Identifying & Leveraging Partnerships Through Backbone Organizations

Date:

21 May, 2015

3pm Eastern Time

Contrary to popular belief, entrepreneurship is not a solo sport. “Backbone organizations” such as incubators, accelerators, co-working spaces, and local first alliances are crucial hubs for building capacity and community around local economy innovation. To be most effective, these backbones require an ecosystem of partners to sustain the organization as well as support the entrepreneurs they’re incubating.

In this webinar, Kelly Ramirez, CEO of Social Enterprise Greenhouse in Providence, RI, will share her comprehensive model for mapping ecosystem assets. The model identifies a range of potential partners to build pipeline, increase business acumen, expand the market, provide capital, and more. Kelly is joined by Donovan Woollard (Radius Ventures, Vancouver) and moderator D’Artagnan Scorza (Social Justice Learning Institute, Los Angeles), who offer their own expertise building backbone organizations to serve social enterprises.

You'll Learn

How to identify new partners, build right relationships, and leverage resources
How to integrate unusual partnerships into your work serving social enterprises
How to utilize and build your local ecosystem to foster innovation for good in your place

Who Should Attend

Directors and staff of incubators, accelerators, technical assistance hubs, co-working spaces, and other organizations that service social enterprises
Social entrepreneurs looking to grow their business network and map their ecosystem assets
Others interested in learning how to best leverage local assets to support entrepreneurs and innovation in their place

Speakers

Kelly Ramirez, CEO, Social Enterprise Greenhouse, Providence, RI
Kelly is the CEO of Social Enterprise Greenhouse, and the founder of the SEEED Summit. Kelly teaches courses on Social Enterprise at Providence College, Salve Regina University, and in the Leadership Institute at Brown University. This year she opened the doors to Rhode Island’s first social enterprise co-working, education, and community space.
Donovan Woollard, Director, RADIUS Ventures, Vancouver, BC
Donovan is the managing director of RADIUS Ventures, an impact venture accelerator at Simon Fraser University's Beedie School of Business, which helps a cluster of local food and sustainable transportation ventures become market- and investor-ready. Donovan previously established Transom Enterprises to help launch and grow responsible business initiatives.