I am so excited to announce that I was named a finalist for the Idea Cafe Small Business “Al Marks Inventive Mind Grant”. There were 762 applicants who were narrowed down to 128 (for the semi finals), which was further narrowed to a field of 40, and I’ve been named as one of the finalists!

Francie Ward, CEO of IdeaCafe.com, explained that the semi-finalists (and the finalists) for this grant, The Al Marks Inventive Mind Grant, “demonstrate an inventive approach which will inspire others who come to IdeaCafe.com seeking advice on starting and running a business, plus they have a plan to reach out and help others in some way.”

Now I need your help…
Idea Cafe is opening up the selection of the one winner to the vote of Idea Cafe’s entire audience (and the world, if they wish to show up and vote).

In addition to the votes I will get from Idea Cafe’s current audience, I am inviting my readers, friends, family, clients and customers to support my chance of winning the $1,000.00 small business grant. Simply go to the Al Marks’ inventive mind small business grant finalists page, click on the link to cast your vote, and vote for “Dee Phipps”.

Please note that voting on the grant winner is a privilege reserved for registered Idea Cafe Regulars. But if anyone who wants to vote is not already a Regular, you can quickly sign up at the “voting booth” so you can access it through Idea Cafe’s “Members’ Door”. There is no charge to sign up as an Idea Cafe regular and it just means you will get special privileges (such as being able to vote for me), plus receive Idea Cafe’s “Biz Tips” newsletter twice a month. You can get off the list at any time, but I am asking that you do not do so immediately so that your vote will be sure to count.

Idea Cafe is accepting votes from now until midnight Pacific Time, Saturday, August 11, 2007. Within the next days after that, they will tally the votes and announce the grant winner. The winner will be determined by the number of votes cast by Idea Cafe’s regulars (remember if you are not a regular, you can sign up to be a regular at no charge, and have the privilege of voting!) and announced online on August 15, 2007, Idea Cafe’s 12th anniversary online.

You can learn more about my business by visiting SavingGraceEnterprises.com.

Learn more about the Al Mark’s Inventive Mind Grant by visiting the small business grant center at Idea Cafe. And, please make sure to vote for me, Dee Phipps, before Saturday, August 11, 2007 at midnight, Pacific.

This entry was posted on Wednesday, August 1st, 2007 at 10:38 am and is filed under Work. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.