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Entrepreneurship and/or Philanthropy in Education Grants 

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Entrepreneurship and/or Philanthropy in Education Grants 

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The Inspiration Fund provides grants to nonprofits and schools in San Diego County, California, to support programs that directly teach the principles of entrepreneurship and/or philanthropy to K-12  students.
The Impact Fund provides grants to nonprofits and schools in Northern Colorado to support programs that directly teach the principles of entrepreneurship and/or philanthropy to K-12 students.

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Impact Fund Philanthropic Grants for Students

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The Impact Fund provides grants to nonprofits and schools in Northern Colorado to support programs that directly teach the principles of entrepreneurship and/or philanthropy to K-12 students.

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K-12 students can apply for up to $500 in seed funding or matching dollars for entrepreneurial or philanthropic endeavors! Contact tricia.vincent@ottercares.org for support.

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https://www.graymatterexperience.com/

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Community Impact, Capital and Community Building

Students create and participate in an enterprise that addresses social and financial opportunities within their communities while building the foundation for their wealth. They cultivate a positive connection between their enterprise, purpose/goals, and chosen post-secondary pathway demonstrating their leadership, ambition, and planning for a successful future. Students, investors, mentors, coaches, and community members will transform young Black people's opportunity-set and create a new cycle of Black capital and community building.

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Community Impact, Capital and Community Building Students create and participate in an enterprise that addresses social and financial opportunities within their communities while building the foundation for their wealth. They cultivate a positive connection between their enterprise, purpose/goals, and chosen post-secondary pathway demonstrating their leadership, ambition, and planning for a successful future.

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Tim Barnes admits that there was a bit of resistance when he broached the idea of starting a small company in his business and entrepreneurship technology class at West Greene High School. The kids had questions about the online platform created by EdCorps Real World Scholars to run an e-commerce business in schools.

Would the project, christened Hargus Creek Designs, add to their workload? Would it be of any practical use? What products would they make? And would anyone want them?

The answers:

Yes, it was more work, but worth it.

Yes, the kids learned the basics of running a business, from design through distribution.

The products they created ranged from tumblers to personalized wooden truck signs. And yes, the demand brought in almost $5,300.

"Once they realized what it is and what's become established, there's just endless support for it, from students, from parents, from the community, from administrators," Barnes says.

EdCorps, a non-profit organization founded in 2015, helps students in 40 states create and run their own businesses. The Greater Pittsburgh EdCorps, co-sponsored by the Grable Foundation, hosts 64 businesses run by more than 4,800 student entrepreneurs.

The organization wanted to give students an opportunity to start businesses that go beyond the sale of hoagies or baked goods at athletic events, says Christen Dunn, EdCorps special projects manager.

"We wanted students to experience the start-up and experience of running a real business," Dunn says.

Many school districts are justifiably wary of supporting student enterprises because of the bureaucracy and red tape involved. EdCorps provides a platform that includes assistance with licensing, sales tax, credit card processing and other processes that require time and experience that teachers may not have.

"I had the idea I wanted to do something similar before I found EdCorps," Barnes says. "I was searching for ways to do it. EdCorps has made it tremendously easier."

Within a classroom or a club, the teacher can help students build a business together, Dunn says. "It's not about an individual endeavor but a real small business that students gain much more from, not only entrepreneurially, but also through collaboration and communication. They are going to need many of these skills when they get out in the workforce."

At Whitehall Elementary in the Baldwin-Whitehall School District, Kristy Frohliger's fifth graders wanted to design products that were not only appealing but useful. They worked remotely for most of the past year as BW Creations, making and selling a range of products including mobile phone stands for the South Baldwin Volunteer Fire Company and an assortment of mugs and koozies.

But freeze pop holders?

"I really didn't know what they were," Frohliger says. "You really put these on freeze pops? ... But we also did them for school, put two pencils in them and called them pencil pouches."

