How Did Free Enterprise Now® Begin?
Free Enterprise Now® is a unique curriculum that allows students and others to learn about our free enterprise system. This is accomplished through short lessons that teach the fundamentals of this system, how to start a business, ethical and leadership training and how government intersects with the free enterprise system.
BORN FROM THE free enterprise leadership challenge
In 1995, a week-long residential program called the Free Enterprise Leadership Challenge (FELC) was created in North Carolina designed to educate high school students about the free enterprise system. Since its founding, FELC has graduated over 10,000 students from all across the United States and ten different countries. Through its unique experiential learning curriculum, students not only learn the principles of free enterprise and principles of leadership, and they also buy and sell products using real money.
PROGRAM DEVELOPMENT
Because the FELC program was limited to summer sessions, the opportunity to develop a MOOC (Massive Online Open Course) on free enterprise became available in 2014. Led by Dr. Peter Frank, former Dean at the School of Business at Wingate University and Provost at Grove City College in Pennsylvania, this unique curriculum allows students and others to learn about our free enterprise system. This is accomplished through short lessons that teach the fundamentals of this system, how to start a business, ethical and leadership training and how government intersects with the free enterprise system. The program was also assisted by Derrick Nantz, current teacher of economics at Wake Technical Community College and adjunct professor at UNC-Wilmington, and one of the budding stars for online education.
SUPPORT FREE ENTERPRISE NOW®
Both the Free Enterprise Now® curriculum and the Free Enterprise Leadership Challenge program are funded by private donations. Our supporters believe in the free enterprise system and that all students should be given the opportunity to learn why it’s the best economic system worldwide.
To learn more about the Free Enterprise Leadership Challenge program we invite you to visit our website at felcexperience.org. If you have any questions or comments about Free Enterprise Now®, please email jarvis@freeenterprisenow.org.
Free Enterprise Now® is a program of the Jesse Helms Center, a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization that exists to promote our nation’s founding principles that Senator Jesse Helms advanced throughout his career.
Meet the creators of Free Enterprise Now®
DR. PETER FRANK
AMY WRAY FRANK
DERRICK NANTZ
Learn about our Free Enterprise Heroes!
A free enterprise hero is a person who has created a successful business through a creative use of his or her talents and resources, and whose life is marked by good character and virtue. A free enterprise hero is also an innovator, leader and well respected member of his or her community, business and civic organizations. Most importantly, a free enterprise hero will use his or her success to give back to people and philanthropic organizations.