Social Change
SEA Change, a collaborative social enterprise accelerator that provides funding, training and coaching to civic-minded companies, is taking applications for its second round of companies to participate in its accelerator.
Thirteen businesses with a social and economic cause participated in last year’s accelerator and eight companies went on to compete for, and ultimately received, a portion of $50,000 in total funding. Rust Belt Riders and Vineyards and Biocellar of Chateau Hough were among the top companies to receive funding.
This year SEA Change has at least $60,000 in funding and hopes to accept 10 applicants, depending on the applications they get. “We’re looking for the best business ideas that want to improve the community,” says Mike Shafarenko, director of Civic Commons IdesStream, one of the lead collaborators for SEA Change. “Last year we has a wide variety of social enterprises.” He says they are expecting about 50 companies to apply this year.
This year’s accelerator will operate a little differently than last year. “We’re re-developing the accelerator a little bit by using different elements being used across the country,” Shafarenko says. “We’re making it equal parts training and mentorship with a lot of hands-on training and more experiential opportunities than last year.”
Those chosen for the accelerator will participate in a 16 week program of eight weeks of training and eight weeks of pitch preparation and coaching.
While the program doesn’t being until October, applications are due by Saturday, August 15 by 8pm.
Thirteen businesses with a social and economic cause participated in last year’s accelerator and eight companies went on to compete for, and ultimately received, a portion of $50,000 in total funding. Rust Belt Riders and Vineyards and Biocellar of Chateau Hough were among the top companies to receive funding.
This year SEA Change has at least $60,000 in funding and hopes to accept 10 applicants, depending on the applications they get. “We’re looking for the best business ideas that want to improve the community,” says Mike Shafarenko, director of Civic Commons IdesStream, one of the lead collaborators for SEA Change. “Last year we has a wide variety of social enterprises.” He says they are expecting about 50 companies to apply this year.
This year’s accelerator will operate a little differently than last year. “We’re re-developing the accelerator a little bit by using different elements being used across the country,” Shafarenko says. “We’re making it equal parts training and mentorship with a lot of hands-on training and more experiential opportunities than last year.”
Those chosen for the accelerator will participate in a 16 week program of eight weeks of training and eight weeks of pitch preparation and coaching.
While the program doesn’t being until October, applications are due by Saturday, August 15 by 8pm.
This weekend, celebrate the cultures that make up Northeast Ohio at Cleveland World Festival, experience a fusion of Asian food and culture at Night Market, embrace the power of writing at Cleveland Inkubator and more.
Parks and other play spaces are designed for young people, yet youth are seldom asked for their input. A new initiative engages Cleveland kids in design and encourages them to consider careers in this area.
Urban, connected and on the move, the Campus District is poised to take off with more than $260 million pouring into this scant square mile of diverse territory.
Northeast Ohio has three organizations dedicated to getting fresh produce and sustainably-grown goods to consumers through online ordering.
This weekend, take a historic walking tour of University Circle, support cancer research at the VeloSano Bike to Cure, compete for cash prizes at The American Institute of Architects sandcastle and volleyball competition, relax with Sunday yoga at Edgewater Beach and more.
More than 3,500 professionals in marketing, communications, social media and public relations are expected to attend 2015 Content Marketing World – the largest event of its kind -- on September 8-11 at the Cleveland Convention Center.
Over 100 speakers from companies including Kraft Foods, Avery Dennison and LinkedIn will cover the basics of content marketing to specific marketing strategies used by successful companies. The estimated economic impact of the conference is $3.6 million, according to Destination Cleveland.
Unlike past years, this year's conference will cover the entrepreneurial market , says Content Marketing Institute founder and event coordinator Joe Pulizzi. The content marketing expert will host the Content Inc. Summit, geared specifically at entrepreneurs and small business owners on the last day of this year's conference on September 11.
“There is a better way to launch a business today,” says Pulizzi. “Build an audience first. Once you build an audience, you can launch the business.”
By building an audience based on content, says Pulizzi, the entrepreneur can learn more about what the target market desires. “Anybody who wants to be their own boss in any industry, this is the way to go,” he says. “It takes patience, but it’s absolutely worth it.”
The Content Inc. Summit will feature a presentation by Pulizzi on “Six Steps to Content Marketing Domination,” as outlined in his book of the same title. Five additional speakers include Matthew Patrick, founder of Game Theory; John Lee Dumas, founder of EntrepreneurOnFire; and Brian Clark, founder of Copyblogger Media.
Register online for the Content Inc. Summit, or register for the entire conference until September 4.