There are about 20 fifth graders, and a few sixth-grade mentors from the prior school year, who form the core group working on BW Creations. To be part of the program, Frohliger asked kids to fill out an application because, she says, "that's what you do if you want to be part of a business."

The kids' work has paid off handsomely: This year's profit reached about $3,200. That amount is amazing, Frohliger says, because there were no in-person sales or events.

"It's just the kids talking about it," she says. "We started doing TikTok because the kids wanted to do that, and we're getting orders from that. It's just spreading the word throughout the community."

EdCorps projects are similar to other small businesses. Dunn points out that nearly 50 percent of the American workforce is employed by a small business. Of that, half of all small businesses are run by one person.

"But you still need many skills to operate with others," Dunn says. EdCorps completely prepares them for that.

The students working at EdCorps businesses don't make a dime for their work. All of the profit is either rolled back into the businesses, pays for school projects or is donated to charities.

The skills they learn from invoicing, marketing and design will be useful for the rest of their lives. But perhaps the most important lessons they learn can be applied to any situation the kids will face.

"We vote on any of the decisions we have to make," Frohliger says. "It's definitely a collaborative effort and learning how to work with each other."

At West Greene, kids also have learned the importance of cooperation to running a viable business.

But perhaps the biggest tribute to the program's effectiveness came during sign-ups for next year's class.

There was so much demand, Barnes had to create a waiting list.

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EdCorps Real World Scholars develops kid entrepreneurs to lead tomorrow's business world

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Tim Barnes admits that there was a bit of resistance when he broached the idea of starting a small company in his business and entrepreneurship technology class at West Greene High School. The kids had questions about the online platform created by EdCorps Real World Scholars to run an e-commerce business in schools.

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For this 13-Year-Old, Anything is Paw-sible

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For this 13-Year-Old, Anything is Paw-sible

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From a Young Mind: Pivot Daily to Thrive for a Lifetime

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From a Young Mind: Pivot Daily to Thrive for a Lifetime

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From a Young Mind: Pivot Daily to Thrive for a Lifetime

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As a young person living with a disability, Jazmiere has often experienced adults making assumptions about the things she needs to thrive daily. It is only through attempting to walk in the shoes of someone with a dyslexic disorder, that others can begin to understand how often the mind must be tricked into understanding basic things in order to thrive every day.

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How Dent Education is creating opportunity for Baltimore youth during the pandemic

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How Dent Education is creating opportunity for Baltimore youth during the pandemic

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Dent Education was one of 10 organizations that received funding from the City of Baltimore's recent $100,000 grant award pool for local firms creating personal protective equipment for frontline workers during the COVID-19 pandemic. One of the few awardees that focuses on training youth, Dent has trained 51 students to make protective face shields from home.

For each shield a student creates, they make a dollar. A volunteer delivers a box of 100 shields to student workers. It takes about eight to nine hours to finish a box for some students and two or four hours to finish for others, students said in interviews. The general rule is a student is expected to finish a box in five days. Theoretically, students could make $100 or more a day.

"These young people are creating the product that is saving lives and keeping us safe," said Rajan Patel, cofounder of Dent Education. He went on to explain that although money is a benefit to the students, it's not the primary point of the program. "It's not about donating and helping the poor kid. It's about recognizing that these people are smart, brilliant and have value to add to Baltimore city."

With the unemployment rate rising in Black communities despite falling for the nation overall in the past few months, an extra source of income in a household is welcome. Collectively, students in the program have made 8,500 face shields and made $5,000, according to Dent. Most youth working with Dent don't participate for the money. They do it for the access to opportunity.

"If I didn't join, I'd probably be doing nothing," said Joshua Chiosi, who has made $200 and 170 face shields. Chiosi also makes videos with Dent, and is paid for that work. "I'm not really looking at the money. Mostly I'm giving back to the community but [the money] is nice, too," he said.

If you're doing the math, at one dollar a shield, 170 face shields made from two boxes of 100 shields doesn't add up to $200. The unaccounted for $30 and 30 face shields are small bonuses to students for filling out paperwork about best practices. Additionally, completing a box of 100 face shields doesn't mean they all meet the standards of quality control.

