InnovateMA 呼籲協助創業者居留

Thank you for participating in InnovateMA by attending one of our events or signing one of our petitions. We have had a busy start to 2015 and wanted to share some of our successes and goals for the months ahead. Some Funds Restored to the Global Entrepreneurs in Residence program: Last year leaders in the innovation economy worked with the state to devise a plan that allowed foreign students who are starting companies and creating jobs to stay here in Massachusetts. The program gave the entrepreneurs part-time positions at participating universities in Massachusetts, allowing them to continue growing their start-ups while jump-starting their visa process. This policy was touted nationally as a clever approach to immigration reform and furthered the image of Massachusetts as a national leader in innovation and entrepreneurship. In an attempt to reduce the deficit, Governor Baker cut all funding to this program in January. Earlier this month, he proposed restoring $100,000 back to the program in his 2016 budget proposal. Now the Legislature needs to agree to include this funding in their proposed 2016 budgets as well. We are asking you to join us in asking the legislature to restore the funding needed to continue running the Global Entrepreneurs in Residence program by singing our online petition for Entrepreneurial Equity:http://www.innovatema.com/ee Please also share this with your networks. Helping Hanlin: We believe that we all need to work together on issues that improve the innovation economy, even if they do not affect us directly. To that end, we wanted to share with you the story of Hanlin. We met Hanlin at RunningStart in Worcester. He is a WPI graduate from China who, along with a few classmates, has started a robotics company in Worcester. His company just received its first round of angel funding and he is looking to hire his first few employees in the next 6 months. The problem is, his visa expires in 9 months, and his application for an H1B visa is far from certain. (Hanlin telling his story at a FWD.us monthly meeting) He expressed frustration that, in all likelihood, he would be forced to go back to China, and bring his ideas, his company, and his jobs back with him. And Hanlin asked us for help. So we are asking you to help us amplify his story and help him - along with every other immigrant who has been educated in Massachusetts and wants to start a company here. First, we are asking you to join our coalition partner, FWD.us in pushing for comprehensive federal immigration reform: http://blog.fwd.us/progress-h-4-visa-holders Second, please consider signing the Entrepreneurial Equity petition that we detail above and sharing it with your networks: http://www.innovatema.com/ee. Restoring the needed funding to the Global Entrepreneur in Residence program will help those like Hanlin. Innovation Tour Continues: We are crisscrossing the State to make sure that every entrepreneur across the commonwealth has a say in our collective agenda. We are continuing our tour over the next month with stops at MassDigi in Worcester, Groundwork in New Bedford, and the Quincy Center for Innovation. We encourage you to check back on Loomio (http://www.InnovateMA.com/priorities) to see updates on the public policy agenda that you are helping us build. Innovate MA http://www.innovatema.com/

Innovate MA Coalition · United States This email was sent to chutze@bostonorange.com. To stop receiving emails, click here. You can also keep up with Innovate MA on Twitter.