Tempe, Ariz., November 9, 2026 – Today, leaders from Maricopa Community Colleges, Wells Fargo Bank, N.A., and the National Association for Community College Entrepreneurship (NACCE) gathered at Phoenix Forge, the largest makerspace in the Southwest, powered by GateWay Community College (GWCC), to announce the launch of the Everyday Entrepreneur Venture Fund (EEVF) pilot program. EEVF will fund emerging low- and middle-income entrepreneurs. Thirteen colleges are taking part in this pilot, including several Maricopa Community Colleges.
“For students who have ambitions of launching their own business that creates local jobs in our communities and contributes to our economy, too often, what they lack is access to capital. The EEVF program changes that,” said Dr. Steven Bloomberg, Maricopa Community Colleges Chancellor. “We are grateful to Wells Fargo and NACCE for selecting our colleges to participate in this groundbreaking pilot program.”
Opening Doors for Entrepreneurs
The $225,000 Wells Fargo grant will be matched with other donor funds to build the EEVF platform. Through the platform, entrepreneurs can access grants and interest-free loans administered through Kiva. EEVF offers student entrepreneurs interest-free loans up to $10,000 and also has crowd-sourcing options for first-time business owners.
“We are excited to be part of the EEVF program that will provide our students with access to interest-free loans and grants to start their own business without taking on additional debt," said Dr. Amy Diaz, President of GWCC. “Many of our students are first-time college students, single parents, or working adults, and this support can be the difference between dreaming about a business and building one.”
The program focuses on “main-street” businesses, aiming to help people in low-wage jobs increase their income through self-employment and new business creation. For many first-time entrepreneurs, a small amount of affordable capital can determine whether a business idea moves forward.
“Thanks to this innovative program made possible through Wells Fargo, the EEVF will now grow even more substantially, which is a major milestone for NACCE and students in Maricopa County Community College District and beyond,” said Dr. Rebecca Corbin, President and CEO of NACCE. “We are proud to be an integral part of this exciting new initiative.”
A key feature of the Wells Fargo grant is that charitable trusts, non-profit organizations, and government programs, rather than commercial banks or traditional financial institutions, provide the true interest-free (0% APR) loans to students. The structure allows banks like Wells Fargo to support small business owners who are typically left out of traditional financial systems, filling a gap that only a handful of banks in the country have programs designed to address.
The Big Picture
EEVF grew out of NACCE’s successful Everyday Entrepreneur program, which Stuart and Chip Weismiller founded in 2017. Everyday Entrepreneur is one of the largest programs of its kind in America. It started with a handful of colleges across 34 states. To date, the program has provided more than $1 million to more than 1,000 aspiring entrepreneurs.
“Today, Everyday Entrepreneur has evolved into one of the largest entrepreneurship programs serving community colleges in the country,” said Stuart Weismiller, EEVF Foundation President. “The EEVF is designed to give entrepreneurs more ways to pursue their business goals by winning grants, accessing interest-free loans, and continuing to build their businesses.”
Learn more at maricopa.edu.
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Media Contacts:
Lindsey Wilson, [email protected], (480) 703-8378
Mel Valenzuela, [email protected], (480) 298-5364
About Maricopa Community Colleges
The Maricopa County Community College District (MCCCD) is one of the largest community college systems in the nation, serving approximately 140,000 students annually across 10 colleges. MCCCD offers affordable, high-quality education through associate degrees, bachelor’s degrees, industry-recognized certificates, and workforce training programs. For more information, visit www.maricopa.edu.
About NACCE
NACCE is an organization of educators, administrators, presidents, and entrepreneurs focused on igniting entrepreneurship in their communities and on their campuses. NACCE has two main goals: to empower leaders to approach the business of running a community college with an entrepreneurial mindset; and to grow the community college’s role in job creation and entrepreneurs in their local ecosystems. The association represents 370+ community and technical colleges and 2,000 faculty, staff, administrators, and presidents who serve more than 3.3 million students. NACCE also provides SkillPointe (skillpointe.com), a free career exploration tool that provides a “Start Your Own Business” feature for skilled trade startups. Visit www.nacce.com.
About Wells Fargo Bank, N.A.
Wells Fargo & Company is an American multinational financial services company that operates in 35 countries and serves more than 70 million customers worldwide. Headquartered in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, it is the fourth-largest bank in the United States by total assets and one of the largest by deposits and market capitalization. The company has more than 8,000 branches, 13,000 ATMs, and 2,000 stand-alone mortgage branches nationwide. It is the second-largest retail mortgage originator in the United States, originating one in four home loans, and services $1.8 trillion in home mortgages, one of the largest servicing portfolios in the country. Visit www.wellsfargo.com.