McLean-based global management consulting company Booz Allen Hamilton Inc. announced Friday that its foundation has launched a $1 million Innovation Fund that is open to nonprofits, small businesses and individuals who have ideas for projects that can help solve COVID-19-related social problems.
Founded in 2017, The Booz Allen Foundation provides funding to youth and education causes, veterans and military families, global health initiatives and assistance during times of declared disasters. The Innovation Fund was established to help organizations and individuals to use data and technology to improve COVID-19 relief efforts.
“We want to surface the most innovative solutions and empower the individuals and organizations behind those solutions to drive their development and implementation,” the foundation said in a statement.
The Booz Allen Foundation is accepting grant applications through June 5. Nonprofits can apply for up to $100,000, while individuals, teams of individuals and eligible for-profit small businesses can apply for up to $10,000 in funding. Eligible businesses must employ fewer than 100 people and bring in annual gross revenues of no more than $3 million.
Applicants will be asked about their solution or project to solve an urgent social problem related to COVID-19, and grants will be awarded to projects such as a new system, product, approach, technology, delivery system or process, according to the foundation.
The governing body of Internetdomain addresses voted Thursday to block the $1.135 billion sale of the Public Interest Registry, a Reston-based nonprofit created by the Internet Society in 2002 to manage the .org top-level domain, to private equity firm Ethos Capital.
The Public Interest Registry has operated the .org domain — which is used by millions of nonprofit organizations — since 2003. But in 2019, the nonprofit moved to sell the domain registry to Ethos in order to focus on philanthropic goals. The sale would have increased its endowment.
However, the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN), the governing body of Internet domain addresses, blocked the sale. ICANN said in a statement that the .org domain shouldn’t be operated by a company that is seeking profit, despite Ethos Capital’s pledge to maintain the .org domain as a “socially responsive mission.”
The most valuable top-level domain behind .com, .org has more than 10.5 million domain registrations worldwide.
Virginia Business reported in March that tech experts were worried that the proposed sale to a private equity firm could raise costs for nonprofit organizations using the .org domain, especially since ICANN approved a contract last June to eliminate the $9.93 per year price cap on .org domain registration fees.
ICANN said Ethos would need to service $360 million in debt to secure the transaction and provide returns to its shareholders.
“This decision will suffocate innovation and deter future investment in the domain industry,” Ethos said in a statement. “ICANN has empowered itself to extend its authority into areas that fall well outside of its legal mandate in acting as a regulatory body.”
Ethos was founded by Erik Brooks, the former managing partner of Boston-based investment fund Abry Partners.
The NorfolkEconomic Development Authority (EDA) announced Friday it approved a plan for the city to purchase the Military Circle Shopping Mall for $11 million to redevelop the mall and surrounding area for mixed-use development.
“The Military Circle corridor is the crossroads of the Hampton Roads region,” Norfolk Mayor Kenneth Cooper Alexander said in a released statement. “The acquisition of this site is strategic for the city and allows us to not only bolster economic development but to address resilience challenges by concentrating future development in this area.”
The most recent property assessment values the site at over $41.1 million, according to the EDA. An affiliate of Norfolk-based Harbor Group International facilitated the sale.
In 2014, the Norfolk EDA purchased the former JCPenney store on an outparcel of the mall (highlighted in yellow in photo) for $2.3 million and redeveloped the 200,000-square-foot building into an office building, which is now 100% leased. The purchase announced Friday includes the remaining mall property and its surrounding outparcels (shown in green).
A state-funded study released in 2017 showed that there is potential for more than 6,000 housing units and 16 million square feet of development in the Military Circle corridor (the area that includes Military Circle Mall, Military Highway and Norfolk International Airport), and the city has been planning to use this space for mixed-use development.
“This acquisition will accelerate our efforts to redevelop this corridor bringing new jobs and quality new development while increasing the city’s tax base,” EDA Executive Director Jared Chalk said in a statement.
The Central Virginia COVID-19 Response Fund, a joint initiative of the nonprofit Community Foundation for a greater Richmond and the Emergency Management Alliance of Central Virginia, awarded its second round of grants this week, bringing the total amount awarded to more than $2 million and the number of regional organizations funded to 52.
Since the effort began in March, individuals, businesses and foundations have donated to the fund, which has raised more than $4.6 million. Only nonprofits and government organizations are eligible to receive grants from the fund.
“Demonstrated by a high level of partnership, this fund was built upon the belief that we can do more good when we come together,” said Sherrie Armstrong, CEO of the Community Foundation. “Whether it’s Maggie Walker Governor’s School students offering donation-based reading groups and trivia games to elementary students, or the Flying Squirrels sharing a portion of money raised from their 500 Bases of Love event, we see our community generously stepping up to help each other during this critical time.”
