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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 Salisbury University 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 Salisbury; Katherine Kiernan, chair of the Perdue School Executive Advisory Council; and Sandy Fitzgerald-Angelo of Pohanka Automotive Group of Salisbury, 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.