Good Neighbor Fund

What a memorable time we had celebrating entrepreneurship in Buffalo and nine months of GNF growth! In this time we've: 🤝 Brought on 22 Limited Partners 💸Awarded 7 micro-grants, with funding to almost triple that by end of year. 🥳 Hosted 3 incredible community events 📍 Grown to 2 chapters in Buffalo and Denver 💜 And made countless new friendships and connections We had a blast sharing delicious food and drinks at the beautiful Twin Petrels Seltzer Co. with a community of founders and supporters. We heard from an incredible panel hosted by Chapter Director Ali Bukowski, featuring two of our recent grant winners Candace Lattimore of Rosia B Mobile Phlebotomy Services, and Stacie Lampkin of KidocateRx. Thank you all for coming out and sharing a wonderful time with us, we can't wait to do it again! 💜 For the founders-to-be, you still have time to submit your pitch for a $1,000 micro-grant to kickstart your business idea! The Buffalo deadline is 10/1 and Denver is 10/15! 📸 by Kareem Ameen Photography

Next Generation United is thrilled to announce the 2024 Pitch10 Finalists! Drum roll, please! You can learn more about these organizations at Seneca One on September 25th and vote for who you’d like to see win a grant to continue their amazing work! Tickets on sale soon. Thank you to our Prize Pool Match Sponsor Ralph C. Wilson, Jr. Foundation, Title Sponsor Empower Federal Credit Union, Presenting Sponsor Seneca One, Prize Pool Sponsors Rich Products Corporation, Highmark Blue Cross Blue Shield of Western New York, National Fuel Gas Company & Canisius University -- Wehle School of Business and Voting Sponsor, BankOnBuffalo! More opportunities to be involved are available. DM us for more info!

THIS is why it's always important to define the goals for each iteration of your business BEFORE scoping the next version of your product. Love it! Thanks so much for sharing this with me, Igor S. 😊

This summer, I'm designing a course on the Entrepreneurial Mindset 🧠. Here’s what I found in an HBR article on the topic: 1️⃣ Embrace curiosity Ask probing questions before diving in. What assumptions are you making? Is there a bigger impact you're not seeing? Remember, Netflix's recommendation algorithm started with an analyst getting curious about user behavior. 2️⃣ Never stop learning Dedicate time each week to explore industry trends, attend events, or take courses. Pro tip: Look beyond your field. One consultant I know used his acting skills to revolutionize his approach to understanding clients! 3️⃣ Champion collaboration Create spaces for open dialogue and diverse perspectives. Great innovations often happen when we bridge silos. Lead the charge in organizing cross-team brainstorming sessions. 🤔 What does an entrepreneurial mindset mean to you? How do you cultivate it in your work? PS -- Your comments could help shape my course and inspire others 💖

Last Chance for Early Bird Tickets! 🎟️ Don't miss out on the discounted rates for the event of the year. Grab your tickets now before prices go up at midnight! https://lnkd.in/gSFFfBWt #EarlyBird #LimitedTimeOffer

NextCorps was honored to host Springboard’s Round 1 Awards Ceremony this past Monday night, where ten organizations went home with cash prizes ranging from $7,500 to $25,000. These standout winners were chosen from over 130 companies and are all contributing to Western New York’s vibrant entrepreneurial ecosystem. The evening was filled with smiles, delicious food, and live jazz. Congratulations to all the winners! Check out 13WHAM ABC’s coverage: https://lnkd.in/gkqkVWFH Winners: That Brown Bag Minority Business Directory, Phli Divas Beauty Salon, Center for Entrepreneurial Leadership | University at Buffalo School of Management, Ibero Business Center-WNY, The Commissary, Providence Farm Collective, The Foundry, Cattaraugus-Allegany Workforce Development Board, Good Neighbor Fund, The Local Sound Collaborative, Inc.

We’re still cooling down after winning that hot hot Springboard Grant 🔥🔥😮💨

Drumroll please 🥁🥁🥁 We’re ECSTATIC to announce that we’re a recipient of an inaugural Springboard $25,000 grant! 🎉 We’re typically the ones handing out the giant checks, but today, it’s our turn 🙏 We tell our awardees that our micro-grants are a vote of confidence, and validation of their ideas. This Springboard grant is validation of GNF 🥹 Founded just a year and a half ago, we are dedicated to supporting under-resourced and underrepresented founders at the ideation stage. We’re beyond excited to put these funds to use within our neighborhood of Western New York. Thank you, Springboard, for believing in us 💜

Last week, I participated in the Tech Buffalo Design Challenge where we were put into teams and tasked with solving a Buffalo company’s tech issue. I am very proud to say my team came in first winning the challenge, helping Good Neighbor Fund in their effort to financially support underresourced and underprivileged startups! I had a great time competing and working with Elena Goldman, Rahul Ramasubramanian, Zack Gluck, Stephanie Newberger, and Kieran Galvin. I hope that our solution helps Jason Bartz and Good Neighbor Fund continue helping underresourced startups in Buffalo. I am so glad I had this opportunity to help the Buffalo community and network with other Buffalo interns!

Last week, I had the privilege of participating in a two-day Tech Design Challenge organized by TechBuffalo. 170 interns came together to collaborate and develop a technology-based solution for three non-profit organizations in the Buffalo area. My team was chosen to represent the Good Neighbor Fund (GNF), a non-profit organization that provides micro-grants of $1,000 to underrepresented and under-resourced startup founders in Buffalo, NY. Our objective was to create an incentive for startups ("fundees") to maintain engagement and report their financial data to the Good Neighbor Fund after receiving their micro-grant. We designed a fully functional user interface mock-up portal focusing on three key areas: data analytics, strategic marketing, and community building for both the fundees and GNF. Our primary incentive was a dashboard which was populated by fundees submitting monthly data reports. This, in turn, provided them access to a simple yet innovative tool for financial reporting and data analysis. We had the honor of presenting our idea to judges who work in the tech space and representatives from the Good Neighbor Fund. Following the presentations, I was selected to speak about my experience in The Buffalo News. Check out the article (https://lnkd.in/gxSPv3_n) to learn more about the Tech Challenge and how it was both challenging and rewarding as we worked together to address a challenge faced by a local Buffalo organization. I am grateful for the opportunity to contribute to such an impactful project based in my hometown and look forward to seeing the positive impact of the ideas developed by the participating teams of interns. A big thank you to TechBuffalo, M&T Bank, and the Good Neighbor Fund for this incredible opportunity! And of course a huge thank you to my teammates Greta Zablotski, Leo Lin, Collin Neidel, Andrew Davis, and Olivia DeFazio for making this experience unforgettable!