St. Paul’s GreenHouse received $47,000 from the Libro Prosperity Fund today to launch a fellowship program that will provide up to 10 young entrepreneurs with residence in the GreenHouse program in the spring term. Youth aged 18-29 will be recruited from the Region of Waterloo through a series of social entrepreneurship events and training sessions, and the most promising ideas will be selected through a competitive pitch contest.
The new Fellowships will allow the winning youth to research, collaborate, and ultimately launch their social ventures more rapidly.
“This grant will allow about 120 youth from all over the region to get social entrepreneurship training and mentorship, and 10 of those to live in St. Paul’s GreenHouse to incubate their social ventures full-time for four months,” said Tania Del Matto, Director of GreenHouse. “In turn, these youth will be better positioned to engage with other supportive environments and programming currently being offered within the local startup ecosystem.”
The Libro Prosperity Fund is an annual granting program run by the Libro Credit Union. It supports local organizations in southwestern Ontario whose initiatives support entrepreneurship, financial knowledge, and career skill development for young people – all aimed at growing prosperity across the region.
Libro used a ‘pie’ motif when awarding the prize, even bringing in actual pies. Pictured above are representatives of Libro (in blue shirts), St. Paul’s GreenHouse staff and alumni, and Rod Barr, Chair of the St. Paul’s Board of Governors (far right).