Last month, we announced the First Annual finger Lakes Social Entrepreneurship Institute to be held in September at Cornell University. The Institute opens Thursday September 13 at 3:00 pm and runs until Saturday September 15 at 7:00 pm. Participants will learn practical skills around building an inclusive organization that prioritizes equity and social justice with environmental sustainability. Each participant will walk away with a solid business model tailored to his or her specific organization. 

Our goals are:

• To provide practical skills to new and experienced social entrepreneurs to create thriving nonprofit and for-profit social ventures.
• To develop a cadre of regional social entrepreneurs with the tools to create diverse, financially sound, and ecologically sustainable ventures that prioritize equity.
• To empower people of color, low-income individuals, and young people to become successful social entrepreneurs.
• To create a robust, supportive regional network of nonprofit and for-profit social entrepreneurs who are contributing to local, sustainable, and just economies that have equity as the driver for growth.

We are pleased to offer these updates:

On Thursday September 13, we will host a plenary that is free and open to the public, "The Promise of Social Entrepreneurship: Creating a Local Economy that Works for Everyone." This plenary will feature Ithaca Mayor Svante Myrick; Kirby Edmonds, Training for Change Associates and Dorothy Cotton Institute fellow, on the Building Bridges Initiative; CTA Director Anke Wessels on Transformative Action; and Jan Rhodes Norman from Local First Ithaca on building local economies. This plenary begins at 7pm and will be held in the Hollis E. Cornell Auditorium in Goldwin Smith Hall.

We also booked a dynamic speaker and experienced social entrepreneur Desiree Adaway, who is the principal and founder of the Adaway Group, based in Asheville, North Carolina. She will speak at our breakfast plenary on September 14. Ms. Adaway is a strong, strategic business professional with the breadth and depth of having worked with organizations of all sizes in various phases of transition. She brings insight and expertise to her clients from having served in senior-level roles in the nonprofit and grants management sectors for such renowned organizations as Habitat for Humanity International, where she was the Senior Director of Volunteer Mobilization, and Rotary International, where she was the director of their largest Humanitarian Grants program. Her industry expertise includes fundraising, grants management, environmental, social justice, and faith-based initiatives. She will also assist in our small working group sessions, and will no doubt be a huge asset to the institute.

The fee for the entire three-day institute is $275, which includes a local foods breakfast and lunch on Friday and Saturday, plus snacks and drinks throughout the weekend. Some scholarships are available. Early Bird registration ends July 15! Register by July 15 to receive ten percent off the conference price for a total price of $247.50. Register here: http://flseinstitute.eventbrite.com/

Full details will be updated regularly on our website:

http://centerfortransformativeaction.org/SE-Institute.html. 

Follow us on twitter for updates on the Institute as well as special announcements: @TransformAction.

For more information or to request a scholarship, please contact CTA Executive Director Anke Wessels, 607-255-5027, or via email. 

Confirmed co-sponsors include: the Center for Community Engaged Learning and Research; Entrepreneurship@Cornell; the Iscol Family Program for Leadership Development in Public Service; Singlebrook Technology; the Society for Social Entrepreneurship and Collaborative Action; Groundswell Center for Local Food and Farming; the Cayuga LION; the Cornell PopShop; Buffalo Street Books; TFC Associates; New Roots Charter School; and Local First Ithaca.

The Center for Transformative Action (CTA) helps to create communities that work for everyone. We do this by providing fiscal sponsorship to innovative social change agents in New York State, as well as financial, human resources, and grants management services. CTA is an educational non-profit organization affiliated with Cornell University.

We envision change makers everywhere engaging and strengthening the power of the heart to remake the world.

We are an alliance of individuals and organizations inspired by principles of nonviolence and committed to bold action for justice, sustainability, and peace. CTA supports change makers with the tools to build thriving, inclusive communities that work for everyone. We serve our projects, the public, and Cornell University by offering educational programs and strategic organizational resources.