A collaboration with civic hackers at HACK Baltimore resulted in an Airtable platform that allowed Dent to scale up from a 15-student program to 51 participants. The program designed by HACK Baltimore tracks student production, orders and distribution. In terms of scaling the program, it was most important for pinpointing when a student was finished and needed a new box and feedback for quality control, Patel said.

Patel also said the program is used to check for aberrations in student output that would mean a student is working more than what's healthy. It doesn't track hours to identify if a student was working more than eight hours a day. Students self-report their hours and comfort with their workload. There's also a weekly group check-in with Patel and the Dent team, where, more than PPE production, the students discuss wider topics about life for teens in a pandemic and, more recently, the protests about police brutality and the death of George Floyd.

"First and foremost, we're training youth developers," said Patel. Dent Education's goal is to create change makers and tomorrow's future leaders that develop solutions to community problems. Even though they're running a manufacturing program now, youth development is always at the front of the leaders' mind. Although lack of engagement in the PPE program was the org's main concern, he acknowledges the importance of "being actively on the lookout for how the opportunity we're building is sustainable and healthy."

For many students, making PPE was an opportunity to give back to the community. Some even went to George Floyd demonstrations and donated face masks to protesters with full support from Dent to use their talents to make a difference in their community.

"We don't really get a lot of opportunities," said Charity Fisher, who has made $350 and 400 face shields. "A lot of the time when they see young kids, they automatically think they're up to no good. With Dent it doesn't matter what you look like or who you are - they want to help you to get to where you want to be."

Donte Kirby is a 2020-2021 corps member for Report for America, an initiative of The Groundtruth Project that pairs young journalists with local newsrooms. This position is supported by the Robert W. Deutsch Foundation.

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How Dent Education is creating opportunity for Baltimore youth during the pandemic - Technical.ly Baltimore

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Dent Education was one of 10 organizations that received funding from the City of Baltimore's recent $100,000 grant award pool for local firms creating personal protective equipment for frontline workers during the COVID-19 pandemic. One of the few awardees that focuses on training youth, Dent has trained 51 students to make protective face shields from home.

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NFTE Announces Top Young Entrepreneurs Advancing in National Competition

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NFTE Announces Top Young Entrepreneurs Advancing in National Competition

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New York, NY, July 07, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Over the last eight weeks, middle- and high-school students across the country participated in "Shark Tank"-style pitch competitions, presenting business plans to panels of elite judges in the Network for Teaching Entrepreneurship (NFTE) Youth Entrepreneurship Challenge series, a sequence of regional pitch competitions that determine the top young entrepreneurs who qualify to enter NFTE's National Youth Entrepreneurship Challenge.

The 33 winners announced today have already earned cash prizes ranging from $300 to $1,500 by outpitching other entrepreneurship students in their regions. Now they'll have a chance to represent their home regions in a high-stakes national competition this fall. Top-scoring winners in the regional competition series advance to NFTE's National Youth Entrepreneurship Challenge, which will be held in mid-October. During the national competition, regional winners will compete against each other and also go head to head with top young entrepreneurs from NFTE's global programs, all vying for a share of a prize pool worth $18,000.

Ernst & Young LLP (EY US) was the presenting sponsor of this spring's NFTE Youth Entrepreneurship Challenge regional competition series. Mary Kay and Microsoft were associate sponsors. Additional sponsors included Citi Foundation, Mastercard, Slalom and Santander. Together, Citi Foundation and EY US will co-present the National Youth Entrepreneurship Challenge this fall.

