Acceleration, Its Not Just for Start-ups
Richmond, Virginia Home to 3rd Nonprofit Accelerator
It is well known that Richmond is home to a robust start-up and acceleration community--finally, nonprofits get to partake. THRIVE: An Accelerator for Social Good launches their third cohort and applications are open now for 10 spots in the Fall session. After two rounds virtually, THRIVE will be onsite at the only coworking space for nonprofits, The Collaboratory of Virginia, and designed and facilitated in conjunction with The Spark Mill, a Mid-Atlantic consulting company headquartered in Richmond. THRIVE takes the best of start-up acceleration and applies it to the work of nonprofit organizations by focusing on mission and vision as the cornerstone of the experience.
Cohort Coming This Fall
The third cohort is focused on problem solving and will take place September 14th - November 9th in weekly sessions. Organizations will be guided in addressing a specific internal challenge and apply acceleration methodology, stellar mentor support, and subject matter expertise to distill the problem and name a solution. 9 weeks of support and mission-based activities create an atmosphere where nonprofits can benefit from the entrepreneurial mind-set without losing focus on their mission-based purpose. Applications close July 16: https://www.thecollaboratory-va.org/programs.
““THRIVE is a gem in our region. It has all of the ingredients of start-up acceleration applied to social good and change-making. It was such a gift to serve as a mentor and I will sign up as often as I can” ”
A past participant shared: “I think one of the strengths of the program is that there were organizations with a wide range of 'maturity.' I believe it added excellent perspective to the discussions.”
Mentor recruitment is also underway - interested folks can express interest: https://form.jotform.com/211676946651061
About Thrive
The Collaboratory of Virginia exists to build resiliency and efficiency among Richmond region nonprofits. It is both an ecosystem and a 38,000sf coworking center exclusively for its members. When COVID-19 hit, The Collaboratory partnered with The Spark Mill (TSM), a strategic planning and change management consulting firm with extensive experience in nonprofit acceleration. TSM has been leading nonprofits through acceleration across Virginia for the last four years through our program, Mission Forward. The first cohort of THRIVE focused on helping nonprofits respond to the pandemic. This second cohort clarified nonprofit best practices with a special emphasis on diversity, equity, and inclusion. Nonprofits were guided by weekly topic experts and aided by a mentor throughout the experience.