Nonprofit awareness

March 13, 2007 at 8:11 pm | In community, culture, nonprofit, north carolina, organizing | Leave a Comment

A group of North Carolinians are working to get November named Nonprofit Awareness month:

Through a series of local and statewide events during the month, organizers hope not only to increase public backing for the diverse group of nonprofits in North Carolina, but also to increase cooperation within the sector.

– mvc

Business taxes in NC

March 13, 2007 at 7:49 pm | In business, north carolina, survey, taxes, trends | Leave a Comment

A new study has North Carolina tied with four other states for having the lowest business tax burden in the country.

– mvc

Big business in plants

March 13, 2007 at 7:37 pm | In agriculture, business, farming, ncsu, north carolina, rural development, survey, trends | Leave a Comment

A new study from the NC Department of Agriculture reports that the gardening and plant industry brought $8.6 billion worth of business to the state’s economy:

The study concluded that the industry employs 152,000 people statewide and includes 120,741 acres in production. The average homeowner spends about $838 a year on lawn and landscape expenses.

The study was conducted by N.C. State’s University College of Agriculture and Life Sciences and the industries surveyed consisted of everything from greenhouses to landscaping to to Christmas tree farming.

– mvc

More NC LEED projects

March 13, 2007 at 7:29 pm | In architecture, design, environment, future, innovation, north carolina, technology, trends | Leave a Comment

The News & Record reports that Liberty Property Trust is building a 341,000-square-foot warehouse on Pleasant Ridge Road in Greensboro. Like the sites we blogged about yesterday, the builders are shooting to gain certification under the LEED program. Among the innovations planned for the property is a white roof that reflects heat and in doing so cuts cooling costs.

– mvc

NC Policy Watch panel on NC children’s health insurance

March 13, 2007 at 12:39 pm | In ETHL, future, healthcare, north carolina, policy | Leave a Comment

ETHL members might be interested in this March 13th panel on health coverage for NC children. It’s open to the public and at Exploris in Raleigh:

Panelists will explore existing programs as well as ideas for expanding coverage for children, including proposals from Gov. Mike Easley and Action for Children North Carolina.

The lunch meeting, which is open to the public, is hosted by NC Policy Watch, a program of the A.J. Fletcher Foundation, and Action for Children, a statewide advocacy group.

Panelists include Lanier Cansler, president of Cansler Fuqua Solutions and a former state legislator; Mark Holmes, vice president of the N.C. Institute of Medicine; and Tom Vitaglione, senior fellow for health and safely with Action for Children.

The meeting is from 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m.; registration deadline is March 9. Admission is $10 and includes a box lunch.

~ nd

Moving ibiblio

March 13, 2007 at 11:30 am | In education, innovation, journalism, media, nonprofit, north carolina, technology, unc | Leave a Comment

UNC-CH-based ibiblio — a “collection of collections” on the web, which hosts everything from online radio stations to oral histories to poetry archives — is moving its hosting operations to the old super computing center at MCNC:

There, ibiblio can call on the resources of the North Carolina Research and Education Network at not only runs the NCREN network but also works with researchers from around the globe on such cutting-edge technology as the so-called LambdaRail.

– mvc

Surveying entrepreneurial satisfaction

March 13, 2007 at 9:19 am | In business, community, culture, entrepreneurship, infrastructure, nonprofit, north carolina, poll, trends | Leave a Comment

The North Carolina Council for Entrepreneurial Development released a survey of Triangle entrepreneurs last week. Those polled were asked to rank the factors that North Carolina presents for starting and growing an entrepreneurial business.

The trends:

* People Matter Most. The availability and retention of top technical, non-technical and management talent again registered as the most significant concern for high-growth entrepreneurs (which mirrors findings from the 2001, 2004 and 2006 CED surveys).

* Research Universities Fuel Entrepreneurship. The proximity of research universities ranked as the Triangle’s greatest strength. The perceived importance of universities in growing an entrepreneurial company increased significantly, up from #22 in last year’s survey to #7 in this year’s survey.

* New Sources of Seed Funding Prime Startups. Access to alternative financing, such as grants and loans, continues to show increasing importance – up from #16 in 2004, to #7 in 2006, and now #5 in this year’s survey.

* Venture Capital Drives Growth. The need for access to venture capital, both in seed and expansion stages, remains a high priority for respondents. While access to capital had declined in importance CED’s 2001 and 2004 reports, financing sources regained importance in the 2006 report and remain a priority in the 2007 survey.

– mvc

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