Posted on February 13, 2013

Blackstone Charitable Foundation Awards $1 Million to Foster Entrepreneurship, Innovation

The New York City-based Blackstone Charitable Foundation has announced grants totaling $1 million to nine organizations and institutions working to foster entrepreneurship and innovation.

Awarded through the Blackstone Organizational Grants Program, the funds will be used to help innovative organizations pilot, expand, and/or replicate projects or programs designed to catalyze the growth of successful businesses, industries, and communities. Recipients include Arizona State University, which was awarded $145,000 to help pilot a new model for early stage entrepreneurs that targets non-traditional populations such as retirees, veterans, and highly skilled recently unemployed workers; Idea Village, which will receive $100,000 to scale its entrepreneurial support network and maximize the delivery of resources to entrepreneurs in the greater New Orleans area; and StartX, which was awarded $100,000 to link and ultimately expand its successful startup accelerator program/network in Silicon Valley to entrepreneurial academic hubs in New York, Boston, and Research Triangle Park in North Carolina.

"The future of the global economy depends upon a pipeline of creative, talented, and inspired entrepreneurs," said Blackstone Charitable Foundation executive director Amy Stursberg. "Through this program, we are able to direct the foundation's resources towards connecting the best nonprofit partners with entrepreneurs to help them on a path toward innovation and discovery."