VENTURE FOR AMERICA INC
307 7TH AVENUE SUITE 1201, NEW YORK, NY 10001 ventureforamerica.org

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Organizations Filed Purposes: VENTURE FOR AMERICA IS CREATING ECONOMIC OPPORTUNITY IN AMERICAN CITIES BY MOBILIZING THE NEXT GENERATION OF ENTREPRENEURS AND EQUIPPING THEM WITH THE SKILLS AND RESOURCES THEY NEED TO CREATE JOBS.

VENTURE FOR AMERICA IS A NON-PROFIT ORGANIZATION THAT IS CREATING ECONOMIC OPPORTUNITY IN AMERICAN CITIES BY MOBILIZING THE NEXT GENERATION OF ENTREPRENEURS AND EQUIPPING THEM WITH THE SKILLS AND RESOURCES THEY NEED TO CREATE JOBS. THE ORGANIZATION OPERATES A 2-YEAR FELLOWSHIP PROGRAM THAT RECRUITS, TRAINS, AND INVESTS IN TOP RECENT COLLEGE GRADUATES BY PLACING THEM IN STARTUPS IN AMERICAN CITIES WITH EMERGING ENTREPRENEURSHIP ECOSYSTEMS AND HELPING THEM LAUNCH THEIR OWN HIGH-IMPACT BUSINESSES. VFA OPERATES A FOUR-WEEK TRAINING CAMP FOR INCOMING FELLOWS, PROVIDES ONGOING PROGRAMMING DURING THE 2 YEAR FELLOWSHIP, AND OPERATES AN ACCELERATOR FOR PROGRAM GRADUATES WHO ARE STARTING THEIR OWN BUSINESSES.

