California Senator Josh Newman secures funds for the NorthSTAR OC Collaborative to build the social enterprise ecosystem and illuminate pathways to entrepreneurship in North Orange County.
Irvine, CA, November 2022 | RevHubOC, a California Social Purpose Corporation, along with many major organizatoinal partners, announced today an $8.5 million grant through the Governor’s Office of Business and Economic Development (GO-Biz) and Senator Josh Newman (CA-29th District). The grant is for building the social enterprise ecosystem and creating illuminated pathways to entrepreneurship for under-represented and under-resourced communities.
Collaborative partners include OneOC, the Center for Entrepreneurship at Cal State Fullerton, the North Orange County Community College District, the Orange County Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, CIELO, Advance OC, the Orange County MultiEthnic Collaborative of Community Agencies (OC MECCA), and the Social Science Research Center at Cal State Fullerton.
The NorthSTAR OC Collaborative (STAR is an acronym for Systems To Access Resources) pulls together funding, mentoring, and comprehensive resources for social innovators to explore and create new business ideas, develop ideas into viable ventures, and scale ventures into impact-ready, investable social enterprises. NorthSTAR will also address inequities in startup support and capital through outreach and engagement, business exploration, ideation, and incubation in under-resourced communities. These efforts will expand beyond social enterprises to all forms of new business creation, from small side-businesses to scalable technology ventures.
Programming will include workshops, webinars, Neighborhood Hub centers, trainings, individual mentoring, counseling and navigation, incubation, acceleration, early-stage non-dilutive capital, proof-of-concept funding, and access to investment capital.
“We’re incredibly grateful to Senator Newman and GO-Biz for supporting this first-of-its-kind collaborative in Orange County,” said Tim Shaw, founding partner of RevHubOC. “This will enable us to assist hundreds of entrepreneurs who may have thought starting a business was out of reach for them, while also addressing some of the most pressing problems in our communities.”
“I’m excited to see the impact of this funding through the work of the NorthSTAR OC Collaborative in generating more regional economic development and helping people create financial security for themselves and their communities through business ownership,” said Senator Josh Newman. “I hope this is just the beginning of establishing Orange County as the epicenter of social entrepreneurship.”
About RevHubOC |
RevHubOC is coalescing Orange County’s social enterprise ecosystem for greater innovation and impact. Founded in 2019, RevHubOC is a community of investors, entrepreneurs, mentors, and partners which has incubated 23 social enterprises and established RevFund I, Orange County’s first social impact investment fund.
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