Impact Academy, Impact Ventures, Impact Cities

Social ventures, businesses built for the people by the people, are the future of American capitalism. What exactly is a social venture? A social venture can be either a for-profit or non-profit organization as long as the goal of solving a relevant social issue is baked into the business model. Driven by purpose, social ventures exist to solve problems within society. And demand for purpose driven organizations is growing, for example, “American consumers are four to six times more likely to buy products and services from companies they deemed to be purpose-driven.” Yet social enterprise education and innovation is falling behind this increased demand. Out of 23,000 students at 4-year undergraduate programs within the Cleveland area, only 8,000 have access to a structured program that teaches them about social entrepreneurship. My name is Lucas King, and I am the founder of Impact Academy, Impact Ventures, Impact Cities. We are a multi-tiered solution dedicated to reducing the social enterprise education gap and developing an ecosystem that allows social entrepreneurs to thrive. Academy, Ventures, and Cities represent three key components in establishing that ecosystem: education, capital, and institutional collaboration.

• The first action we will take with the money is raised is launching the Impact Academy program to teach Cleveland youth about social entrepreneurship.
• We will also finalize our and launch our website to create a streamlined process for people to register and engage in Impact Academy and Impact Ventures.
• We will formalize the legal non-profit entity of Impact Academy, Impact Ventures, Impact Cities. 
• Curation of materials will begin to develop an accessible social enterprise resource library. 

Social enterprise offers an alternative pathway to solve problems within society. Yet Cleveland has a clear social enterprise education education gap and is lacking the infrastructure needed to develop a thriving social enterprise ecosystem. That is where the development of Impact Academy, Impact Ventures, Impact Cities comes in. The work done through these three solutions will allow Cleveland to succeed in building social enterprise ecosystem and become a leader in American social enterprise innovation where other cities have failed. It will also provide Cleveland youth with the opportunity to consider the alternative career path of social enterprise and impact-oriented occupations. Creating a space for social entrepreneurs to thrive will also allow for the growth of impact-focused career opportunities. At the core the purpose of Impact Academy, Impact Ventures, Impact Cities is using social enterprise to build a better Cleveland together.