H.R. 5050) by announcing new data showing SBA-backed loans to women-owned small businesses are up nearly 70 percent under the Biden-Harris Administration, totaling $5.1 billion in lending to women-owned businesses in FY23. READ PRESS RELEASE – https://lnkd.in/e5nPc7Nf #SmallBusiness #WOSB #FederalContracting #Navy #MarineCorps #DONOSBP

Sometimes I make no headway asking for help via cold call emails. I get it. So I'll open up some requests via this more open forum here. If you can assist, please do! I run a large car group (75K ppl) in Colorado, called Colorado Cars & Coffee, and this year we kicked off a scholarship for auto program students. We are starting small but hope to grow, but have $1000 for this first year. We'd like to give away 2 scholarships of $500 this calendar year. I wanted to reach out to you for some help or advice. Could you help provide some guidance, or point us to the right points of contact on how to administer this and find deserving students? I am working on the application process, but if you had examples or guidelines, that would be very helpful. We are new at this. Currently, we are focused on Colorado based auto programs. Details on our scholarship: Announcing the brand new CSM Timothy Bolyard Automotive Program Scholarship! Colorado Cars & Coffee has started a new scholarship for Colorado based automotive program students, and we'd love for you to get involved! This new scholarship honors Command Sgt. Major Timothy Bolyard, U.S. Army, who lost his life in Afghanistan serving our country. CSM Bolyard was Father to Preston, one of our photographers on the SHIFT Colorado Magazine team. CSM Bolyard strongly believed in furthering one's education to help reach their full potential. He also loved cars, enjoying car shows now and again but his life was cut too short. Our Year One goal for the CSM Timothy Bolyard Scholarship, brought to you by Colorado Cars & Coffee, is to give away two $500 scholarships to deserving students. All funds that come in will go to the students, with full transparency, and an accounting report upon request. Applicant students will submit a short essay of why they are deserving, and the C&C admin team, along with Preston, will select the winner(s). Not restricted to one Colorado school, the program must be automotive in nature, and the student must be verified in good standing. We have an initial eight sponsors joining our ranks supporting this scholarship with monthly donations, they are Hail Medic, Camaro's Plus, Lowry Insurance, Plus Five Horsepower, Oakmont Law, Community West Mortgage, Elite Roofing & Solar and Road Home Exteriors. We want to leverage the power of our large group with small donations to power the funds needed to make this happen. We have started a Ko-fi tier for interested C&C members to participate, asking for $4 per month. Of course, you may donate more, but we wanted to make it accessible to as many as possible. Our car community in Colorado is awesome, and with your contribution, you will make a positive difference in the life of a local automotive student. Learn more about Tim here, https://lnkd.in/gAXjK4dR Thank you!

I'm very excited about our new Veteran 501c3 nonprofit website (https://lnkd.in/eGmPCue9) that launched this past Monday. We couldn't have done this without a full team effort over the course of 4 months. Programs were designed, more leaders were added to our team, we have several interns join to help the cause, and we have a new board of directors. All of our services are free of charge. The academic programs can be signed up for on our website and include: -The Next Step Program, a 6-month curriculum dedicated toward enhancing leadership skills, resume knowledge and creation, determining the appropriate major and minor as well as college, university, or trade school, and more. -The Transition Assistance Program (TAP) Refresher, a 1–2-hour presentation from an elite, retired military officer who taught TAP for 7 years upon retirement. After several conversations with members of Congress, we've determined TAP is not being attended as the law dictates (averaging 30% attendance), and so this refresher will certainly be an abbreviated form of the Next Step Program, and for those who didn't have an opportunity to attend TAP, provide everything you need to know about career preparation and more. Health care advocacy, essentially a patient advocate for all Veterans no matter the time in service or discharge type, is becoming ever more important in this evolving health care world. Veterans Affairs has new policies and programs everyday but are often unannounced or not understood. Some Veterans need help with their enrollment, their patient experience, or even knowing how to retrieve service records. We also help those who are homeless get the resources they need. Check out our health care advocacy pages on the website and send an inquiry to us; we'll respond timely. Our new and first-ever Veteran nonprofit collaboration with New Balance Athletics allows us to sell New Balance gear on our website! Take advantage of the shop, shown on our website. We have shorts, hooded sweatshirts, t-shirts, polos, and more all for men, women, and youth! We have a calendar of events, webinars, fact sheets, and more under our resources section. These will be continuously updated and added to over time. Be sure to register for webinars and other events. Lastly, your generosity and support has made all of this possible. Please consider donating any tax-deductible amount to our organization to support our Veterans and the programs we're now delivering. We're filling the gaps for Veterans, for better outcomes. If you want to help, come join us. From WWII to present, we'll be delivering results that our Veterans deserve for so courageously serving our nation. Thanks to John (Punky) Brewster, Shenika Vilton, MD, Naomi Savaro, Gabriella Leverence, M.S., Adeline Hatfield, Alisa Andrews B.S. B.A., Sydney Gochenauer, MD, MPH Candidate, Maria Mongiardo, Heather Shore, our directors, and many more!