Sparking Educational Innovation

By Kathy Merchant, President/CEO of The Greater Cincinnati Foundation At The Greater Cincinnati Foundation, we’ve been on a long path of supporting education in its many forms. But why fund a spot at The Brandery? How could an education-focused startup company help? edSpark is a new addition to The Brandery’s business accelerator program funded by GCF to encourage educational innovation and entrepreneurship. When The Brandery’s 2012 class begins this summer, we want to ensure that one company whose mission is to design creative solutions to educational needs will be among the startups that will receive financing and access to the partners, mentors and resources typically reserved for start-ups in the consumer branding space. Why? None of us has all the answers for how to better educate our children, and GCF wants to help develop the tools of the future in education. The educational models of the past may not be what today’s children need to be successful in the 21^st century. In fact, students will need less fact-memorization and more community and parental support, a great early childhood experience, and better training in critical thinking, math and science and interpersonal relationships. edSpark is one way to put resources into the private market so entrepreneurs can develop solutions to the complex issues facing education. GCF has long supported the Strive Partnership, whose vision is to support the success of every child from cradle to career. The company chosen for the edSpark slot can address any of the five education goals that the Strive Partnership has developed from pre-kindergarten to post-secondary. These goals include that every child is:

• prepared for school
• supported inside and outside of school
• succeeds in school
• enrolls in some form of postsecondary education
• graduates and enters a career

Easy-peasy, right? No way! But that’s why the opportunity in this area is so great, and we already know that there are entrepreneurs out there willing to take this on. Once accepted, a startup with an educational focus will receive special help through education-oriented mentors and advisors in addition to the other benefits of a regular Brandery startup. We’re eager to see what type of innovation will be developed from edSpark, and we hope you will apply. Applications are due May 15 with early-admission decisions being made on May 1. Startups focused on education initiatives should apply through the standard application process at brandery.org.