The winners who will be advancing to the next level of competition are listed below, with short descriptions of their businesses. They're grouped by geographic region.
Bay Area winners Baltimore Metro Area winners Chicago Metro/Midwest Region winners Washington, DC Metro Area winners Los Angeles Metro Area winners
Hanna Corona ( Florence Nightingale Middle School, Los Angeles, California) pitching Gumbee, a pack of biodegradable gum, with 15 pieces per pack, that has seeds embedded in each piece to help grow plants on roadsides, parks, etc.
New England winners New York Metro Area winners North Texas winners
Diana Gonzalez and Isabel Hernandez ( Bryan Adams High School, Dallas, Texas) pitching Queen Shield Enterprises, a fist-sized, self-defense keychain that contains three different gadgets: pepper spray, a window breaker and a sound alarm.
Philadelphia Metro Area winners
Leviticus Smith ( Penn Hills Charter School of Entrepreneurship, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania) pitching Spray and Create, a space to engage in digital graffiti painting with no mess or toxic fumes.
Southeast winners
Kaise Tinglin and Sashary Acosta (Palm Beach Gardens High School, Palm Beach Gardens, Florida) pitching Impact, a volunteering app that offers high school students in the South Florida region information about service opportunities through schools and community organizations.

Angelena Markova ( Osceola Fundamental High School, Osceola, Florida) pitching Landport, an app to help people navigate airports. An interactive map with GPS functions guides users, creating a stress-free travel environment and improving people's airport experience.
St. Louis Metro Area winners About NFTE
Network for Teaching Entrepreneurship (NFTE) is a global nonprofit organization that provides high-quality entrepreneurship education to middle and high school students from under-resourced communities, as well as programs for college students and adults. NFTE reaches 70,000+ students annually in 25 states across the U.S. and offers programs in 12 additional countries. We have educated more than a million students through in-school, out-of-school, college, and summer camp programs, offered in person and online. To learn more about how we are promoting inclusive capitalism and building the next generation of diverse entrepreneurs, visit www.nfte.com.

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network for teaching entrepreneurship (nfte)

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Network for Teaching Entrepreneurship (NFTE)

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NFTE Announces Top Young Entrepreneurs Advancing in National Competition

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New York, NY, July 07, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Over the last eight weeks, middle- and high-school students across the country participated in "Shark Tank"-style pitch competitions, presenting business plans to panels of elite judges in the Network for Teaching Entrepreneurship (NFTE) Youth Entrepreneurship Challenge series, a sequence of regional pitch competitions that determine the top young entrepreneurs who qualify to enter NFTE's National Youth Entrepreneurship Challenge.

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Picture a studio where young adults enter as students and leave as artists and entrepreneurs. Thanks to EdCorps, Hampton Creates studio at Hampton Middle School just north of Pittsburgh is a place where middle schoolers develop into insightful communicators, compassionate collaborators, confident problem solvers, and courageous creators.

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TOYZ Electronics Talk with the Pittsburgh Tech Council 

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TOYZ Electronics Talk with the Pittsburgh Tech Council 

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Toyz Electronics Talks STEAM Education on Business as Usual

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Formation Ventures: Building The Black Entrepreneurial Ecosystem

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Formation Ventures: Building The Black Entrepreneurial Ecosystem

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Our mission is to close the wealth gap by building a thriving ecosystem of Black entrepreneurs, through learning, support, and funding, starting in high school.

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Formation Ventures - Building the Black Entrepreneurial Ecosystem

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SAAMRA MEKURIA-GRILLO

Co-Founder / CEO

Saamra holds a deep belief in the power of education to provide transformative opportunities to young people, especially when that education is rigorous, real-world applicable, and fun. She founded Formation Ventures in 2020 after 8 years as Chief Operating Officer at the Pahara Institute. Previous to Pahara, Saamra spent time at Bain & Company, and at Google, where she helped to launch Google's Hyderabad office. Saamra has served on multiple nonprofit boards, including the Mission Preparatory School in San Francisco, CA and the East Bay Innovation Academy in Oakland, CA, and she currently serves on the board of Compass Rose Public Schools in Texas. She holds an MBA with a certificate in Public Management from the Stanford Graduate School of Business, and a bachelor's degree from Yale University, where she double majored in History and International Studies. She is also a proud graduate of the Boston Latin School, the first public school in the United States. Saamra lives in San Antonio, TX with her husband and her two sons.