In its first round of grants, the fund distributed $1.1 million among 25 regional nonprofits and government organizations focused on food access, health care, shelter and support for seniors. The latest grants went to organizations working to expand food distribution in rural jurisdictions and supporting mental health services and housing.
Some of the organizations funded during this round include Chesterfield Education Foundation, to purchase and distribute food to families who are at high risk of food insecurity; GoochlandCares, to purchase food, personal protective equipment and rental assistance for low-income residents and technology for staff to work remotely; and Re-Establish Richmond, to support the cost of translating COVID-19 health information to the primary languages spoken in refugee households.
The United Way of Greater Richmond and Petersburg also announced Friday that it will match $100,000 in donations made through its website to The Central Virginia COVID-19 Response Fund. The organization has been managing online donations for the fund, and on Tuesday reached the $100,000 milestone they had committed to in order to match the funding.
“I am thankful for all of the donors who helped us meet the $100,000 milestone,” James Taylor, president and CEO of United Way of Greater Richmond and Petersburg, said in a statement. “However, there is still a lot more work to be done. I encourage everyone to help us keep momentum going.”
An advisory committee consisting of philanthropic, business and public leaders reviews and distributes grants from the fund on a rolling basis.
The Community Foundation manages more than 1,000 charitable funds and the Emergency Management Alliance of Central Virginia is a coalition of regional emergency management organizations and affiliated partners.
The last remaining corner plot of land in Henrico County‘s Short Pump area has sold for $5.85 million, Cushman & Wakefield | Thalhimer’s Mark E. Douglas said.
Located at 12120 W. Broad St., the 12.27 acre vacant, wooded lot is less than one mile from West Broad Marketplace, a shopping center with anchor tenants including a Wegmans Food Market, outdoor recreation store Cabela’s and retailer T.J Maxx.
SKM LLC purchased the land from The Anne McGeorge Clements Family Limited Partnership, and Douglas handled the transaction on behalf of the seller.
Despite the uptick in development in Short Pump in recent years, it’s not clear what will be built on the lot.
“There’s a long way between buying it and getting it rezoned to what the county planners and the local supervisor would like to see in developing the property,” Douglas said.
The state’s Go Virginia Board has allocated $2.87 million in grants for 13 regional projects supporting economic development.
A state economic development initiative led by business leaders and state officials, GO Virginia ( Growth and Opportunity for Virginia) has funded 87 projects, totaling $30.3 million, since it was established by the General Assembly in 2016. It awards funding to regional economic development projects and oversees regional GO Virginia councils, which submit project ideas to the state GO Virginia board for approval. The Virginia Department of Housing and Community Development (DHCD) and the private, nonprofit GO Virginia Foundation provide support to GO Virginia.
“Regional collaboration is vital to growing our economy,” Secretary of Commerce and Trade Brian Ball said in a statement. “The projects funded through this round of GO Virginia will continue to support unique regional strategies, strengthen our entrepreneurial ecosystems, build a strong workforce and encourage innovation throughout the commonwealth.
GO Virginia’s board chair, Dominion Energy Chairman, President and CEO Thomas F. Farrell II, said, “GO Virginia has created an incredible opportunity for regions to think creatively around their future economies and move the building blocks in place to get there,” said Tom Farrell, “We congratulate these applicants for their work and commitment to the goals of the program — strengthening regional economies and helping businesses to create good jobs to support Virginia families.”
These are the most recent projects receiving funding, listed by GO Virginia region:
Region 1 (Dickenson and Grayson counties): The SWVA Regional Agribusiness Opportunities project will create business development opportunities for the agricultural sector. The project was awarded $100,000.
Region 2 (Floyd, Giles and Montgomery counties): The Classrooms to Careers project will connect high school students to local IT businesses to participate in internships and job shadowing, while teachers work with the companies to refine curriculum. The project was awarded $180,000.
Region 2 (Alleghany, Botetourt and Roanoke counties and the towns of Bedford and Vinton): The Increasing Birth Rates of New and High-Growth Companies project will fund The Advancement Foundation’s (TAF) pilot program that works to increase the number of high-growth companies in Southwest Virginia. The project was awarded $180,000.
Region 4(Dinwiddie, Prince George and Sussex counties): The Rowanty Technical Center Logistics Program will allow the center to create a two-year global logistics program for high schoolers. The project was awarded $110,213.
Region 4(Chesterfield, Hanover and Henrico counties and Richmond): The VCU Pharmaceutical and Chemical Engineering Commercialization project will allow Virginia Commonwealth University’s College of Engineering to develop a commercialization of pharmaceutical manufacturing technology plan. The project was awarded $100,000.
