Philanthropy : Innovation + Job News

A 2010 Edelman goodpurpose study found that 86 percent of global consumers believe that business needs to place at least equal weight on society's interests as on business interests. This thinking is at the root of social entrepreneurship, an increasingly used model employed by both non- and for-profit entrepreneurs to build successful and sustainable businesses.

Two local groups are looking to nurture those ideas through separate programs.

The Women for Social Innovation, a giving circle of Women's Way, is taking applications for its Turning Point Prize, a $15,000 annual award given the last three years to an emerging female social entrepreneur living or studying in Greater Philadelphia and who is developing a non-profit venture. Last year's winner, Tracie Gilbert, developed a 10-month community education initiative to help women gain tools necessary to help their pre-teen and teen daughters make healthy and empowered decisions about sexual health.

"The prize winner gains important help in navigating the challenges of establishing a new venture," says Nancy Moses, WSI founder. "It's a win-win, since our members are also enriched by the experience of helping an emerging social entrepreneur."

The application deadline for this year's competition is 5 p.m. on Dec. 28. Information on eligibility, selection criteria and application guidelines available here.

Applications have already closed for another program, the Tribe 12 Social Entrepreneur Fellowship – a group of 22-40 year-old Jewish difference-makers looking to plant the seeds of innovation in Philadelphia. However, the group is always looking to engage potential fellows.

Last year's fellows include Todd Baylson, the manager of planning and policy at the Pennsylvania Horticultural Society, who aimed to green the land occupied by Jewish religious institutions, and School District of Philadelphia special education teacher Sara Landman, who worked to utilize retired Jewish educators to increase the literacy skills of urban students and their parents. The next group of fellows take over in January.

"The Tribe 12 Social Entrepreneur Fellowship enables innovators on the cutting edge of creativity to work together to launch socially-minded ventures that change the world," Ben Wachstein, Project Director of Tribe 12. "Our Fellows are informal educators and community organizers, nonprofit managers and environmental activists, programmers and artists, biotech visionaries and Israel advocates."

Source: Rachel Dukeman
Writer: Joe Petrucci

Source: Jeff Friedman, Michael Nutter, City of Philadelphia, Claire Robertson-Kraft, Young Involved Philly
Writer: Sue Spolan

Back in July we reported on the growing micro-funding event series known as Philly Stake.  The series combines fast, no-nonsense funding for great ideas, combined with local food and fun with friends.

The next round of proposals is due by noon on Sunday, Oct. 30. Creatives, artists, organizers and thinkers are asked to submit their best ideas. It's a four-question application, and it could help your project earn fast funds. Ten proposals will be chosen to be voted on at the next Philly Stake event on Nov. 13 at the Ukie Club (847 N. Franklin St., Philadelphia).

Tidal Schuylkill River Tour ($1,000), Fair Grounds ($600) and Sunday Suppers ($500) were winners at the last Philly Stake.

Source: Philly Stake
Writer: Joe Petrucci

Because of its size, location and breadth of activity, it's hard to believe that the Kimmel Center has only been part of Philadelphia's arts and culture landscape for 10 years.

Beyond all the first-class performers and performances featured at the Kimmel, one of its best-kept secrets is its Education Program, which has grown steadily through the last several years. It now serves more than 7,000 local youth of all skill levels and socioeconomic backgrounds, according to the Kimmel's Director of Education Julia Lopez.

"There's so much more we can do," says Lopez.

The Kimmel is hiring a Community Engagement Manager to help grow its Education Program. The successful candidate ill be critical to the development of community engagement strategies to support long-term relationships with a "diverse intersection of Philadelphia-area communities."

Part of that includes aligning the Education Program with select performances at the Kimmel. Experience in community organizing and cross-cultural competency is key.

Send cover letters and resumes to the Kimmel, 260 S. Broad St., Philadelphia, PA 19102, or email [email protected].

Source: Julia Lopez, Kimmel Center
Writer: Joe Petrucci

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Giant koi swimming up 13th Street? Believe it. The Favela Painters are coming to Philadelphia. In mid-September, Jeroen Koolhaas and Dre Urhahn, better known as the team Haas&Hahn, arrive here for a major public art project that spans three Philadelphia neighborhoods, trains countless new artists and brings a bit of Brazil to the city.

Favela is the term used for the slums of Rio de Janiero, lawless places ruled by criminal syndicates. Over the past five years, Haas&Hahn have transformed the walls and streets of these mountainside neighborhoods that loom over downtown Rio. Outrageous color and imagery, visible from all parts of the city, have transformed trash strewn chaotic areas into internationally renowned public art galleries.

