Fairfax, VA (BlackNews.com) — The Gates Millennium Scholarship Program, funded by a grant from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, was established to provide outstanding low income minority students with an opportunity to complete an undergraduate college education in any discipline area of interest.

Continuing scholars may request funding for a graduate degree program in one of the following discipline areas: education, engineering, library science, mathematics, public health or science.

In addition to increasing access to higher education for these underrepresented groups, GMS also provides leadership training. Through participation in a comprehensive leadership development program, Scholars enhance academic and leadership skills, which prepare them to assume important roles in their professions and in their communities.

The deadline for the upcoming scholarship awards is January 11, 2010.

To apply, visit www.blackstudents.com/billgates

Dallas, TX (BlackNews.com) – The Tom Joyner Foundation® today announced a new ‘Scholar of Honor’ program that will provide a $1,500 scholarship to a veteran of the Iraq or Afghanistan wars since Sept. 11, 2001. The veteran must be currently attending a Historically Black Colleges & University (HBCU).

"This scholarship recognizes those men and women who have served our country who are trying to complete their education at a black college," said Tom Joyner, chairman of his Foundation and host of the top-ranked nationally syndicated radio show. "This is our way of saying, ‘Thanks’ for what they’ve done and to help them pursue their dreams."

The scholarship is available to qualified recent veterans of the Army, Navy, Air Force, Marines, Coast Guard, and the National Guard and Reserves that have served since Sept. 11, 2001 in the Overseas Contingency Operation. The purpose of this scholarship is to assist military veterans who have enrolled in an HBCU to complete their education with costs that are not covered by the Montgomery GI Bill, which provides eligible veterans of benefits, including an undergraduate or graduate degree at a college or university. The first scholarship will be awarded during the week of Oct. 26, 2009.

Detailed information about the scholarship is available at Joyner’s website, BlackAmericaWeb.com.

To qualify for the scholarship, the veteran must meet the following criteria:

* Must be a veteran of Army, Navy, Air Force, Marines, US Coast Guard, and the National Guard and Reserves and must have served in the US Overseas Contingency Operation and/or since Sept. 11, 2001.
* Must be currently enrolled at an HBCU as a full time student and in good standing with their respective institution.
* Letter of nomination must provide contact information (phone and email) for the nominee and the nominator.

Eligible applicants or loved ones must submit a nomination letter of no more than 250 words. The letter should include the nominee’s rank, time and place served, and designate from which branch of the Armed Services the nominee served. The letter should also highlight why the nominee deserves the scholarship, and any other personal information or history that will help select the award winning scholar, such as special medals and/or awards that the nominee has received. The letters must be accompanied by a digital photograph of the nominee that may be posted on BlackAmericaWeb.com and shared with media.

Upon selecting a recipient, the Tom Joyner Foundation will verify the nominee’s military status, enrollment at an HBCU, and amount needed for enrollment for the subsequent semester.

Letters of nomination may be emailed to scholarofhonor@blackamericaweb.com faxed to Foundation office at (972) 681-2886, or mailed to the The Tom Joyner Foundation, P.O. Box 630495, Irving, Tx 75063-0495

Founded in 1998, the Tom Joyner Foundation has raised more than $55 million to help keep students enrolled in black colleges. It has assisted more than 14,000 students and worked with more than 100 HBCUs.

THE MYTH OF THE POOR MAN’S PATENT

Houston, TX (BlackNews.com) – Paraphrasing Warren Buffet, "The best response to a slow economy is to determine how one can generate their own wealth." Developing ideas is one way people can generate wealth and start down the road to financial independence. Everyday people conceive novel ideas for products and services. However, many of these ideas go undeveloped. Several factors contribute to people not pursuing their ideas. In addition to a lack of confidence and the fear of losing the idea to someone else, one main factor that contributes to a person not pursuing his or her idea is a lack of practical knowledge of what to do. Fueling this lack of knowledge are misconceptions and misinformation. One example of misinformation is the concept of the "Poor Man’s Patent."

The commonly known "Poor Man’s Patent" is a document created by a person in an attempt to protect his or her idea. The practice is for the inventor to prepare a written description of their invention, place it in a self-addressed stamped envelope and mail it. The envelope comes back to the inventor with a postmark date. The inventor then keeps this sealed and postmarked envelope containing that written description as proof that they conceived the idea for the invention. The postmark date serves to identify a point in time for the conception of the idea. Many people believe that this process gives them protection against others who may conceive the same or a similar idea.