Region 4 (Chesterfield, Hanover and Henrico counties and Richmond): The Developing Region 4’s Tech Talent Pipeline project will allow VCU Engineering and other partners to evaluate current tech talent programs and expand the talent pipeline. The project was awarded $100,000.
Region 5 (Hampton, Newport News, Norfolk and Suffolk): The Campus757 project will allow the Hampton Roads Workforce Council to develop a plan to connect local job seekers to regional employers. The project was awarded $95,838.
Region 6 (Essex, Gloucester, Lancaster, Northumberland, Richmond and Westmoreland counties): The Northern Neck Workforce Training Feasibility and Site Selection Study will develop a blueprint of the region’s workforce needs to improve workforce training. The project was awarded $62,500.
Region 6 (King George and Stafford counties, Fredericksburg): The Fredericksburg Region Cyber and Smart Tech Entrepreneurial Development Program will implement testing for hosting a technology-based accelerator. The project was awarded $75,000.
Region 7(Arlington, Fairfax, Loudoun and Prince William Counties, city of Fairfax): The Centurion Innovation Hub will allow Centurion to accelerate development of startup tech companies. The project was awarded $1.68 million.
Region 8(Augusta, Bath, Highland, Page, Rockbridge, Rockingham and Shenandoah counties, Buena Vista, Harrisonburg, Lexington, Staunton and Waynesboro): The Scale-up the Valley project focuses on growing small companies that have grown past the startup stage. The project was awarded $50,000.
Region 8(Bath, Highland, Page, Rockingbridge, Rockingham and Shenandoah counties, Staunton): The Industrial Hemp Initiative Phase 1 project will allow James Madison University to lead an economic landscape analysis and agricultural data gathering of industrial hemp growing. The project was awarded $53,630.
Region 8(Augusta, Bath, Highland, Page and Rockingham counties): The Shenandoah Valley Agricultural Enterprise Center Feasibility Study project will allow the Central Shenandoah Planning District Commission to conduct a study on building a shared-use agricultural center. The project was awarded $85,000.
More information about the projects is available via the DHCD.
“While applying for the loan felt like the right and prudent thing to do one month ago to protect our 190 employees, if we knew then what we know now, we would have gutted it out and hoped for the best,” VandeHei wrote in an Axios article.
Axios, which is privately owned, met the loan program’s criteria, VandeHei wrote. With only 190 employees (small businesses with fewer than 500 employees are eligible to apply for PPP funds), Axios saw its events business shut down and much of its advertising revenue has also disappeared due to the pandemic. Axios says it is now close to reaching a deal for private capital to replace the PPP funding.
Since its inception, Axios has raised $30 million in venture capital from entities including Lerer Hippeau, Greycroft, e.ventures, NBC News and Atlantic Media. The Axios website attracts 7 to 10 million unique visitors per month, generating $25 million in 2018 revenue. At the end of 2019, the company was poised to raise an additional $20 million in venture capital, which raises its valuation to $200 million. Axios also has a biweekly show on HBO that VandeHei has described as “a ’60 Minutes’ for the new generation.”
Before the second round of the funding was announced on April 24, large, publicly traded companies such as Shake Shack, Ruth’s Chris Steak House and AutoNation as well as large private enterprises like the Los Angeles Lakers returned tens of millions of dollars in relief funds after they came under fire for applying for PPP funding through smaller subsidiaries in order to receive money that was intended to go to small businesses.
The first round of $349 billion in PPP funding ran out on April 16 after just 13 days, due to overwhelming demand from small businesses hurt by the COVID-19 crisis.
Tony Crescenzo has been hired as president of Reston-based information technology company Intelligent Waves LLC.
Formerly the CEO of Falls Church-based IT company IntelliDyne LLC, Crescenzo earned his bachelor’s degree from Stockton University and his master’s degree in business administration from Rutgers University.
Intelligent Waves is a service-disabled veteran-owned small business, founded in 2006 by Jared Shepard, who served in the U.S. Army as an infantryman. The company provides systems engineering, cloud computing and managed services, cyber and security architecture, mobility and operations and intelligence analytics.
The company won more than $200 million in government contracts in 2019, and is expected to receive $300 million in contracts this year.
The Herndon-based information technology services company was among the contract winners for a $686 million task order from the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Digital Transformation Center.
The same month, it was selected for a 15-year, $59.9 million contract to provide the VA with a software-as-a-service enterprise telecommunications expense management integrated platform/solution, or eTEMS, which is changing the way the department uses its internal communication platforms.
“Whatever the veterans need, they’re going to get it faster because we’re putting it through this platform and we’re helping them put it on the platform,” says Stephanie Chase, B3 Group’s strategic communications and marketing director.
For the contract, B3 Group will assist the VA offices of Information and Technology and Information Technology Operations and Services with project management, implementation, testing, support and training of the eTEMS platform.
