After a successful second year of its Accelerator, Propeller is ready to bring in another 12 to 15 social ventures.
To date, Propeller has incubated 21 new ventures (nine the first year and 12 in the last class), which have collectively generated $5.4 million in revenues and created 45 new jobs. The Social Venture Accelerator is a 10-month program designed to create socially-and-community-driven ventures.
Propeller said the economic impact is illustrated through job creation, revenue generation, and return on investment.
Through workshops, networking opportunities, access to free co-working space and expertise from 150+ pro bono professionals, the Accelerator Fellows are able to significantly scale their social impact, make new hires, and reach financial sustainability targets.
Social impact highlights from the 2012-2013 class include:
- The Healthy School Food Collaborative brought over 1 million healthy school meals to 20% of all public schoolchildren in Orleans parish.
- Justice & Accountability Center served over 450 clients for non-violent criminal record expungements to help New Orleanians get back to work instead of back to prison.
- Smiles2Geaux, mobile dental clinics, began providing dental care to youth and senior citizens.
- Fishermen in New Orleans East who lost their livelihoods from the BP oil spill are beginning new careers as aquaponics farmers thanks to VEGGI Farmers Cooperative.
- 185 clients have received doula services from Birthmark. Doulas, birthing support professionals, have proved to decrease C-sections and increase breastfeeding rates.
Propeller is looking for socially minded innovators and change makers to apply for the 2013-2014 Social Venture Accelerator. The ideal candidate is a high-potential, early-stage social innovator that meets the following criteria:
- Demonstrated leadership potential
- Viable and well-researched plan for financial sustainability and growth
- Potential for significant social impact in an area of high need
Propeller is also offering optional accelerator application workshops including an overview and question and answer session. See remaining dates below (both will be held at 4035 Washington Avenue):
- Workshop 2: Wednesday, June 26th from 5:30 to 6:30 PM (Register)
- Workshop 3: Friday, July 12th from 11:30 AM to 1:00 PM (Register)
The application deadline is Friday, July 26th. For more information and the complete program overview and application process, click here.