HIVE project wins national competition, brings home $100,000 grant

THE UNIVERSITY OF New MexicoTaos Education and Career Center received a $100,000 grant Thursday (Aug. 8) for submitting the winning entry – the Hub of Internet-Based Vocations and Education (HIVE) project – to a nationwide competition. The Minds that Move Us contest solicited innovative models that integrate education and training, and was sponsored by the Minneapolis-based ECMC Foundation and Institute for Educational Leadership.

TECC was one of only two small-town finalists competing against eight big-city entrants, all of which presented their projects at the three-day Minds that Move Us conference held in Miami this week.

A partnership of University of New Mexico-Taos, local business professionals and economic development organizations launched the HIVE project, which aims to build community wealth by helping Taos residents gain the skills to acquire internet-based jobs or build a locally based online business. HIVE’s tagline, “Live Local ... Work Global,” captures this vision.

“HIVE’s objective is to foster ethical economic development that brings sustainable wages to local Taoseños,” said Nina Gonzales, director of the TECC, one of HIVE’s founding partners. Other partners include the Taos Community Foundation, the town of Taos, Kit Carson Electric Cooperative and Internet, the LOR Foundation, TaosWorks, FatPipe and the Northern Area Local Workforce Development Board.

HIVE derives its mission from a nationwide movement to generate internet-based jobs as a key economic development strategy for rural, under-resourced communities. It will provide office space at the downtown UNM campus with onsite supervisory and technical support. Adult education and college classes will allow both entry-level students and seniors to obtain credentials to enter the online workforce or training to build a small internet-based business. HIVE will specifically support those with limited academic, technical and professional skills; those working toward their High School Equivalency; and those with disabilities.