MEDA Honors Ratcliffe Shore Hatchery with Economic Development Program Award

SALISBURY, MD---The Maryland Economic Development Association (MEDA) recently recognized Salisbury University’s Philip E. and Carole R. Ratcliffe Foundation Shore Hatchery entrepreneurship program for its contributions to the region’s economy.

MEDA honored the initiative with its Economic Development Program Award in the small community category.

The Ratcliffe Shore Hatchery began in 2013 thanks to a $1 million, five-year gift from the Baltimore-based Ratcliffe Foundation. Each year, the competitive program provides $200,000, plus mentoring opportunities from area business leaders, to business startups in the mid-Atlantic with a goal of increasing jobs in the community.

In the past four and a half years, the program has distributed over $900,000 in funding, creating 179 new jobs and generating some $4 million in revenues for recipients. Last year, the Ratcliffe Foundation announced a second $1 million gift to continue the Shore Hatchery through spring 2023.

Submissions for the program’s 10th funding round are accepted from March 5-April 9. The next competition is Thursday, May 10.

For more information call 410-546-4325 or visit the Ratcliffe Shore Hatchery website at http://shorehatchery.salisbury.edu.