The Dingman Center for Entrepreneurship has increased fivefold the potential prize money awarded at its monthly Pitch Dingman competitions now up for grabs, $2,500 in start-up funding to the best new business ideas.

The entrepreneurial spirit is often focused on creating a successful business and building a profitable enterprise. These days, some small businesses are focusing on using part of their profitability to benefit social ventures. In addition to using the profit generated by the firm to fund growth and expansion, or simply to benefit the founders, small companies are now integrating charitable giving into their business plan. One of the ideas behind this is that the company can generate employee and customer loyalty by engaging in charitable giving that those groups can get behind.

Graduation is a magical day in the life of a college student. It is a transition day into the professional world and it is a time to look back on what has been accomplished as a student. One of the highlights of graduation is the opportunity to wear a cap and gown and pass through the formal commencement ceremony. As the winter graduation ceremony approaches, Smith undergraduate student Christopher Kobus runs a business to help students with the cap and gown process for their graduation.

On Dec. 4, 2007 the Smith School's Dingman Center for Entrepreneurship will host Dingman Marketplace from 12 - 2 p.m. in Van Munching Halls third floor atrium. The event showcases eight student-run businesses and portfolio companies that will make their various products available for purchase to the general university population.

As an entrepreneur and part-time MBA student at the Robert H. Smith School of Business, Cherry Kwunyeun is working to combine the lessons of an MBA program with her experience as a Fulbright Scholar and apply it to the operation of her own company, Blumpari. Featuring a line of luxury handbags, Blumpari has recently been expanding into new stores, appearing in popular shopping areas of New York City, Washington, D.C, and Baltimore. As a scholar at the Dingman Center for Entrepreneurship at the University of Maryland's Robert H.

College Park, Md. October 15, 2007 The University of Marylands Robert H. Smith School of Business programs are rated among in the top in the nation for entrepreneurship, according to a ranking byEntrepreneur magazine and The Princeton Review. The ranking, which will be published in the November issue of Entrepreneur, rates Smiths undergraduate program No. 14 and its MBA program No. 18 in the nation. The recognition comes on the heels of a similar ranking by Fortune Small Business in that magazines September issue.

College Park, Md. October 11, 2007 North Star Games, a Dingman Center portfolio company has landed its party game, Wits & Wagers, on the shelves of Target stores nationwide for the upcoming holiday season. The Dingman Center, part of the University of Marylands Robert H. Smith School of Business, helps students and regional entrepreneurs develop their businesses. North Star Games was started and incubated at the center when founders Dominic Crapuchettes and Satish Pillalamarri were 2004 Smith MBA candidates.

Washington, D.C., radio station WTOP selected second-year MBA student Tom Hessen's Web site SlyReply.com as Web Site of the Week in September 2007. Hessen's site is a group messaging site that he created during his first year of the Smith MBA program. He was able to create most of it during winter and spring breaks and is continuing to develop the site now during his second year, creating additional functionality.

Washington, D.C., radio station WTOP selected second-year MBA student Tom Hessen's Web site SlyReply.com as Web Site of the Week in September 2007. Hessen's site is a group messaging site that he created during his first year of the Smith MBA program. He was able to create most of it during winter and spring breaks and is continuing to develop the site now during his second year, creating additional functionality.