Propeller Announces $1.295 Million Grant From The W.K. Kellogg Foundation

NEW ORLEANS, LA. (April 1, 2014) — Propeller: A Force for Social Innovation is proud to announce it has received a three-year, $1.295 million grant from the W.K. Kellogg Foundation.

The grant, which runs through 2017, was garnered off the strength of Propeller’s accomplishments, both through successful ventures coming out of the Social Venture Accelerator and its community outreach, including the opening of a 10,000 square foot incubator space with rentable work- and event space and continuing education workshops.

William Buster, director of New Orleans programming for WKKF, said social entrepreneurs are uniquely poised to affect great change in the state. “The work of social entrepreneurs is positively impacting the health and well-being of our children and families by increasing the quality or access to healthy food and programs in the community,” Buster said. “Additionally, social entrepreneurs are concurrently building economic stability for our most vulnerable families and communities.”

This investment will allow Propeller to continue to accelerate and evaluate the impact and financial sustainability of early-stage ventures in public health, food access, and education through social innovation competitions and the Accelerator program.

Propeller is now accepting applications for its fourth Accelerator cohort at www.GoPropeller.org/Accelerator. The 10-month program takes early-stage ventures, both non- and for-profits, and pairs them with professional consultants, pro bono technical assistance, training, office space, and access to networks to become successful and create significant impact for underserved communities in New Orleans.

Each Accelerator class is comprised of “Accelerator Fellows” who lead initiatives to drive innovation in sectors such as public health, food access, education and environmental conservation for the benefit of disadvantaged communities. Successful Propeller ventures include the Healthy School Food Collaborative, which has scaled to administer healthy and delicious school meals to 39 percent of all public schools in Orleans Parish. The Justice & Accountability Center of Louisiana, which provides criminal record expungements for non-violent offenders has served 1,000 clients to date.

The 2012-2013 Accelerator featured 12 startup ventures, which generated $3.2mm in incremental revenue and 32 new jobs during the 10-month program. The 2011-2012 Accelerator featured nine startup ventures and collectively generated $2.2mm in incremental revenue and financing and 40 new jobs during the 10-month program. The 2013-2014 Accelerator is currently underway with 15 ventures with solutions in public health and blight reduction.

Neil Gibbons, Propeller Board Chair, said, “We are deeply appreciative of the Kellogg Foundation’s acknowledgment of the results Propeller manages to achieve in meeting community challenges and fostering economic development.”

“We are thrilled to deepen our social impact and to grow the social innovation community in New Orleans,” said Andrea Chen, Propeller Executive Director.

The fourth Accelerator program is currently accepting applications until June 10, 2014 (www.GoPropeller.org/Accelerator). PitchNOLA: Living Well features live pitches from public health and food access innovators on April 24, 2014 (www.GoPropeller.org/pitchnola/).

About Propeller: A Force for Social Innovation: Propeller: A Force for Social Innovation is a non-profit that incubates innovative community-based ventures to solve New Orleans’ social and environmental challenges. Each year, Propeller incubates 12 to 15 early-stage ventures in its Social Venture Accelerator, a 10-month program for social entrepreneurs, offering hands-on support, access to networks, policy support, peer-to-peer learning and free use of co-working desks at the Propeller Incubator. (www.GoPropeller.org)

Contact: Julia Stewart
Tel: 504.345.9946
Email: jstewart@gopropeller.org

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