The history of Ford Motor Company is a story of the American dream. Armed with big ideas and a bankroll of just $28,000, Henry Ford set out to make the automobile accessible to everyone, giving birth to one of the world's largest companies.

In that spirit, the company is sponsoring the Ford BEST Business Plan contest in association with SCORE "Counselors to America's Small Business" and DiversityInc. The contest asks individuals with the drive to become entrepreneurs, to submit a business plan to be judged by SCORE counselors for a grand prize of $50,000 and two runner-up prizes of $25,000 to start up the business of their dreams.

"Sponsoring this unique contest is in keeping with our heritage and tradition of supporting the communities where we build vehicles and do business," says George Frame, executive director, Dealer Development, Ford Motor Company. "At Ford, we believe the wealth gap in America will be closed by creating jobs and opportunities, and experts agree that this can best be achieved through entrepreneurship and demonstrated excellence in the workplace," Frame adds.

"This mission to empower individuals to achieve personal wealth, and its residual effect of building communities through economic development, has been a goal for Ford Motor Company since its inception."

The Ford BEST Business Plan contest requires individuals to submit a business plan comprised of five main elements, including type of business, product or service, pricing considerations, target market and competition, and general operations. An advisory panel of SCORE counselors will review the plans based on the following judging criteria: overall presentation of the business plan, the viability of a success, funding requirements, anticipated sales, analysis of competition and overall benefit to the community.

The rules are simple:

• The contest is open to U.S. citizens who are 18 years of age or older.

• Completed business plans must be submitted to www.ford.com/go/best by
  Feb. 29, 2004.

• An advisory panel from SCORE will judge all entries.

• Winners will be announced in April 2004, with a grand prize award of
  $50,000 along with two runner-up prizes of $25,000 each, to be used
  towards implementation of the winners' business concept.

In addition to the cash award, winners will be assigned a SCORE counselor to assist in business plan development, startup and operation. The www.ford.com/go/best website is also a valuable resource to upstart business planners by providing links to the best small business websites on the Internet. Finally, Ford is also providing to all competitors a free online subscription to DiversityInc.com .

"SCORE is proud to align with Ford Motor Company in this initiative that is designed to empower individuals and impact communities, and help thousands of entrepreneurs and aspiring entrepreneurs to make their dreams of success real," says W. Kenneth Yancey, Jr., Chief Executive Officer of SCORE "Counselors to America's Small Business." "We believe that a good business plan is the benchmark that sets one business apart from another, and the Ford BEST Business Plan contest will identify the nation's 'best' business leaders of tomorrow."

Ford has a rich heritage of supporting the communities where it conducts business. In 2002, Ford bought more than $3.2 billion in goods and services from minority businesses in diverse communities across the country. Through the company's second tier-sourcing program, which encourages tier one suppliers to establish their own minority programs, Ford influenced an additional $1.4 billion in business. Ford also has built a lasting relationship with the U.S. Small Business Administration to increase technical and business-development assistance for minority-owned and other small businesses in the automotive industry. At a local level, Ford has thousands of franchised dealers across the country who are active in their communities.

SCORE is comprised of 10,500 retired and working volunteers, who provide entrepreneurs with free, confidential, face-to-face and e-mail business counseling. Workshops and business counseling are offered at 389 chapter offices across the country. SCORE is a resource partner with the U.S. Small Business Administration. For more information, visit www.score.org .

DiversityInc publishes a bimonthly print magazine with a 100,000 paid circulation, a daily online publication with more than 230,000 registered users and has been online since 1998. DiversityInc's mission is to provide education and clarity on the business benefits of diversity by positioning diversity as a strategic business opportunity. DiversityInc is published by a privately owned company with no outside investors. For more information, visit www.diversityinc.com .