The truth is that this sealed and postmarked envelope has very little benefit. The most one can do with this postmarked envelope is show evidence of a conception date for the idea. However, this conception date alone does not protect the idea. The patent laws do not protect ideas that are intentionally concealed from the public. If an inventor conceives an idea but keeps the idea a secret and does not develop it and a second inventor independently conceives, develops and files a patent application for the same or a similar idea, then the second inventor is legally entitled (has first priority) to pursue patent protection for that idea. Although someone may be the first to conceive an idea, the first inventor must be diligent in developing the idea in order to claim ownership. The patent laws reward a person that first conceives an idea, diligently develops their idea and then makes the idea known to the public. Part of this diligence is filing a patent application for the idea.

In order to receive patent protection for an idea, an inventor must take some affirmative steps to develop and protect the idea. These steps should include: 1) generating a structural and/or functional design for the idea, 2) if possible, generating a model or prototype of the idea; 3) testing the idea and 4) filing a patent application (provisional or formal patent application) to begin the process of obtaining patent protection for the idea.

Although many people know about the "Poor Man’s Patent", the best approach to establish an initial date of conception for an idea prior to filing a patent application is to: 1) prepare a written document describing the idea (including structural and/or functional descriptions of the idea and drawings if applicable); 2) sign and date the document in the presence of another person; and 3) have the person who witnessed the signing sign and date the document. A notary can serve as a witness in this process. The inventor then keeps the signed and dated document without concern about an envelope being accidently opened. When trying to establish a conception date for an idea, this approach of signing the document in the presence of a witness is similar to the practice in technology companies.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Darcell Walker has over 20 years of experience practicing law. His specialty area is Intellectual Property law (i.e., patents, trademarks, trade secrets, copyrights and product licensing). Attorney Walker is licensed in Texas and registered to practice before the United States Patent and Trademark Office. In addition, Attorney Walker is the author of the book Godly Ideas. For more information visit www.dwalkerlaw.net and youtube.com/user/godlyideas.

Big organizations, such as the American Association of University Women (www.aauw.org), are already making their 2010 applications available for interested ones to apply for fellowships, career development grants, and community action grants.

Others include the Association For Women In Mathematics (www.awm-math.org) – who are giving away thousands in travel grants for women to do research; the Moms In Business Network (www.mibn.org) – who are giving away grants for women to start businesses; and WebMomz (www.webmomz.com), who also are giving away business grants.

Even the Verizon Foundation (foundation.verizon.com) is looking to donate more grant money to women who are victims of domestic violence.

However it’s allocated, the millions of dollars in grant money available each year for women are investments in the talent, creativity, intellect and determination shown by them in various industries and fields of study. Women are huge contributors to the economy, the workforce, entrepreneurship, and to the development and management of non-profit organizations.

Such grants empower women in many different ways, and have proven to be extremely successful. As a result, every year, more and more opportunities appear for women from new organizations, government agencies, and corporations wanting to get involved.

For more information about grant opportunities available to women, visit:
www.GrantsForWomen.org

1) Tighten up your resume. Make sure to correct all typos, and limit it to just one page. Also, don’t mention any work experience from more than 10 years ago – unless its really relevant.

2) Don’t overdress. When you go to a job interview, dress modestly and go easy on the cologne or perfume. Remember, it’s you and your skills that they are interested in – not your fashion style.

3) Sign up on BlackJobs.com. Free to use, this web site was created for African American professionals. It features thousands of well-paying job opportunities from major employers and recruiters, and allows you to profile yourself in front of them.

4) Ask around. There’s always someone who knows someone who’s hiring. Don’t be afraid to call or email your friends and family, and let them know you’re looking for a job.

5) Check the obituaries. This may sound funny, but the local obituaries will always tell you where the deceased person last worked. Obviously, there is a new position open.

6) Start with an internship. If you’re a high school or college student, the best way to get in the door is often through an internship program. Check with your school’s career center office.

7) Work for the government. Many people only want to work for major corporations. However, federal, state, county and city governments are always hiring and usually offer good perks. Use Google to find their web sites, and start applying.

Send a "thank you" card. During your job interview, be sure to get the business card of the person who interviewed you. It’s in your best interested to send them a "thank you" note or card. Don’t email it; Send it via postal mail within 1-2 days.