Now the Favela Painters are set to transform Philadelphia, and the location of their work will be in some pretty high profile places: the 13th Street corridor owned by Goldman Properties in Center City; in North Philadelphia at Lehigh and Germantown Avenues, near The Village of Arts and Humanities (where Haas&Hahn will reside during the project); and in Manayunk, on old industrial buildings facing Interstate 76.

Funding, which is budgeted at just under $500,000 for the three-part project, comes from The Knight Foundation, The U.S. Department of Commerce, Goldman Properties and The Manayunk Development Corporation.

The teams that will work on the project will be trained by the Haas&Hahn guild. "People who don't have a lot of opportunities will be able to work with international artists," says Golden, who describes the artists' philosophy as a model for passing knowledge on. "What's the test of a good project? The shifting perspectives of people who made the art and people who live with it."

This will be the first permanent U.S. project for Haas&Hahn, who also created an installation for Art Basel Miami in 2010. Jane Golden, Executive Director of the Mural Arts Program in Philadelphia, met the Favela painters through hip hop art consultant Todd Bressi, who brought Haas&Hahn to Miami. Bressi is a lecturer at The University of Pennsylvania and also worked on the Philadelphia Airport Gateway Project.

Golden says Haas&Hahn are on MAP's dream list of artists. "We're philosophically aligned. They're colorists with a background in architecture," says Golden. Kickoff is September 27 with a welcome reception. The entire project is set to last 18 months, including training and pop-up studios throughout the city. At its conclusion, a major exhibition is planned, which will also span Philadelphia and is slated for late 2013 to early 2014.

Source: Jane Golden, Philadelphia Mural Arts Program
Writer: Sue Spolan

It's a super awesome Startup Weekend 2.0. Tickets are almost sold out for the Oct. 14 event. On the heels of the first wildly successful Startup Weekend held in January, 2011, the second gathering has a new venue, better food and more caffeine, according to organizer Brad Oyler.

"We sold 95 tickets in two weeks," he says. "The business development tickets are already sold out. We  want to balance it out with developers and designers."

This time, Startup Weekend moves west and will be held at Drexel University's Earle Mack School of Law, in a brand new building with a big auditorium and the use of a dozen classrooms, says Oyler, who helped create the first weekend at University of the Arts, which drew national attention for winner Jameson Detweiler and his team's Launchrock.

"This time around, there's a lot more hype," says Oyler. "People have taken notice, and we've got all the biggest venture capital firms supporting Startup Weekend and getting involved."

The biggest change in programming, according to Oyler, is a new collaboration with the newly launched Skillshare, resulting in classes throughout the weekend instead of just speakers all day. Also, the Drexel Law venue provides several private rooms for top secret entrepreneurial exchanges.

Otherwise, says Oyler, the program will follow a similar curriculum to the previous weekend. Friday night pitches will start earlier. Saturday and part of Sunday will be devoted to building in teams comprised of designers, developers and entrepreneurs. The weekend ends with demos, judging, and awarding of prizes, which include 4 to 5 Dell Boomi tablets and computers, plus legal services from Morgan Lewis to each of the top three winning teams.

As far as judges, the well-rounded list keeps getting bigger, says Oyler, and currently includes Gil Beyda, Managing Partner at Genacast Ventures, Basecamp Business founder Mel Baiada, Morgan Lewis attorney Stephen Goodman, Boomi CEO Bob Moul, Tracey Welson-Rossman from Chariot Solutions, and Ellen Weber, executive director of Robin Hood Ventures.

While attendance is currently capped at 120, Oyler says that's a conservative figure and may open up in the coming weeks. Currently, a few limited ticket types are still available and range in price from $40 to $75.

Source: Brad Oyler, Startup Weekend Philadelphia
Writer: Sue Spolan

The Laurence A. Baiada Center for Entrepreneurship at Drexel University's LeBow College of Business is about to expand, taking up residence in the soon to be constructed LeBow building at 32nd and Market Streets. Currently tucked away in a former industrial space at 32nd and Arch, the Baiada Center has been physically separate from LeBow, but that's all about to change. The business school's former home, the Mathieson Building, is now in the process of being demolished to make way for a 12 story state of the art structure. The new Baiada Center will have a light-flooded open floor plan, and will add a behavioral lab where entrepreneurs can conduct focus group tests.

A division of LeBow, Baiada has long offered full support for entrepreneurs, from office and conference space to mentoring, training and promotion. "A lot of what we do is built around the presumption that most entrepreneurs know their space, and need help building and selling their companies,' says Mark Loschiavo, Executive Director and Senior Executive in Residence. Startups, which range in specialty from transportation to medical devices, also receive a small amount of seed capital.

