Concordia, Envolve and Assembly Member Michael Blake Come Together for Day of Engagement in the Bronx

WASHINGTON, Sept. 19, 2019 – Envolve Entrepreneurship (www.envolveglobal.org), the global support organization for start-up businesses, and Concordia, which promotes cross-sector partnerships, are collaborating with New York State Assembly Member Michael Blake (D-The Bronx, NY) to host a Day of Engagement event that features entrepreneurs on September 25, 2019, following the 2019 Concordia Annual Summit. The event will take place from 9:30am to 12:00pm at the Lit. Bar, a female-founded independent bookstore in the Bronx.

Concordia’s Day of Engagement is a benefit open to its membership base designed to complement and improve the formal experience of the Summit by connecting the issues discussed during the event with high-impact social alliances and highlight public-private partnerships in action. In order to support applicants and winners of its annual start-up business awards, and to connect with underserved entrepreneurs, Envolve regularly collaborates with like-minded organizations such as Concordia. Hanne Dalmut of Concordia commented: “The Day of Engagement helps make our conference programming ‘come alive’, creating links between on-stage calls to action and local, partnering entities living those best practices. Envolve’s work across the U.S. proves that an entrepreneurial spirit isn’t geographically bound, and — more importantly — shines a light on innovation stemming from traditionally-marginalized entrepreneurs. This is a key programming message that Concordia wants to elevate this year.”

The event will be kicked off with remarks from Hanne Dalmut, Director of Partnership Development at Concordia, and Assembly Member Michael Blake, New York Assembly (79th District) and Vice Chairman of the Democratic National Committee. The Day of Engagement will include a panel discussion and a pitch presentation competition, and will culminate in the Envolve Award USA Ceremony, where the New York-based winners of funding and support from the 2018 award cycle will be announced.

The panel, “Investing in Local Entrepreneurs,” will be moderated by Christopher Upperman, CEO of Envolve Entrepreneurship, and includes the following panelists: Rebecca Scott, Founder of 2017 Envolve Award Winner Sustainable Snacks; Rahim Mohammed, Co-Founder of 2016 Envolve Award Winner Ginjan Bros; and, Noëlle Santos, Proprietress of the Lit.Bar. “Envolve’s mission is to be an advocate for aspiring and burgeoning entrepreneurs. We seek to ensure that America’s startup ecosystem properly reflects America’s rich diversity. As one of America’s most diverse communities, the Bronx is increasingly becoming a beacon for what can be achieved. We’re thrilled to work with Concordia and Assembly Member Michael Blake to showcase some of New York’s finest entrepreneurs,” said Christopher Upperman.

Envolve Entrepreneurship aims to embolden early-stage startups by helping them start and thrive. As an organization its support rests on three pillars of education, resources, and awards. In 2018, Envolve Entrepreneurship expanded its USA startup competition – Envolve Award USA – which provides winners with working capital and support services. The competition in 2018 was open to diverse early-stage entrepreneurs in eight cities: New York, NY, Washington, DC, Baltimore, MD, Atlanta, GA, Charleston, SC, Miami, FL, and Detroit and Flint, MI. In New York, the award program was originally established in the Bronx, formerly as the American Entrepreneurship Award. Since 2016, Envolve has had 8 winners exclusively from the Bronx: “Minority and women business enterprises in The Bronx are creating jobs, economic opportunities, and hope for Bronxites. From Ginjan Bros to Sustainable Snacks, our continued partnership with Envolve and Concordia is showing that we believe in our Bronx entrepreneurs by providing them access to capital, technical assistance, counseling and best practices to take their dreams to the next level. The Day of Engagement provides a transformational opportunity by bringing global leaders to our hometown to show the promise of The Bronx when we support our entrepreneurs” said Assembly Member Michael Blake. After an enthusiastic response from local entrepreneurs city-wide, the organization decided to extend participation to all five boroughs.

About Envolve Entrepreneurship

After the success of two annual award programs for underserved entrepreneurs within the Libra Group’s Social Responsibility Division, Envolve Entrepreneurship was established in 2018 as an independent 501(c)(3) multinational nonprofit. With a commitment to expanding the award model, developing additional programming and effectively creating new initiatives, Envolve is devoted to cultivating ecosystems to provide robust opportunities for all early-stage entrepreneurs.

To learn more about Envolve, please visit www.envolveglobal.org.

About Concordia

Concordia is a registered 501(c)(3) nonprofit, nonpartisan organization dedicated to actively fostering, elevating, and sustaining cross-sector partnerships for social impact. Concordia was founded in 2011 by Matthew A. Swift and Nicholas M. Logothetis.

To learn more about Concordia, please visit www.concordia.net.