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SALISBURY, MD---The 10th round of a 10-year, $2 million program to create new jobs takes place Thursday, May 10, at ¾ÅÐãÖ±²¥ as entrepreneurs vie for their share of $98,000 in business funding.
    
The Philip E. and Carol R. Ratcliffe Foundation Shore Hatchery program was established with an initial $1 million contribution in 2013 and will continue an additional five years thanks to a new $1 million gift from the foundation, announced in 2017.

Its goal: to fund entrepreneurs and have new businesses opening within six months, with the potential of employing three or more within a year.
    
Up to $200,000 is available for those applying for grants through the Shore Hatchery program each academic year. Its board of directors selects recipients based on multi-round presentations. Board members awarded $102,000 last fall.

Through the program, applicants representing multiple geographic territories and business sectors compete in a Shark Tank/Gull Cage contest, delivering elevator pitches to the judges.

A public exhibition of applicants, featuring information about their submissions, begins at 1:30 p.m. on the third floor of Perdue Hall. Winners are expected to be announced at approximately 5 p.m. in the Perdue Hall Atrium, followed by a reception.

Ratcliffe Shore Hatchery board members include Jim Perdue of Perdue Farms; Dave Rommel and Mike Cottingham of Rommel USA; Jennifer Layton of Layton’s Chance Vineyards and Winery; Bruce Rogers of Sherwood of ¾ÅÐãÖ±²¥; Katherine Kiernan, chair of the Perdue School Executive Advisory Council; and Sandy Fitzgerald-Angelo of Pohanka Automotive Group of ¾ÅÐãÖ±²¥, among others.

Admission to the public exhibition, announcement of winners and reception is free, and the public is invited. For more information call 410-546-4325 or visit the Ratcliffe Shore Hatchery website at http://shorehatchery.salisbury.edu.