Over 100 speakers from companies including Kraft Foods, Avery Dennison and LinkedIn will cover the basics of content marketing to specific marketing strategies used by successful companies. The estimated economic impact of the conference is $3.6 million, according to Destination Cleveland.
Unlike past years, this year's conference will cover the entrepreneurial market , says Content Marketing Institute founder and event coordinator Joe Pulizzi. The content marketing expert will host the Content Inc. Summit, geared specifically at entrepreneurs and small business owners on the last day of this year's conference on September 11.
“There is a better way to launch a business today,” says Pulizzi. “Build an audience first. Once you build an audience, you can launch the business.”
By building an audience based on content, says Pulizzi, the entrepreneur can learn more about what the target market desires. “Anybody who wants to be their own boss in any industry, this is the way to go,” he says. “It takes patience, but it’s absolutely worth it.”
The Content Inc. Summit will feature a presentation by Pulizzi on “Six Steps to Content Marketing Domination,” as outlined in his book of the same title. Five additional speakers include Matthew Patrick, founder of Game Theory; John Lee Dumas, founder of EntrepreneurOnFire; and Brian Clark, founder of Copyblogger Media.
Register online for the Content Inc. Summit, or register for the entire conference until September 4.
This weekend, shop arts and crafts from all over the country at the Cain Park Arts Festival, attend a free swing dance under the Playhouse chandelier, check out the Cleveland Flea and more.
Entrepreneur James Levin, who has always balanced his arts and cultural impresario endeavors with a law career defending the poor and disenfranchised, has opened a legal clinic in Glenville.
Mark Morrison and the cofounders of Windrush, which provides a web publishing tool for nonprofits, were looking to take their company to the next level.
Morrison suggested the company go on the road to his hometown of Cleveland and join the FlashStarts 2015 summer accelerator program. So in May, Morrison and his two partners did just that.
Windrush helps social impact organizations produce more than just a white paper while trying to get their messages across. Using data visualization tools, Windrush makes it easy to create interactive and vibrant materials, copy and data to engage readers.
Morrison, Max Walker and Riley Alsmann were friends at Skidmore College in Saratoga Springs, New York and about to graduate when they founded Windrush in 2013 based on a software development project Walker was working on for school.
Upon graduation, the Windrush team was looking to grow the company. “We were looking to enter an accelerator to help us grow,” Morrison says. “We applied all over the country and we were accepted to a few of them.”
Morrison, a native of Maple Heights and a graduate of St. Ignatius High School, urged the team to join FlashStarts’ accelerator program. “It was a great fit, plus Cleveland is like the origin of nonprofits,” he says. “We’re really young coming out of college and we wanted a relationship. We want to learn from our mistakes.”
FlashStarts gave Windrush an initial $25,000 investment and the company has set up shop in the FlashStarts offices, at least for the summer.
“Windrush was chosen for our accelerator because they have a product that will radically transform content marketing, journalism and the art of online storytelling,” says Grace Moenich, FlashStarts’ director of public relations. “Their platform allows organizations to easily showcase their data in beautiful and compelling ways -- a feat which would otherwise require an enormous amount of money to hire very rare talent. They solve a large and common problem for businesses.”
Windrush will also be eligible for follow-on funding when the 12-week program is over.
Morrison suggested the company go on the road to his hometown of Cleveland and join the FlashStarts 2015 summer accelerator program. So in May, Morrison and his two partners did just that.
Windrush helps social impact organizations produce more than just a white paper while trying to get their messages across. Using data visualization tools, Windrush makes it easy to create interactive and vibrant materials, copy and data to engage readers.
Morrison, Max Walker and Riley Alsmann were friends at Skidmore College in Saratoga Springs, New York and about to graduate when they founded Windrush in 2013 based on a software development project Walker was working on for school.
Upon graduation, the Windrush team was looking to grow the company. “We were looking to enter an accelerator to help us grow,” Morrison says. “We applied all over the country and we were accepted to a few of them.”
Morrison, a native of Maple Heights and a graduate of St. Ignatius High School, urged the team to join FlashStarts’ accelerator program. “It was a great fit, plus Cleveland is like the origin of nonprofits,” he says. “We’re really young coming out of college and we wanted a relationship. We want to learn from our mistakes.”
FlashStarts gave Windrush an initial $25,000 investment and the company has set up shop in the FlashStarts offices, at least for the summer.
“Windrush was chosen for our accelerator because they have a product that will radically transform content marketing, journalism and the art of online storytelling,” says Grace Moenich, FlashStarts’ director of public relations. “Their platform allows organizations to easily showcase their data in beautiful and compelling ways -- a feat which would otherwise require an enormous amount of money to hire very rare talent. They solve a large and common problem for businesses.”
