newsminer.com

FAIRBANKS — Great projects that make real differences in people’s lives begin with one common element: an idea.

Hoping to germinate those seeds into thriving enterprises that in turn feed rural Alaskan economies, a statewide program is offering cash and technical assistance to the best ideas.

Alaska Marketplace, a program by the Alaska Federation of Natives, is seeking the state’s best ideas for its third-annual competition. Winners can use prize money to develop their ideas and stimulate rural economies.

Most all applicants have identified a local need and a way to fill it, AFN Vice President Nelson Angapak said. And that’s the key to success in Alaska’s smallest communities, he added.

“They are using their ingenuity to come up with ideas that will lead to the solution of a need in their community, thereby leading to ownership of that product not only by the individual, but by that community,” Angapak said. “They have the support of the community, and that’s one of the most critical elements in growing a business in rural Alaska.”

Shirley Moto is the rural outreach coordinator for Alaska Marketplace. She said lack of money and resources are the biggest hurdles entrepreneurs in rural areas face and that those hurdles can be tough to overcome.

“They’ve got these great ideas, but nobody is hearing them,” she said. “There is no avenue for that to happen. We’re trying to provide this great idea match.”

The competition awards prize money funded through a long list of sponsors, and every winner is eligible for up to $10,000 in technical assistance, which can be an asset for entrepreneurs with great ideas but little experience running a business, organizers said.

Alaska Marketplace co-director Rose Ellis estimated 18 of last year’s 21 winners have taken advantage of the technical support to launch business plans. The support most in demand includes help with marketing, general business management, Web site development and accounting.

Success stories

Ellis has kept in close contact with many past winners, receiving regular, informal reports via e-mail on projects in various stages.

Among the success stories:

• Barbie Baumgartner feeds the homeless in Fairbanks and North Pole, but is always struggling for funds to provide hot meals. Her business idea? To start a catering service employing the homeless, with profits going to Unity Outreach. The $30,000 went a long way, almost covering the price tag of an 18-foot van. However, Baumgartner is still raising money to outfit the van with a commercial kitchen so she can take the ministry on the road.

• John Oscar of Mekoryuk was among the first year winners in an arts and crafts category. With the prize funds, he secured a place in the village to teach arts and crafts and produce work for sale. Along with his own position, Oscar pays an assistant — and those are two new jobs for the village, Angapak said. Oscar also has created a Web site from which he markets his products, a blend of traditional and contemporary art.

• Fresh produce is a real treasure in Nikolski on Umnak Island, but also is expensive when available, Ellis said. In last year’s competition, $30,000 was awarded to develop a commercial greenhouse serving the village. Products grown in some beds will be sold for operational expenses, while the remaining space can be cultivated by individuals for personal use. Wind turbines will eventually provide electricity to the greenhouse, feeding extra output into the community’s grid, she explained.

• Winter transportation between villages in Alaska’s far northwest can be downright difficult — even dangerous. Entrepreneur Walter “Sonny” Russell earned $35,000 for his idea to provide wintertime inter-village shuttle service in Northwest. The money funded, in part, the purchase of a Sledcoach, a four-person, heated, enclosed cabin mounted on runners and designed to be pulled by a snowmachine. Russell anticipates hiring dispatchers, drivers, mechanics and people to build the sleds.

Applying

By applying for the contest, prospective entrepreneurs can round out their ideas. Step two, Ellis said, is usually funding, and that’s something every winner receives.

Last year, more than $700,000 was awarded as capital to launch ideas into action. Organizers winnowed more than 296 applications to 64 finalists, most of whom competed before judges at the Fairbanks event.

Of those, 21 finalists earned prizes of $15,000 to $60,000. The others were awarded $1,000 each. Winners hailed from across the state.

The contest is open to all Alaskans with ideas that could stimulate rural economies. Entries for the 2008 competition are due Sept. 1. Submissions must fit the theme Innovations for Thriving Communities and fall into one or more sub-categories: affordable energy, practical use of new technology, innovative ideas to reduce the cost of living, investing in people or rural housing of the future.

More information is available online at www.alaskamarketplace.org.