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HUSTLING LEGIT
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Teaching Business to Youthful Offenders
MISSION STATEMENT
Hustling Legit's mission is to provide business education to incarcerated individuals and to encourage those who qualify, to start a small business in their community after release. The objective is to make ex-offenders independent stakeholders in their community by providing education, funding and support services.
In 2007, Hustling Legit arranged with Project Enterprise, a not-for-profit organization, located in New York City, to assist ex-offenders who had graduated from the Hustling Legit program which is currently operating in two New York State facilities; Bedford Hills for Women, and Greene Correctional Facility for Men.
Project Enterprise offers business education and small loans to start business enterprises. Please visit their website for more information at www.projectenterprise.org.
Hustling Legit is operating under the direction of the New York State Department of Correctional Services Division of Education and through the Workplace and Community Transition Training for Youth Offenders Grant Program.
The inmates who are enrolled in the courses, Introduction: Basic Business and How To Prepare a Business Plan are youth offenders under the age of 26, with less than five years to serve before release.
The program started July 16, 2001 at all three facilities. In January 2003 the second class of inmates started the program. The new class will be supplied with courseware from both Hustling Legit and the National Foundation for Teaching Entrepreneurship. For further information about NFTE, please visit their web site at www.nfte.com. With the participation of NFTE it is anticipated that the Hustling Legit program will continue to expand.
HUSTLING LEGIT PROGRAM
A non-profit educational venture
The Hustling Legit Program is divided into three parts: 1. Hustling Legit Education, provides business education to inmates who qualify. 2. Hustling Legit Services, provides business support services to ex-offenders who are graduates of the Education Program. 3. Hustling Legit Fund, will recommend to the various non-profits and other organizations which are affiliated with the Hustling Legit Program, start-up funding to ex-offenders who qualify. At present, The Hustling Legit Fund does not disburse any funding directly to ex-offenders. Only the organizations that are not-for-profit are authorized to provide funding. Each organization has certain criteria to qualify for start-up funding.
HUSTLING LEGIT EDUCATION
The concept for the Hustling Legit Program is to provide basic business education, including preparing a business plan, in order to encourage youthful offenders to start a small business in their community after release. Even though the individual may decide that owning and operating a small business is not what they want, the experience and information gained from these courses will provide a working knowledge of the world of business.
The business educational program that Hustling Legit has established is adaptable to the following individuals: youthful inmates; youthful ex-offenders who have been released; ex-offenders who have been on parole for at least one year; the general inmate population who are required to enroll in business education under the Department of Corrections curriculum program; inmates and ex-offenders who are veterans.
HUSTLING LEGIT SERVICES
Hustling Legit has established strategic alliances with non-profit organizations and Correctional Services individuals to provide various services for inmates and ex-offenders. Among them are: The Director of Education, New York State Department of Correctional Services; The Supervisor of Educational Placement Community Resources Development Unit for New York State Department of Correctional Services; New York State Business Development Center, which provide counseling on business plans to ex-offenders throughout New York State; New York State offices of SCORE, which provides counseling on all aspects of business to ex-offenders; New York City office of the SBA, which provides additional business counseling to ex-offenders living in the New York City area.
HUSTLING LEGIT FUND
The following are the minimum requirements for an ex-offender to qualify for funding to start a small business.
1. An inmate must be released from prison and apply as an ex-offender.
2. The ex-offender must have successfully completed the two Hustling Legit business courses while incarcerated.
3. The ex-offender must meet with business support agencies, such as the SBA, SCORE and SBDC to evaluate the business plan for his or her community.
4. A final business plan must be submitted to Hustling Legit and must be approved by the business review committee.
5. An ex-offender must have some work experience after release.
6. The ex-offender must have a personal interview with the organization providing the start-up funding.
7. The ex-offender must agree to supervision of finances, including tax returns and accounting of the start-up funding.
CONTRIBUTIONS
All contributions are tax deductible under the United States Federal Tax Law. Please send contributions to Project Enterprise, 144 West 125th Street, NY, NY 10027. Please note the contribution is to Hustling Legit,For more information on the foundation, visit www.projectenterprise.org
CONTACT INFORMATION
Norman I. Cohen, Founder/Director
email: hustlinglegitny@aol.com
Web site: www.hustlinglegit.com
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