Windrush will also be eligible for follow-on funding when the 12-week program is over.
The PRE4CLE program, which was recently recognized by the White House, is halfway to its goal of enrolling 2,000 additional four-year-olds in high-quality preschools in Cleveland.
Eric Duong, an entrepreneur born in Vietnam, opened the Asian Town Center with just three tenants in the midst of the recession. Yet today, the development houses 20 businesses with more on the way.
This holiday weekend, go on a hot date to Mahall's for music, food and cocktails, visit Platform Brewing in celebration of their first anniversary, enjoy reggae by Carlos Jones at the kickoff of Lakewood’s porch concert series and more.
As a small printing company in Warrensville Heights, Porath Print Solutions has seen its share of struggles and issues in the non-profits and small businesses the 16-person company has served since 1968. So this year, Porath chief problem solver Gerry Engelhart decided it was time to start sharing his knowledge with a bi-monthly seminar series.
“Our boss is a very community-oriented person,” says Porath’s Rachel Gordon. “We all kept seeing our clients, especially non-profits, coming to us with printings and mailings and we realized we’re not giving them the bigger picture of what different organizations were doing to raise money. It could be much easier for them on the front end if they knew some things. ”
So Porath started a series of free breakfast seminars to educate organizations on how to organize fundraising campaigns. “The first two were just about fundraising – how to connect with your current donors,” says Gordon. “It’s so [much] less expensive to keep the supporters you have than to find new ones.”
Now, Porath will team up on Tuesday, June 30 with Simone Cameron of Cleveland Heights marketing firm the Annek Group to host another free seminar on social media. “Social Media: The Basics” will cover all the things Porath learned while implementing its own social media strategy. “A few months ago we didn’t have a social media presence at all,” says Gordon. “Then we connected with Simone and now we have Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and an e-newsletter.”
Seminar attendees will learn about the importance of multi-channel marketing and how and when to use the different social media outlets. “For us, it was kind of a revelation,” says Gordon of Porath’s own foray into social media. “As we’re learning about this we realized there are definitely other people going through the same thing. There are basic questions that are overwhelming.”
Gordon says the seminar is just Engelhart’s way of giving back. “He’ll make time for anyone,” she says. “For us, it’s helpful because it just keeps us fresh and it keeps the ideas flowing.”
The free seminar is from 8 am to 9:30 am on June 30 at the Porath offices, 21000 Miles Parkway in Warrensville Heights. A light breakfast will be served. Register or call (216) 626-0060 for more information. Guests are encourage to bring a non-perishable food item to donate to the Cleveland Food Bank.
“Our boss is a very community-oriented person,” says Porath’s Rachel Gordon. “We all kept seeing our clients, especially non-profits, coming to us with printings and mailings and we realized we’re not giving them the bigger picture of what different organizations were doing to raise money. It could be much easier for them on the front end if they knew some things. ”
So Porath started a series of free breakfast seminars to educate organizations on how to organize fundraising campaigns. “The first two were just about fundraising – how to connect with your current donors,” says Gordon. “It’s so [much] less expensive to keep the supporters you have than to find new ones.”
Now, Porath will team up on Tuesday, June 30 with Simone Cameron of Cleveland Heights marketing firm the Annek Group to host another free seminar on social media. “Social Media: The Basics” will cover all the things Porath learned while implementing its own social media strategy. “A few months ago we didn’t have a social media presence at all,” says Gordon. “Then we connected with Simone and now we have Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and an e-newsletter.”
Seminar attendees will learn about the importance of multi-channel marketing and how and when to use the different social media outlets. “For us, it was kind of a revelation,” says Gordon of Porath’s own foray into social media. “As we’re learning about this we realized there are definitely other people going through the same thing. There are basic questions that are overwhelming.”
Gordon says the seminar is just Engelhart’s way of giving back. “He’ll make time for anyone,” she says. “For us, it’s helpful because it just keeps us fresh and it keeps the ideas flowing.”
The free seminar is from 8 am to 9:30 am on June 30 at the Porath offices, 21000 Miles Parkway in Warrensville Heights. A light breakfast will be served. Register or call (216) 626-0060 for more information. Guests are encourage to bring a non-perishable food item to donate to the Cleveland Food Bank.
A key component of the Cleveland Plan for Transforming Schools is helping families choose the right school. Neighborhood ambassadors are charged with informing the community about school choices.
This weekend, enjoy the kickoff of WOW’s free summer concert series, view 30 bands on 30 porches at PorchFest and dust off your dancing shoes for free vinyl dance parties at Beachland and B Side.
Inspired by a project in the Twin Cities, Waterloo Arts District leaders used art projects to draw new customers and keep businesses alive.
