Our Galvanizing Force
By Deborah Hoover
We are crystal clear about Burton D. Morgan Foundation's role as a purposeful champion of the entrepreneurial spirit. We pursue this mission with energy and passion, encouraging the chemistry that leads to the advancement of ideas and new ventures through intersections. While startups are in the "petri dish" stage, it is critical to draw together diverse skills, perspectives, and expertise so that promising ideas can simmer and blend. Entrepreneurs thrive in this electrifying space where ideas intersect and the unexpected happens.
While innovative ideas are critical, they will remain just that—ideas—until married with entrepreneurial skills that can bring them to life. When embryonic ideas combine with entrepreneurship as the catalyst, dynamic ventures take shape. Northeast Ohio is doing better at concocting this entrepreneurial stew, but we need to be more deliberate about facilitating connections across disciplines.
This year we are celebrating the connections that have emerged over the last decade in the fertile environment of liberal arts campuses where Morgan Foundation and Kauffman Foundation in 2007 introduced the Northeast Ohio Collegiate Entrepreneurship Program (NEOCEP). At this decade milestone, these Northeast Ohio liberal arts colleges have embedded the entrepreneurial mindset across their campuses. Our soon-to-be-released Intersections publication will explore the amplification of ideas through cross-disciplinary thinking and action. Our printed publication will be bolstered by expansive background available through the Entrepreneurship Education Experiment (E³) on our website. We hope this retrospective on NEOCEP will spark fresh thinking on bringing nascent and sundry ideas to fruition.