College of Business News

Senior and graduate accounting students from Montana State University’s College of Business are offering free help preparing tax returns for MSU students, individuals and/or households who made less than $58,000 last year.

The help sessions will be held on the MSU campus in Reid Hall 302 (Computer Lab). No appointment is necessary; first come, first serve. Sessions will be held from 5:30-7:00 pm on the following dates: Feb 7, 14, 21, 28; March 1, 6, 20, 27, 29; and April 3. At the sessions, students will be available to prepare federal and state income tax returns and answer tax questions. Free electronic filing will be available for most 1040 forms.

Individuals who are interested in free help should bring their 2011 W-2 forms, other tax documents, social security cards and copies of their 2010 tax returns (if available). International students should also bring their passports and visas. Tax assistance for international students begins Feb. 21.

The student accounting volunteers are part of the Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) program, which was established by the Internal Revenue Service to assist people who may find it difficult to pay for tax preparation services. The program also gives accounting students practical experience.

Each student accounting volunteer has passed an IRS tax preparation exam, completed at least one comprehensive tax course, received specific training related to common tax issues, and has access to a variety of federal and state reference materials.

This service is provided by the MSU College of Business and Beta Alpha Psi/Accounting Club.

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The College of Business (CoB) is pleased to announce that F. William Brown has been awarded a sabbatical for academic year 2012/2013. Earlier this week, Provost Martha Potvin announced 16 approved faculty sabbaticals. Tenure-track faculty may be granted a sabbatical leave of absence for study, research, or other valuable pursuit which enhances the scholarly agenda of the faculty member and university. Sabbatical leave enables faculty to increase their effectiveness in teaching and research, ultimately benefiting the CoB and Montana State University.

Congratulations Bill!”

For the full list of MSU faculty awarded sabbaticals, click here.

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The Montana State University College of Business will be holding campus and community information and feedback sessions for students, faculty, staff and members of the public who wish to share their ideas for a new building planned for the college.

The College of Business received a $25 million gift from MSU alumnus Jake Jabs last fall. A portion of that gift will be used to construct a new building. With the assistance of Comma-Q Architecture of Bozeman and Hennebery Eddy Architects of Portland, the college and the university is gathering ideas from the campus community and public about the building’s design.

The first set of information and feedback sessions will be from 4:30 to 5:30 p.m. on Wednesday, Feb. 1, in Reid Hall 103; and from 3 p.m. to 4 p.m. on Thursday, Feb. 2 in Reid 415.

The Feb. 1-2 sessions will be the first two of eight. The other sessions will be on the following dates with locations to be announced:

Wednesday, Feb. 22, from 4:30 p.m. to 5:30 p.m.
Thursday, Feb. 23, from 3 p.m. to 4 p.m.

Wednesday, March 21, from 4:30 p.m. to 5:30 p.m.
Thursday, March 22, from 3 p.m. to 4 p.m.

Wednesday, April 18, from 4:30 p.m. to 5:30 p.m.
Thursday, April 19, from 3 p.m. to 4 p.m.

Ground could be broken for the building in 2013, with construction completed in 2015.

Please contact Audrey Lee, audrey.lee@montana.edu, if you have any questions.

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Every summer, Montana’s winter mountain snow melts and gradually flows toward the ocean. This year, Montana State University (MSU) graduates Charlie Capp and LA Hoffman will be embarking on a creative art adventure to follow that water. Capp graduated in 2004 in cell biology and neuroscience. Hoffman earned undergraduate degrees in photography and business marketing, with a small business and entrepreneurship minor in 2006 and received her MFA in printmaking in 2010.

This potent combination of science, art and business has led to a multi-faceted project. Capp and Hoffman will travel by kayak from the Capp’s family ranch on the Bitterroot River, following the course of the water all the way to the Pacific Ocean. This 1,101 mile journey through four states and a portion of Canada has aptly been titled “Summit to Sea.” Along the route, they’ll document the communities linked by the water, from the creeks of Montana, to where the Columbia River finally mingles with the sea.

“We’re not just going to be exploring the rivers of the American West,” said Capp. “We want to see how the rivers, and a precious resource like water, have affected and shaped the communities that share it.” Before Capp and Hoffman hit the river this summer, their first mission is fundraising, and they’re using a 21st-century strategy to do it.