But how did B3 Group get there?
A Virginia Values Veterans-certified organization, B3 Group has received training and assistance from the state government in how to attract, hire and retain veterans as employees.
B3 Group Founder and Managing Principal Brad Palmer wasn’t a veteran, but knew he wanted to work with the VA. Three years after the company’s 2008 founding, Palmer approached Dwight Hunt, who had recently completed a 20-year career in the Army, to become B3 Group’s majority owner. That made the company a service-disabled, veteran-owned small business.
“The Department of Veterans Affairs really cherishes and prioritizes veteran-owned businesses,” says Hunt, who is now B3 Group’s president and CEO. He cites the company’s status as a veteran-owned business as a major factor in B3’s success in landing larger federal contracts.
While serving in the Army, Hunt spent some of his time in combat. But from 2002 to 2011, he served as an acquisition officer, working for the Army’s research and development commands.
Hunt’s background, combined with Palmer’s knowledge and passion for the VA, informs who they hire and how they operate — and ultimately leads to the company’s rapid growth.
Approximately 20% of B3 Group’s 185 employees are veterans, which appeals to its main client, the VA.
“We’re partnered with a government agency that truly values its veterans’ businesses,” Hunt says. “They get good service from us. We grow — they’re part of our growth. We give back to veterans.”
He calls it an ecosystem of supporting veterans across the process. “We have a unique contract vehicle with a unique customer that helps our growth as well,” Hunt says.
Internal growth also is important for B3 Group. Employees are eligible for education stipends every year to pursue certifications in project management, human resources, technology — or wherever their interests may lie. This encourages employees to “build their brand,” as Hunt puts it, and grow their skills, which gives them an edge at the company.
Management provides each employee with a roadmap illustrating their growth trajectory at the company, which also prepares B3 Group to build its internal infrastructure, says Chase, who’s worked for comparable government contractors. This prepares the company to be staffed and ready for a flood of contracts rather than causing strain.
Company leaders have thought it through and hired the right people to make sure it happens, Chase says: “Their customers are aware that they have the people in place and they’ve got the knowledge, they’ve got the skill sets, they’ve got the training. There’s a very full circle range here that I haven’t seen in a lot of government contractors.”
In addition to its Fantastic 50 win, B3 Group was a winner of Virginia Business’ Best Places to Work award in 2019 and 2020 and has won veteran hiring awards including the Inc. Vet50 List, Excellence in Partnership Award, Virginia Values Veterans Award and the HIRE Vets Medallion Program.
“B3 Group is truly becoming a digital transformation services firm with the chops and the skills and the past performance,” Hunt says. “All those pieces create a story and a brand.”
Navy veteran Terry Spitzer has dedicated much of his career to manufacturing equipment to be used by his former U.S. Armed Forces branch.
In April, Global Technical Systems (GTS), the Virginia Beach-based company Spitzer and his wife, Yusun, co-founded in 1997, landed a $782 million contract to manufacture equipment for the Navy’s combat system network.
“This is further validation of our commitment to serve the U.S. Armed Forces with American-made products,” Spitzer says.
Under the contract, GTS will manufacture high-tech equipment, including servers, processors, encrypted devices and cybersecurity hardware.
“We take a ‘computer on steroids’ and integrate it with the most up-to-date, commercially available technology and provide that to the Navy to be able to process better, quicker, faster,” Spitzer explains.
GTS is also in the process of building a $70 million new headquarters and manufacturing facility on the site of the former Owl Creek Golf Course on Birdneck Road. GTS has previously said it hopes to add as many as 1,100 employees to its existing 100-person workforce after the new 630,000-square-foot facility is fully operational in fall 2021. (GTS purchased the 110-acre former golf course in 2018 from the city of Virginia Beach and a private landowner.)
The firm plans to migrate its corporate headquarters from its present site on Lynnhaven Parkway to the new site this summer. Its current offices across from Lynnhaven Mall will become home to GTS’s SPARQ Global subsidiary, which focuses on commercial cybersecurity solutions using GTS technology.
Much of the work for the new Navy contract will take place at the Birdneck Road facility, as well as manufacturing chemical-free, kinetically charged batteries.
“It’s not a battery like you’re used to,” Spitzer says. “These mechanical batteries have very high energy and power density and you would use them in pulsed weapons, energy magazines and energy grids. Mechanical power densities are off the chart, meaning we can release a lot of power very quickly.”
Additionally, GTS has become a U.S. pipeline for manufacturing sensitive components and hardware for the Department of Defense that had formerly been available only from China.
“We saw that has been an issue,” Spitzer says, “and we’ve developed our own technology for microservers and different hardware enterprise approaches to be able to have our own homegrown U.S. technologies.”
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