The current space is currently home to ten companies, notably CityRyde, which just received $345,000 in funding for its bike share technology, as well as current undergrad Bradley Ericson, whose company 3 Second Receipts earned him the title of Entrepreneur magazine's College Entrepreneur of 2009.

Loschiavo says that the vast majority of Baiada's tenants are Drexel alums, and all have had some affiliation with Drexel. The center chooses two to three companies each year, negotiates a competitive one-year lease, and reviews the startup's performance at the end of the initial contract.

While residence is open ended, Loschiavo says companies must show movement in the right direction to remain in the center. One Baiada business, Drexel Drinks, is something of an incubator within an incubator. The on-campus beverage delivery service has become a model for succession, providing turnover and training as students graduate and move on.

Founder and primary funder Mel Baiada is a Drexel alum and serial entrepreneur who credits a successful exit in the software industry. He also founded Basecamp Business, a networking tool for entrepreneurs. "The Baiada Center established a culture of entrepreneurship at Drexel, and helps the university maintain an entrepreneurial focus," he says. Mel's brother, Mark, who founded Bayada Nurses, is also an investor in the incubator, which is named in honor of their father. The new LeBow building should be complete in 18 months.

Source: Mark Loschiavo, Mel Baiada, The Baiada Center
Writer: Sue Spolan

You can have your stake and eat it too at this local micro-funding event. Philly Stake provides fast funding for great ideas, with a heaping helping of local cuisine and good cheer. On July 17, the group set up at Historic Bartram's Garden on the banks of the Schuylkill River in Southwest Philadelphia.

A sliding scale admission fee of up to $20 gave over 250 attendees the opportunity to hear about 10 local startup projects while enjoying a locally sourced organic dinner. It was immediate gratification. At the end of the night, three groups were handed cash to carry out proposals.

Tidal Schuylkill River Tour received $1,000 to collaborate with the Philadelphia Wooden Boat Factory in creating a vessel that will go out on a river tour; Fair Grounds won $600 to build a food and sculpture garden in East Kensington; and Sunday Suppers received $500 to encourage family dinners in low income areas of Philadelphia.

Theresa Rose, who by day works for the City of Philadelphia's Office of Arts, Culture and The Creative Economy, is the founder of Philly Stake, which is not connected with her work for the government. "I was excited about the idea of having a platform for people to get together and share ideas," says Rose. "There's so much going on in Philadelphia, but not so many outlets for us to share with each other." The July event was the third in the growing series, which began last September.

A shorts and sundress clad crowd set up blankets on a grassy bank overlooking the 46-acre botanic gardens and enjoyed a summer menu that included veggie and meat tamales, salads, dessert, beer and wine served on vintage plates collected at local thrift stores. Ten fundraising hopefuls, chosen randomly from a pool of 21 applicants, presented projects. Voting ballots were collected and tabulated on the spot to determine the night's winners.

It takes a lot of volunteer effort to orchestrate Philly Stake. There are 18 dedicated core organizers, according to Rose, who donate time and skills, including chefs Eliot Strathman and Eric Blasco. Rose got the idea for the program after attending Feast in Brooklyn and says it fulfills a need for a place to exchange creative ideas and foster connections. The next Stake dinner is planned for this fall in Center City.

Source: Theresa Rose, Philly Stake
Writer: Sue Spolan

It's never too soon to start your own business. Two Philadelphia high school students have won a business plan competition hosted by the Philadelphia chapter of the Network for Teaching Entrepreneurship (NFTE). Bianca Nieves, a senior at Esperanza Academy in North Philadelphia, won for a business based on her grandmother's Hispanic spice recipe, called Grandma's Secret.

Viktor Vabishevich, a junior at George Washington High School was the runner-up for Vito Lawns, a landscaping business that's already quite successful. Based in the Somerton section of Northeast Philadelphia, Viktor reports he takes care of around 40 neighbors' lawns after school and has made enough money to purchase two cars, while saving up for college.

Philadelphia NFTE serves over 1,500 students in 20 area schools. "These kids are coming from environments where they don't have the luxury of spending time with video games," says Sylvia Watts McKinney, Executive Director of NFTE Philadelphia. "These are kids with innately good business acumen, and they're put before a group of people who encourage them to take advantage of that talent."

NFTE's mentoring program runs throughout the entire school year, bringing dozens of area business leaders to high school students. McKinney reports that over 60 volunteers and judges participate. "Not only do we go to schools and teach them, but there are also opportunities throughout the year to meet entrepreneurs at Drexel and Community College of Philadelphia, helping students to build a resume, and teaching them how to get a job. We have coaches at Wharton and Temple." By bringing students to college campuses, says McKinney, the NFTE program demystifies the academic experience for kids who may be the first in their families to go to college.