9) Check Black magazines. Many Black magazines often feature ads from employers and recruiters who are looking to hire African Americans. Such include Black Enterprise, Black Collegian, Savoy Professional, Black EOE Journal, Black MBA Magazine, HBCU Connect, and even Diversity Inc.

10) Be persistent. Success comes to those who don’t give up. There are jobs out there. You will find one soon. Just don’t quit.

Dante Lee is the co-founder of Lee Moss Media, which owns BlackJobs.com – the largest online career center for African American professionals.

The programs are being administered by a combination of major corporations, non-profit organizations, and government agencies. Many of the opportunities offer compensation for students, and some will even pay for a student’s travel needs. Applicable majors include business, computer science, engineering, psychology, communications, marketing, advertising, and many more.

Students are encouraged to apply right away, as many of the programs have early deadlines.

Here are just a few of the opportunities that are available:

- AAAS Minority Science Writers Internship
- IBM Minority Research Internship
- Louis Carr Internship
- Google Diversity Internship
- NASCAR Diversity Internship
- Nationwide/Tom Joyner Foundation Internship Program
- Minority Access Internship Program
- American College of Healthcare Executives (ACHE) Minority Internship
- INROADS Internship

For the complete list and for more details on how to apply for the opportunities, visit:
www.FindInternships.com

LEARN, NOT "BURN" FROM YOUR MISTAKES
By Dante Lee

We all have made bad business decisions. Some of them were quite dumb, others were just bad instincts. Maybe you lost money, wasted time, or even both. Despite this, you must recognize that making business mistakes is a natural part of building your career as an entrepreneur.

Here’s the key: When you do make a business mistake, learn from it. Start by fully accepting the blame and responsibility, and not putting it on others. There are very few cases when you can place the blame on someone else other than yourself, and this is very easy to determine.

All you have to do is ask yourself: "Was there something I could have done to prevent this?" If the answer is yes, then it was your fault. If the answer is no (which it rarely is), then it wasn’t your fault.

The point is that the minute you accept full responsibility, that’s the same moment that you actually learn something valuable from your mistakes. As a mature adult, your brain is automatically trained to not make the same unwise decisions over and over again. However, your brain is waiting for you to admit that it was you who actually made the mistake.

Some people, however, end up "burning" from their mistakes. Instead of admitting that they were at fault, they blame other people or factors. They say things like "he screwed me over", instead of "maybe I should have looked closer at the contract." They say things like "he stole my idea", instead of "I should have better protected my idea through patents and trademarks." Or even "he didn’t do what he said he would do", instead of "I should have gotten that in writing."

They "burn" from their mistakes because in the future when they face a similar scenario, they will make the same mistake again…and again and again. Why? Because their brain is telling them that last time it wasn’t their fault, so there’s no reason to proceed cautiously this time.

Please believe that the only way to grow in business is to learn, not "burn" from your errors. We all make bad decisions, but how we respond thereafter determines how successful you will be.

Dante Lee is the 26-year old president and CEO of Diversity City Media, a multicultural marketing and public relations firm based in Columbus, Ohio. His daily blog, www.BlackBusinessCoach.com, offers a FREE email and RSS subscription for Black entrepreneurs and business owners.

Columbus, OH – BlackWomenConnect.com is a new social network that enables professional Black women to “connect” with each other online. The site, which is free to join, gives African, Caribbean and African American women the ability to create a profile, view other profiles, and interact for business, networking, empowerment, entertainment and more.

Similar to Facebook and LinkedIn, Black Women Connect (BWC) has all the user functionality of a social network and more. The site offers the latest news, blogs, and events that appeal to Black women – and allows them to add their own content. They can create and manage public and private groups, and they can view and apply for the latest job opportunities from actual companies that are hiring.

Research shows that African American women are launching successful businesses at a faster rate than any other demographic. It has also been noted that more Black women than ever are assuming professional careers as leaders and managers at large corporations, and as work-at-home moms. BWC gives all of them the ability to share their resources, and network with others to provide the first global experience of its kind.

Business and careers aren’t the only issues that BWC addresses though: Relationships, family, sex, health, and religion are all a part of the platform. This makes the site the most inclusive online social environment for Black women – giving them an interactive forum for everything they need and want to discuss.

Most remarkably, the site is 100% free to use.

To join the site, interested ones should visit:
www.BlackWomenConnect.com