The Hampshire College Lemelson Center invites you to participate in what we hope will be the first of many fruitful conversations to cultivate the development of a Pioneer Valley Social Entrepreneurship Collaborative.  The overarching goal of this gathering is to bring together social entrepreneurs of all stripes - entrepreneurs, investors, advocates, catalysts, community members, educators, and students - to collaboratively foster, promote, and teach social entrepreneurship in the Pioneer Valley.  As social entrepreneurship continues to emerge as a practical and effective approach to creating value in our communities, we all stand to gain from an organized forum to network and innovate.

We will bring to this summit the following list of possible goals to serve as a starting point for our conversation, but we look to the group to give shape and substance to the discussion.  There is a wealth and diversity of experience and knowledge in the field throughout the Pioneer Valley, and we would like to include as many people as might be interested in moving this initiative forward.  Please feel free to extend this invitation to others – we only ask that all attendees RSVP via this invitation as soon as possible.

There will also be an opportunity to share information about yourself or your organization or business on our literature tables – please note in your RSVP if you plan to bring any materials.

A light working dinner will be served, with vegetarian options available.

Possible Goals for a Pioneer Valley Social Entrepreneurship Collaborative:

·      Be a hub for area people, schools, organizations and businesses interested in social entrepreneurship

·      Be a network for the exchange of ideas, opportunities and resources that support applied research and creation of social enterprises

·      Foster the creation of social enterprises

·      Foster the application of social entrepreneurship research to enterprise creation

·      Provide opportunities for engagement with social enterprises and enterprise creation

·      Provide a mentor network geared toward social enterprise creation

·      Be self sustaining

·      Provide funding for social enterprise creation

·      Foster a cooperative/collective approach to social enterprise creation and operation

We look forward to seeing you there!

Colin Twitchell                                                Megan Briggs

Director                                                          Assistant Adjunct Professor

Hampshire College Lemelson Center            Hampshire College Lemelson Center