KATRINA SUPPORT FOR SMALL BUSINESSES

The Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation, in Kansas City, Mo., is starting the Katrina Urban Entrepreneur Partnership program this month to assist small and minority-owned businesses harmed by the hurricane and help ensure that they receive adequate clean-up and reconstruction aid, reports The New York Times. The foundation has committed up to $1-million this year to connect minority entrepreneurs with large established businesses that could help them collaborate to bid on federal and private contracts. The foundation anticipates that Louisiana economic-development authorities and national groups such as the Business Roundtable, which represents about 160 chief executives of major corporations, will donate expertise and financial assistance to the Katrina Urban Entrepreneur Partnership.