Syracuse University’s Blackstone LaunchPad will be hosting a series of workshops “Syracuse Innovation Forum: Empowering Communities Through Social Enterprise.” The workshops are meant to create a space for learning and discussion. Covering an array of topics surrounding the umbrella concept of social entrepreneurship, this series of workshops features driven entrepreneurs on our campus, professors, community leaders, and alumni. Social entrepreneurship is defined as entrepreneurs whose ventures focus on generating revenue to implement solutions to social, cultural, and economic problems.
Helping organize and plan the series of workshops is the Blackstone LaunchPads’s Spring 2018 Engagement Scholar Luz Perez ‘20. The series of workshops create interactive opportunities to engage with trailblazing entrepreneurs.
Topics are:
Benefit corporations, B Corps, Nonprofits and NGOs: March 30th 1:00- 2:00 pm in Bird Library 114
A crash course and discussion on benefit corporations, B Corps, nonprofits, and NGOs and how they can create businesses with a social mission. Led by Blackstone LaunchPad executive director Linda Hartsock, Kennedy Patlan, and Amanda Chou. Hartsock has been executive director of several nonprofits, founded a nonprofit, the Center for the Arts of Homer, and has chaired the board of many nonprofits. Patlan’18, was the Blackstone LaunchPad’s inaugural Engagement Scholar, and works at the LaunchPad as a social entrepreneurship consultant. Chou ‘18 is a co-founder of nonprofit Thrive Projects, a student startup which operates a 501 (c) (3) in the United States, as well as a nonprofit, Thrive Nepal, in that country. She is also president of Thrive@SU.
Civic Entrepreneurship Panel: April 6th 1:00- 2:00 pm in Bird 114
Engaging panel of successful student entrepreneurs telling their story. A panel for students interested in building support and gaining revenue for their venture. Speakers are social entrepreneurs who started ventures with a public benefit: William McKnight founder of Farm to Flame Energy, Jason Kuperberg founder of Drop Top, and Sam Guillaume founder of Food To Community. Al three are winners of SU competitions for social impact, including the Impact Prize, Hult Prize, and most recently the iPrize.
Building Community Through Social Entrepreneurship: April 13th 1:00- 2:00 pm in Bird 606
Discussion between community leaders on how social entrepreneurship ignites change while strengthening communities. Speakers are vice president of CenterState Corporation for Economic Opportunity Dominic Robinson, director of the nonprofit organization InterFaith Works Olive Sephuma, and Syracuse executive director of cultural engagement for the hispanic community Tere Paniagua.
CCE Year End Reception & Social Entrepreneurship Alumni Connection: April 27th 1:00- 2:00 Blackstone Launchpad in Bird Library
End of the year reception open to CCE students and our alumni who are engaged in social entrepreneurship and the nonprofit sector.
For more information, e-mail LaunchPad@syr.edu