On Wednesday, June 25, Cleveland will become the 43rd U.S. city to join the 1 Million Cups campaign, a national effort to engage, educate and connect entrepreneurs both locally and nationally -- and eventually internationally. The program, funded by the Kauffman Foundation, is based on the idea that entrepreneurs network and move their ideas forward over one million cups of coffee.

“It’s just about creating a community put together by entrepreneurs, for entrepreneurs, across multiple industries,” explains Jose Vasquez, owner of Quez Media Marketing and one of the organizers of the Cleveland chapter.

1 Million Cups Cleveland will host weekly meetings, during which two entrepreneurs each will deliver six-minute presentations followed by 20 minutes of Q&A with the audience. “What can we do for you? is the question to be answered at these weekly engagements,” says Vasquez. “A lot of opportunity can come from the community. This is really about entrepreneurs who need help and advice from the community.”

Vasquez explains that 1 Million Cups is different from other entrepreneurial networking organizations in that it spans multiple industries. “It brings all these communities together,” he says. “It’s really just helping people.”

The goal of 1 Million Cups is to eventually serve as a worldwide networking organization, where entrepreneurs can call upon other entrepreneurs in similar industries for advice and support.

Other Cleveland organizers include Colleen Beyer of Borrow Vintage and Eclectic Rentals; Cole Worley, a co-conductor of StartupBus and GiveCamp volunteer; and Carl Shotwell, a developer and entrepreneur at LeanDog. JumpStart and LaunchHouse worked to help make Cleveland a 1 Million Cups City.

Meeting locations will change on a quarterly basis, with the first meetings being held at JumpStart’s offices on June 25th, from 9 to 10 a.m. Vasquez says they are still recruiting entrepreneurs to speak, location sponsors and coffee sponsors. The two entrepreneurial speakers have yet to be announced.