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Our Mission Our Program Inside Look Building the Black Entrepreneurial Ecosystem Our mission is to close the wealth gap by building a thriving ecosystem of Black entrepreneurs, through learning, support, and funding, starting in high school. We Support The Success of Black Entrepreneurs at Multiple Points in Their Journey Engaging learning and affirming [...]

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Penn Hills Charter School for Entrepreneurship get $250k

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Penn Hills Charter School for Entrepreneurship get $250k

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The Richard King Mellon Foundation granted $250,000 to help jump-start a digital career readiness pilot program for Pittsburgh-area Elementary students.

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The Richard King Mellon Foundation granted $250,000 to help jump-start a digital career readiness pilot program for Pittsburgh-area Elementary students.

The grant was awarded to MicroSociety Inc., a Philadelphia-based education nonprofit, to collaborate with the Penn Hills Charter School of Entrepreneurship (PHCSE) and Duquesne University on the project.

"We are very grateful for the foundation to take this lead to do something large for young people, and we chose the perfect school to do this," said President and CEO of MicroSociety Carolynn King-Richmond.

The nonprofit has been in a partnership with PHCSE since 2011 to integrate its in-person model into the charter school for K-8 students learning about entrepreneurship and leadership. PHCSE CEO Wayne Jones said students ran real businesses, such as Mad Science Labs and Fuzzy Pets, and operated their own bank and government.

This project will feature MicroSociety's new online platform called MicroSociety 2.0, which offers the ability to conduct all MicroSociety activities any time and anywhere. The platform was an answer to limitations encountered during virtual learning this past year.

"MicroSociety is very hands on in relation to how we offer it in a brick-and-mortar setting, so we want to make sure we educate students virtually and offer innovative programs. Times are changing," Jones said.

Jones said students will be able to run their businesses and banks online along with creating advertisements and marketing campaigns when running for office.

Duquesne students majoring in entrepreneurship at the Palumbo-Donahue School of Business will serve as mentors for PHCSE students.

"We are trying to build our reputation across all populations so this is a tremendous opportunity to engage students and those majoring in entrepreneurship," said Peter Gianiodis, a Merle E. Gilliand Professor in entrepreneurial finance and professor of strategy and entrepreneurship at Duquesne's Palumbo Donahue School of Business Entrepreneurship.

On the platform, students will be able to work from home and invite students from other Pittsburgh area schools to participate in MicroSociety activities. Students will also be able to connect with community-partner mentors and Duquesne University fellows.

"One of our larger goals is to expose students to business opportunities and give them exposure to the kind of skills and beginnings to develop those skills they need for the workplace," said Content & Development Director at MicroSociety Riva Richmond.

The project will be tested for 18 months during the upcoming school year. During the trial, the group will be monitoring the project's engagement, security measures and performance.

"There are so many areas we will be looking at, and narrowing that down will be a challenge," King-Richmond said.

Community leaders and entrepreneurs will also visit the school throughout the year to spread their knowledge and skills to students. Jones said with this effort and MicroSociety 2.0, hopefully a wider net of business leaders - locally, nationally and globally - will want to become partners.

"This is truly just going to be able to take the program to another level and show schools how to offer robust entrepreneurship programs," Jones said.

Tanisha Thomas is a Tribune-Review staff writer. You can contact Tanisha at 412-480-7306, tthomas@triblive.com or via Twitter .

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Richard King Mellon Foundation grants $250,000 to jump-start program for Penn Hills Charter School of Entrepreneurship

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The Richard King Mellon Foundation granted $250,000 to help jump-start a digital career readiness pilot program for Pittsburgh-area Elementary students. The grant was awarded to MicroSociety Inc., a Philadelphia-based education nonprofit, to collaborate with the Penn Hills Charter School of Entrepreneurship (PHCSE) and Duquesne University on the project. “We are