“We’re utilizing Kickstarter to raise funds for the project,” Hoffman said. “It is a relatively new, Web-based company for getting art projects funded by a crowd of users, rather than relying on large grants, which are becoming increasingly rare. This new business model allows artists to go straight to individuals for backing.” Capp and Hoffman are trying to raise $8,500 by midnight on February 29th, and so far the Kickstarter campaign is working, though they haven’t quite reached their fundraising goal yet.

Kickstarter is the world’s largest funding platform for creative projects and one of many new platforms and technologies that College of Business (CoB) students and alumni alike are using to make their dreams come true. This platform utilizes a concept called crowdsourcing, which is funding by a crowd of users. It is not a new concept nor was Kickstarter the first to model a business around it, but its easy-to-use structure and large community of generous patrons has allowed for more than $75 million raised for thousands of projects since 2009. It serves as a good way for participants to gauge and test demand for a particular product, project or endeavor.

“It’s a really scary process,” said Hoffman. “You really put yourself out there, and hope that others will find your project interesting, and each time you see a backer choose to support your project, you breathe a little sigh of relief, because someone else out there believes in it too.”

The Kickstarter process is unique in that projects will only receive pledged funds from Kickstarter if the campaign is successful. “It’s literally all-or-nothing,” said Hoffman. “On the one hand, our project’s backers know that their contribution will only be used for successful projects, but for us, it’s a little hard to know that you’ll lose any funding that doesn’t reach your goal.”

Capp and Hoffman, like most Kickstarter participants, also incentivize browsers of the site to become backers by offering rewards. In Capp and Hoffman’s case, these rewards can be as simple as a screen-printed postcard, or as complex as a bundle of art that includes a copy of the travel journal they’ll be publishing when their trek is completed.

“We really want to encourage everyone we can to check out the project and hopefully invest in it,” said Capp. “Whether they simply believe in the spirit of the project, or they want to get some of our artwork as a reward, we want to have as many people hear about the idea as we can.”

More information about the Summit to Sea project can be found at Capp’s website: www.lens-capp.com, or at Hoffman’s site: www.loriehoffman.com. Their Kickstarter campaign can be found at www.kickstarter.com/projects/lahoffman/summit-to-sea.

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Montana State University College of Business (CoB) management instructor, Craig Ehlert, will discuss “Managing in Challenging Times–Things Seven Outstanding Montana Family Businesses Have Done” from 1:30-3:00 p.m. on Thursday, January 19, at the Best Western Great Northern Hotel in Helena. The seminar will be held in conjunction with the Montana Chamber of Commerce Business Days at the Capitol. This free event is part of the CoB’s State Farm Insurance Family Business Program On the Road.

Each year the MSU CoB Family Business Program recognizes outstanding family businesses. The seven companies that received awards this year include long established and newer, start-up businesses throughout the state. All these companies have distinguishing practices that have allowed them to be successful in both good and challenging times. Each company’s unique story is full of lessons that any business can employ to be successful. This presentation will review what made this year’s award winning companies successful and give the attendees an opportunity to explore how to use those techniques in their own businesses.

Established in 1994 as an outreach program, the MSU CoB State Farm Insurance Family Business Program is the only statewide program and event that allows businesses to share ideas and concerns common to most family-owned businesses, but which also apply to all businesses. The program also provides recognition to pioneering and successful family businesses through the Montana Family Business of the Year Awards.

With additional support from Stockman Bank, the CoB proudly introduced the Family Business Program On the Road in 2007, in conjunction with the Business Days at the Capitol. The CoB continues to develop this program by offering guest lectures and seminars on issues important to family-owned businesses in communities across the state.

This year, the On the Road series will visit 11 cities across the state. Starting with Business Days at the Capitol in Helena, the program will also visit: Lewistown, Billings, Miles City, Glasgow, Havre, Great Falls, Kalispell, Missoula, Butte and Bozeman. The dates and topic information are still to be determined.

To RSVP, contact Audrey Lee at (406) 994-7026 or audrey.lee@montana.edu.

To learn more about the Family Business Program, visit http://www.montana.edu/wwwdb/FamilyBusiness/FamilyBusiness.html.

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