{"id":163859,"date":"2022-08-24T08:00:32","date_gmt":"2022-08-24T18:00:32","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/?p=163859"},"modified":"2023-07-25T10:34:57","modified_gmt":"2023-07-25T20:34:57","slug":"ben-godsey-250k-rise-gift","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/2022\/08\/24\/ben-godsey-250k-rise-gift\/","title":{"rendered":"$250K<\/abbr> gift to RISE<\/abbr> project supports future small business owners"},"content":{"rendered":"Reading time: <\/span> 3<\/span> minutes<\/span><\/span>

\"person<\/p>\n

Ben Godsey<\/strong> knows how important entrepreneurs are to Â鶹´«Ã½<\/span>\u2019s economy. As the president and CEO<\/abbr> of ProService Hawaii<\/a>, one of Â鶹´«Ã½<\/span>\u2019s largest outsourced human resource providers, he counts more than 2,000 local small businesses as clients—most of them entrepreneurs.<\/p>\n

That\u2019s one of the reasons Godsey and his wife, Yvonne Chan, are investing in the University of Â鶹´«Ã½<\/span>\u2019s Residences for Innovative Student Entrepreneurs<\/a> (RISE<\/abbr>) with a $250,000 gift for the live-work-study facility being built to encourage student entrepreneurs to dream big and turn those dreams into successful businesses.<\/p>\n

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Rendering of the RISE<\/abbr> clean maker space (Courtesy: Hunt Companies)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

“Â鶹´«Ã½<\/span> is run by small businesses—and small business is entrepreneurship, whether it’s a brand-new business, or it’s a business that’s been around for 50 or 100 years,” Godsey said. “Entrepreneurship and small business are at the heart of making Â鶹´«Ã½<\/span> a more livable place.”<\/p>\n

The $70 million RISE<\/abbr> project—expected to open fall 2023—is being built on the site of the former Atherton YMCA<\/abbr>, across from the UH<\/abbr> M\u0101noa campus, under a public-private partnership between the university, UH<\/abbr> Foundation and Hunt Companies, with no taxpayer dollars spent. The RISE<\/abbr> programs will be operated by the Pacific Asian Center for Entrepreneurship<\/a> (PACE<\/abbr>) at the UH<\/abbr> M\u0101noa Shidler College of Business<\/a>.<\/p>\n