Updates on the Finger Lakes Social Entrepreneurship Institute

The Center for Transformative Action (CTA) is thrilled to announce the first annual “Finger Lakes Social Entrepreneurship Institute” to be held at Cornell University from Thursday, September 13 to Saturday, September 15, 2012. 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.  

Early Bird ticket sales end July 15! Register now and save 10%. http://flseinstitute.eventbrite.com

The Institute will bring together new and experienced social entrepreneurs to share best practices and co-create new possibilities. Using the book “The Business Model Generation” as a guide, participants will come together to learn how to reinvent their mission-driven enterprises to have greater social impact while meeting the financial, environmental and social challenges of today.

The Institute opens Thursday September 13 at 3:00 pm, with an opening plenary at 7:00 pm 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 Svante Myrick, Ithaca Mayor, on social entrepreneurship; Kirby Edmonds, Training for Change Associates and Dorothy Cotton Institute fellow, on the Building Bridges Initiative; Anke Wessels, CTA Director, on transformative action; and Jan Rhodes Norman, Local First Ithaca and Ithaca BALLE, on building local economies. This plenary will be held in the Hollis E. Cornell Auditorium in Goldwin Smith Hall.

On Saturday, participants will hear from Desiree Adaway, a dynamic speaker and experienced social entrepreneur who is the principal and founder of the Adaway Group, based in Asheville, North Carolina. She will speak at our breakfast plenary. 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.

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.

The fee for the entire three-day institute is $275, and includes a local foods breakfast and lunch on Friday and Saturday, plus snacks and drinks throughout the weekend. Some scholarships are available. Register by July 15 to receive ten percent off the conference price for a total price of $247.50. From July 16-August 24, registrations will cost $275. After August 24, online registrations will be closed. 

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 email akw7@cornell.edu. 

Sponsors include: the Center for Community Engaged Learning and Research; Entrepreneurship@Cornell; the Iscol Family Program for Leadership Development in Public Service; the Society for Social Entrepreneurship and Collaborative Action; 

Supporters include: 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.

Presenters will be listed soon on our website! Check back regularly for updates.