S&R Foundation is on to something with its Halcyon Incubator. The 14-month program helps entrepreneurs who want to tackle social problems get their for-profits or nonprofits off the ground. Its second class of eight entrepreneurs starts early next year, while its first class has spent the first phase of the program honing their ideas. S&R Foundation COO Kate Goodall says it’s the only incubator program nationwide that focuses on social entrepreneurship. Program applications are mostly coming from Millennials, who want more out of their careers than a paycheck, says Kate.
So what will the second class tackle? Andrew Foote created Sanivation to bring in-home toilets and sanitation services to East Africa. Another entrepreneur is working on reintegrating former inmates through a website that lists organizations, job opportunities, and re-entry programs. Other ideas include providing low-cost solar power to communities, creating community farms for locally grown produce, and modernizing the public library model in Sub-Saharan Africa. The incubator provides housing in a Georgetown mansion, $10k with no equity strings attached, mentoring, and pro bono services from PR firms, law firms, and accounting firms.
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