ACCELERATOR: THE VENTURE FOR AMERICA ACCELERATOR GIVES VFA ALUMNI THE TIME, SPACE, AND SUPPORT THEY NEED TO TURN THEIR SIDE PROJECTS AND BUSINESS CONCEPTS INTO FULL-TIME VENTURES. THE PROGRAM IS A 4-MONTH, VIRTUAL ACCELERATOR. VFA PROVIDES BOTH LIVING AND BUSINESS STIPENDS AND TAKES NO EQUITY IN THE COMPANIES. OUR 6TH ANNUAL ACCELERATOR TOOK PLACE VIRTUALLY FROM AUGUST 10 TO NOVEMBER 20, 2020. THE ACCELERATOR FOLLOWS A CURRICULUM THAT INCLUDES TRAINING, WORKSHOPS, AND MENTORING BY THE VFA TEAM, VFA FELLOW FOUNDER ALUMNI, AND NATIONAL SUPPORTERS. SEVEN COMPANIES PARTICIPATED IN THE 2020 ACCELERATOR COHORT, WHICH CULMINATED IN OUR ANNUAL DEMO DAY IN WHICH ACCELERATOR PARTICIPANTS COMPETED FOR $10,000 IN GRANT FINANCING, SPONSORED BY UBS.TRAINING CAMP:THE VENTURE FOR AMERICA FELLOWSHIP KICKS OFF WITH TRAINING CAMP, A HALLMARK OF OUR PROGRAM AND OUR PRIMARY EDUCATIONAL INITIATIVE. FOR ONE MONTH, INCOMING FELLOWS WORK TOGETHER VIRTUALLY, LEARNING A COMBINATION OF BOTH HARD AND SOFT SKILLS CRITICAL TO A SUCCESSFUL CAREER IN STARTUPS. MORE THAN A SERIES OF LECTURES AND WORKSHOPS, TRAINING CAMP IS WHAT SETS VFA APART AND WHAT MAKES OUR PROGRAM A TRUE FELLOWSHIP A COMMUNITY OF LIKE MINDED INDIVIDUALS UNITED BY A SHARED GOAL AND BONDED IN FRIENDSHIP AND CAMARADERIE.TRAINING CAMP 2020 WAS OUR FIRST VIRTUAL TRAINING CAMP. DURING ONE MONTH ON ZOOM (146 SESSIONS), VFA HOSTED A COMBINED 370+ PEOPLE FROM ACROSS THE COUNTRY AS PART OF OUR HALLMARK NATIONAL PROGRAM. BECAUSE OF OUR PROGRAM, 212 FELLOWS, 14 TCR TEAM MEMBERS (3 FT VFA, 6 ALUMNI AND 5 INTERNS), MADE ZOOM AND REMO THEIR HOME FOR THE SUMMER. ADDITIONALLY, 71+ SPEAKERS, TRAINERS, AND GUESTS FROM OUT OF TOWN AND 25 VFA TEAM MEMBERS PARTICIPATED AND IMPACTED OUR NATIONAL PROGRAM.RECRUITMENT AND DIVERSITY, EQUITY & INCLUSIONIN 2019 WE BEGAN OPERATION 3 TO 300, OUR COMMITMENT TO HELP 300 WOMEN AND RACIAL AND ETHNIC MINORITIES BECOME ENTREPRENEURS IN THE NEXT THREE YEARS. THROUGHOUT 2020, VFA CONTINUED TO PARTNER WITH CHAMPION SUPPORTERS WITH DEEP KNOWLEDGE OF THE STARTUP AND ENTREPRENEURSHIP LANDSCAPE AND A COMMITMENT TO BUILDING AND MAINTAINING DIVERSITY, EQUITY AND INCLUSION IN THESE AREAS AND VFA AS AN ORGANIZATION. ONE RESULT IS THAT THE VFA CLASS OF 2020 WAS THE LARGEST AND MOST DIVERSE CLASS TO-DATE. OF THE 213 FELLOWS WHO COMMENCED THE FELLOWSHIP IN JULY, 2020, 53% IDENTIFY AS WOMEN OR GENDER NON-CONFORMING INDIVIDUALS, AND 53% IDENTIFY AS RACIAL OR ETHNIC MINORITIES. WE ACHIEVED THIS DIVERSITY BY EXECUTING STRATEGIC RECRUITMENT EFFORTS TO DIVERSIFY OUR APPLICANT POOL. OUR RECRUITMENT STRATEGY (WHICH BEGINS IN THE SUMMER AND CONTINUES THROUGHOUT THE ACADEMIC YEAR IN TANDEM WITH OUR SELECTION PROCESS) HAS CHANGED IN THE PAST THREE SEASONS TO INCLUDE A WIDER RANGE OF SCHOOLS AND A MORE DIVERSE POOL OF CANDIDATES. OUR CURRENT RECRUITMENT ACTIVITIES INCLUDE TARGETING MORE SCHOOLS IN AND NEAR VFA CITIES (WITH THE HOPE THAT RECRUITING FELLOWS WHOSE HOMETOWNS ARE CLOSE TO VFA CITIES WILL LEAD TO INCREASED RETENTION), RECRUITING CANDIDATES FROM HBCUS (WITH 9 HBCU GRADUATES IN OUR 2020 CLASS - OUR LARGEST EVER) AND SCHOOLS IN PREDOMINANTLY LATINX CITIES, FOCUSING ON STEAM PROGRAMS, AND CONNECTING WITH ENTREPRENEURIAL-SUPPORTING ORGANIZATIONS AND CHAPTERS AT THE UNIVERSITIES AT WHICH WE RECRUIT. WE CONTINUED TO DEEPEN EXISTING PARTNERSHIPS WITH DIVERSE RECRUITMENT ORGANIZATIONS LIKE JOPWELL, PREP FOR PREP, AND HBCU 20X20 AND INCREASE OUR CAMPUS-TARGETER PRESENCE AT HISTORICALLY BLACK COLLEGES AND HISPANIC-SERVING INSTITUTIONS. IN JULY 2020, WE COMPLETED AN INSIGHTFUL FOUR-MONTH AUDIT TO ANALYZE AND IMPROVE VFA'S DEI PRACTICES WITH YARDSTICK MANAGEMENT, A CONSULTING FIRM THAT SPECIALIZES IN THIS WORK, SO OUR ACTIONS AND WORDS BEST MEET OUR INTENTIONS. BY WORKING WITH YARDSTICK, WE WERE GIVEN AN OBJECTIVE VIEW OF OUR WORK AND VERY DIRECT GOALS AND RECOMMENDATIONS TO GROW IN THIS AREA. THIS WORK CULMINATED IN A REPORT HIGHLIGHTING VFA'S SHORT AND LONG-TERM OPPORTUNITIES FOR GROWTH IN EACH OF OUR DEPARTMENTS. IN ADDITION, THE VFA TEAM RECEIVED A LIST OF REQUESTS AND RECOMMENDATIONS FROM VFA RISE GROUP (AFFINITY) LEADS ON HOW WE CAN BETTER SUPPORT COMMUNITIES OF COLOR AND IN PARTICULAR STAND IN SOLIDARITY WITH THE MOVEMENT FOR BLACK LIVES. THE RENEWED AND FOCUSED COMMITMENT FROM OUR FELLOWS AND ALUMNI TO ENSURE AN EVEN DEEPER AND MORE THOROUGH LOOK AT OUR DIVERSITY AND INCLUSION PRACTICES HIGHLIGHTED EVEN MORE THAT WE CAN AND SHOULD BE DOING TO SUPPORT AND REQUEST EQUITABLE POLICIES OF OURSELVES, COMPANIES, AND PARTNERS. MEMBERS OF THE VFA TEAM WORKED TO COMBINE THE RECOMMENDATIONS FROM YARDSTICK AND RISE LEADS INTO A SINGLE STRATEGIC DEI IMPLEMENTATION PLAN THAT WAS FINALIZED AND SHARED WITH OUR BOARD OF DIRECTORS AND FELLOW COMMUNITY IN EARLY AUGUST 2020.

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