Western Reserve Historical Society Receives $284,500 Grant for Entrepreneurship Programming
At their June meeting, Burton D. Morgan Foundation Trustees approved more than $1.5 million in grants to organizations throughout Northeast Ohio, including a grant of $284,500 to Western Reserve Historical Society to continue youth entrepreneurship education programming in Cleveland schools over the next two years.
Western Reserve Historical Society has gradually expanded its entrepreneurship programming since receiving an initial grant from the Foundation in 2008. This recent grant will allow the organization to further develop the initiative beyond the established fourth through sixth grade programs – enabling them to build entrepreneurial knowledge from year to year across a broad number of students.
Foundation President and CEO Deborah Hoover commented, “Morgan Foundation believes in the value of embedding entrepreneurship education and experiential learning within school curricula and programming. We are particularly pleased that Western Reserve Historical Society, with its unique facilities and collections, has been able to draw upon these valuable resources to help Cleveland public school students learn about the potential of entrepreneurship through a continuum of challenging learning modules. We look forward to our ongoing partnership with WRHS supporting pivotal entrepreneurship education opportunities for young people.”
Kelly Falcone-Hall, President and CEO of Western Reserve Historical Society, stated, “This generous leadership gift from Burton D. Morgan Foundation fuels WRHS's wonderful partnership with the Cleveland Metropolitan School District to achieve the place-based learning strategy of The Cleveland Plan. The Youth Entrepreneurship Education continuum integrates the entrepreneurial history and cultural assets of our past with the stunning transformation occurring in our region today, cultivating entrepreneurial mindsets and confidence that motivate our young scholars to take advantage of educational and career opportunities here in our region.”
Gayle Gadison, Social Studies Curriculum and Instruction Manager for Cleveland Metropolitan School District, commented, “Entrepreneurs are not born. They are made. The Youth Entrepreneurship Education Program provides students with a framework through which to examine their communities and their places in them. Our future entrepreneurs do not measure success merely by their ability to escape from their communities but by their ability to mobilize resources in order to jump start their economies."
Additional grants to benefit organizations supporting innovation and entrepreneurship at the youth, collegiate and adult levels include the following:
89.7 WKSU - $33,500 for an entrepreneurship-reporting intern ($25,000) and sponsorship of Exploradio ($8,500)
Aviatra Accelerators - $60,000 to support Cleveland operations
BioEnterprise - $150,000 for the business development efforts and internship programming
Case Western Reserve University - $350,000 for the Intellectual Property Venture Clinic (three years)
Economic and Community Development Institute - $150,000 to support operations of the Akron satellite office
Lorain County Community College Foundation - $100,000 for a challenge grant to leverage dollars for the Innovation Fund Northeast Ohio
Manufacturing Advocacy & Growth Network (MAGNET) - $100,000 to provide support and consulting services for manufacturing companies, including those participating in the first cohort of Scalerator NEO
University School - $186,500 for Young Entrepreneur Institute programming ($116,500) and support for Lemonade Day and Selling Bee ($70,000)
Youngstown Edison Incubator Corporation - $110,000 to develop a commercialization framework for additive manufacturing technologies
Youth Opportunities Unlimited - $30,000 for E CITY programming at eight high schools
Since January, the Foundation also approved several smaller grants to support youth, collegiate, and adult entrepreneurship programs. Among the recipients were: Akron Roundtable to sponsor the Daniel Isenberg luncheon in April ($2,500); Black Professionals Association Charitable Foundation for summer interns in the Career Connect program ($10,000); Cleveland State University for the Startup Vikes event ($2,500); Cuyahoga Community College Foundation for the Entrepreneur Expo ($1,550); Effective Leadership Academy for the Chamber Leadership Academy Entrepreneurship Day ($2,500); Flashstarts for the Global Entrepreneur-in-Residence program ($20,000); Fund for Our Economic Future of Northeast Ohio for Devil Strip coverage of entrepreneurship ($9,000); Hershey Montessori School for the operation of the Hershey Market ($7,500); Kent State University Foundation for the Design Thinking Integrated Teacher Workshop ($19,972); LaunchTown for a business idea competition ($10,000); Learning About Business for LAB Week ($10,000); National Association for Community College Entrepreneurship to support the national conference ($7,000); National Council for Community Development to support the Capital Access Fund ($20,000); The City Club of Cleveland to sponsor the “Getting to Exit” forum ($5,000); University School for the Veale Venture Challenge Demo Day and Executive Coaching Day ($10,000); University of Massachusetts-Lowell for the Deshpande Symposium ($5,000); and Urban Age Institute to sponsor the Meeting of the Minds summit ($10,000).
In addition to supporting entrepreneurship initiatives in the region, the Foundation also makes grants to support institutions in Hudson. The following grants have been made since January to benefit the Hudson community: Hudson Bandstand for the 2017 Hudson Summer Music Festival ($2,500); Hudson City Schools for the earth balloon inflatable globe program ($1,500); Hudson Community First for the Intern for a Day/Career Panel program ($10,000); Hudson Community Service Association for the Helping Hands Assistance Fund ($8,000); and Hudson Rotary Foundation for scholarship fund support ($1,000).