Rising Tide Capital To Host 5th Annual Start Something Champions Gala Honoring Local Entrepreneurs, Jpmorgan Chase, The Blackstone Charitable Foundation, And Joy Mangano
(PRWEB) October 28, 2016 -- On November 1st at 6:00 p.m., Rising Tide Capital, a non-profit dedicated to transforming economically challenged communities and lives through entrepreneurship, is hosting its 5th annual Start Something Champions Gala. This gala will honor the winners and finalists of the 2016 Start Something Challenge (SSC), as well as RTC’s 2016 Champions of Entrepreneurship: JPMorgan Chase, “Champion of Inclusive Economies”; inventor Joy Mangano–whose story was featured in the movie “Joy”– “Entrepreneur of the Year”; and The Blackstone Charitable Foundation, “Champion of Innovation.”
“There is no way we could impact the communities we work in without the support of our funders who underwrite our programs, our community partners who refer students to us and host our classes, our instructors and coaches who deliver needed services to our entrepreneurs, and our entrepreneurs who trust us to help them grow their businesses,” explained Alfa Demmellash, CEO, and co-founder of Rising Tide Capital.
“We are so grateful to our community of partners whose support allows us to provide financial grants to our 2016 SSC winners and to transform ideas into sustainable and community-enriching businesses. Because of their commitment, as of 2015 there were 1,385 graduates of our nationally-recognized Community Business Academy–many of whom continue to receive support services from Rising Tide Capital through our Business Acceleration Services program.”
At the gala, the winners of this year’s SSC will be recognized and they will receive $25,000 in grants and prizes. Over the past 5 years, nearly 400 individuals from across New Jersey have entered the competition and the winning entrepreneurs have been awarded with approximately $125,000 in grants to support and grow their businesses.
The proceeds from the gala will underwrite scholarships for entrepreneurs from traditionally underserved communities to participate in Rising Tide Capital’s nationally recognized Community Business Academy, an intensive and targeted 12-week training on how to start, grow, and sustain a business. Within 2 years of graduating from this program entrepreneurs see a 64% increase in their business sales and a corresponding 47% increase in household income. They also experience a 56% reduction in the use of public assistance resulting from the ongoing support and resources offered by RTC.
Event sponsors include The Blackstone Foundation, JPMorgan Chase, Mack Cali, NJ Advance Media, PNC Bank, Prudential, TD+ Partners, and Wells Fargo. Tickets are still available for the 5th Annual Start Something Champions Gala, which takes place from 6:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. at the Liberty House Restaurant in Jersey City. For more information regarding tickets or sponsorship contact Amanda Parker at aparker(at)evergreenpr(dot)com or (908) 322-1100.
About Rising Tide Capital
Headquartered in Jersey City with offices in Newark and Orange, Rising Tide Capital, Inc. is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization founded with the mission to empower entrepreneurs to create and grow small businesses, which transform lives and communities. The organization’s vision is to build a replicable model for high-quality entrepreneurial development services that can be adopted locally in other low-income communities. Learn more at http://www.RisingTideCapital.org.
Media Contact:
Tara Dowdell
917-697-2134
tara(at)taradowdellgroup(dot)com
Esther Fraser, Rising Tide Capital, http://www.risingtidecapital.org, +1 (201) 432-4316 Ext: 106, [email protected]
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