McKinney reports that this year's business plan presentations were quite sophisticated, and in many cases could go head to head in competitions with adults. Vabishevich, who received a check for $1,000, and Nieves, who was awarded $1,500, will now advance to the national competition, held this fall in New York City.

Source: Sylvia Watts McKinney, NFTE; Viktor Vabishevich, Vito Lawns
Writer: Sue Spolan

A new hybrid temporary and permanent public art installation has transformed an entire city block in the Mantua section of Philadelphia. A Place to Call Home, a project of the Philadelphia Mural Arts Program, is a multimedia presentation that culminates at 3828 Melon Street.
Over 200 people showed up for last week's dedication of A Place to Call Home, which addresses the specific issue of homeless youth.

While there are about a thousand children without a permanent address in the city, Mural Arts Executive Director Jane Golden says, "We don't think about these kids, hiding in plain sight. They experience tremendous problems when they're not able to feel a sense of security."

A Place to Call Home is actually divided into three parts: Pathway to The Art House is a series of small murals, executed by Shira Walinsky, adorning neighborhood walls, pointing to the 3800 block of Melon. That entire block has been transformed through a Community Mural by artists Ernel Martinez, Damon Reaves, and dozens of schoolchildren who painted house facades in a rainbow of colors. Finally, The Art House, located at 3828 Melon, is a site specific installation in which each room of a formerly abandoned house holds a different art work. In the front room, walls, table and chairs are adorned with thousands of words derived from youth stories.

Elisabeth Perez-Luna of WHYY created a sound mural for the house. "It was an eye opener for me," says Perez-Luna, who conducted 20 interviews with kids who live in what she terms a parallel world, invisible to many.

Guests are welcome to wander the premises and gaze upon the overgrown back yard from an open doorway in the kitchen. "I like the concept of each room of a house affecting the whole, each family member affecting the whole, and ultimately the whole house being affected by the outside world," says artist Shira Walinsky.

Free to the public, Art House Tours will be held on the afternoons of Friday June 24 and Saturday June 25. At the end of the exhibit, the Art House will be renovated for residential use.

Source: Jane Golden, Shira Walinsky, Mural Arts Program; Elisabeth Perez-Luna, WHYY
Writer: Sue Spolan

Money makes music sound so much sweeter. The Pew Center for Arts & Heritage has awarded 10 area recipients a total of $664,500 through the 2011 Philadelphia Music Project.

This year, Pew chose a diverse roster of performers with a common theme of creating connections. "You have everything from spirituals, to Irish music, to Indian music, to spectral music, which is one of the more hermetic forms of composition," says Paula Marincola, Executive Director for The Pew Center for Arts & Heritage. "These projects will reach so many different kinds of audiences. It is an expression of the strength of the Philadelphia music scene."

The Crossing, a South Philadelphia choir, will use its $70,000 grant to fund The Gulf (between you and me), for which three composers write choral works based on the poetry of French-American writer Pierre Joris, accompanied by ambient sound gathered at the Gulf of Mexico. Astral Artists, a 2009 PMP recipient, got a $70,000 award this time around for Spiritual Voyages, a project that showcases the work of African American composers Alvin Singleton, David Sanford, and Evelyn Curenton. Tracy Segal, Development Director for Astral Artists, says that getting the grant was a rigorous process that began in the fall of last year. "It's a very rewarding grant, and a lot of work to put the proposal together," says Segal, who cites new guidelines rolled out this year.

The Spoken Hand Percussion Orchestra gets a Pew nod for its collaboration with the vocal group Philip Hamilton's Voices at The Painted Bride Art Center. The drum ensemble and chorus will use its $70,000 grant to create four public performances along with a residency at Philadelphia's Creative and Performing Arts High School.

The newly renovated Rodin Museum will host a performance of work from French composers Tristan Murail and Philippe Hurel, who use Rodin's sculptures as inspiration for their spectral music. The actual grantee is The Philadelphia Museum of Art, where audiences will preview the compositions during its weekly Art After 5 series.

Other recipients include Sruti, the India Music and Dance Society, The Philadelphia Ceili Group, which performs traditional Irish music, and Bobby Zankel's 16 member jazz orchestra Warriors of the Wonderful Sound, featuring the work of Muhal Richard Abrams.

Source: Paula Marincola, Pew Center for Arts & Heritage; Tracy Segal, Astral Artists
Writer: Sue Spolan