Connecting Neighbors & Friends With
THE ENTREPRENEURIAL MINDSET
The Ignite! suite of programs bring entrepreneurship expertise into accessible settings, elevate peer-to-peer learning, and offer Ignite! Impact Awards to women, minorities, and others underrepresented in entrepreneurship.
THE IGNITE! SUITE INCLUDES:
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Ignite! Neighbor Nights - intergenerational workshops created to strengthen and better serve our immediate neighborhood, creative community, and beyond.
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Ignite! Impact Awards - microgrants specifically designed to benefit those who are underrepresented in the entrepreneurship landscape, especially women and members of minority communities.
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Ignite! Lecture Series - where speakers share their experiences in entrepreneurship, including successes and failures in an informal setting.
ignite! Neighbor nights
These interactive, intergenerational nights are full of fun!
Bring the whole family and join us for Ignite! Neighbor Nights - a monthly community gathering where you'll meet new people, and learn from community organizations, join hands-on activities and join valuable conversations with neighbors!
In 2023, Ignite! Neighbor Nights are all about activating the newly renovated St. Clair Plaza (6321 St. Clair Ave) in collaboration with the St. Clair - Superior Development Corporation, introducing a new, accessible public green space to our beloved neighborhood!
Join us for FREE community events April 20, May 18, June 15, July 20, and August 17!
Neighbor Nights work to strengthen and better serve our immediate neighborhood, creative community, and beyond. These fun, intergenerational events run from April through August on the 3rd Thursday of each month! Each Neighbor Night event offers a different experience but always features exhibitors, activities, and entertainment including music, dance and exercise that engages the audience.
All are welcome!
There's a way for EVERYONE to participate in Neighbor Nights!
Join us as a:
- Visitor: Bring yourself, your family, your friends, your curiosity, and your ideas!
- Programming Partner: Bring your hands-on intergenerational activity and information about your support of the community and ways folks can get involved!
- Monthly or Seasonal Sponsor: Your contribution can underwrite a single event, or help our whole season take flight with benefits including print, digital, and on-site visibility.
- Volunteer: Join our dozens of creatives who are making a difference one event at a time.
ignite! Impact Awards
Rewarding impactful entrepreneurial ventures
Launched in 2019, the Ignite! Impact Awards were created to amplify the voices of those traditionally under-represented in entrepreneurship, providing tools and resources for future success.
WHAT DO WINNERS RECEIVE?
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A cash or in-kind (typically toward space rental in IngenuityLabs) micro-grants which can be used towards project(s) that impact others, or advance and unlock opportunities for growth.
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Consulting time with Ingenuity team members who can provide guidance and direction towards growing your business - this includes a 1 hour introductory discussion, 1 hour session with us or a specialized consultant from our network, and a 1 hour "planning for the future" session.
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An opportunity to pursue fiscal agency for projects, subject to the review and approval of Ingenuity
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A marketing package that includes opportunities to exhibit at IngeniutyFest, the Ingenuity Bal and other Ingenuity-sponsored events, social media, e-newsletter spotlights, and more
Know someone deserving of an Ignite! Imapct Award? Nominate them below!
Ingenuity Cleveland is pleased to accept nominations for organizations and people making a difference in our community. Ignite! Impact Awards honor budding entrepreneurs and creatives promoting social impact through creativity and the arts. Ignite! Impact Award Winners are typically people who are traditionally underrepresented in entrepreneurship, including women, minorities, and people of diverse backgrounds and/or abilities. Ignite! impact awards proactively help build equity in our creative and entrepreneurship communities. Nominate a deserving individual or organization by filling out the form below.
2021 Update: In light of the political and health events that occurred in 2020, we have expanded our Ignite! Impact Award program to focus on the following key aspects of community recovery and healing:
- Solutions focused on immediate COVID-19 relief.
- Solutions focused on long-term COVID-19 recovery, community resiliency, and connectivity.Strategies that improve digital access and digital equity
- Socially-distanced interventions that uplift and enliven
- Solutions and conversations centered on social and racial justice, equity, and police-community relations.
- Immediate cash & consulting assistance is available and recipients will be notified with acceptance or deferral within two weeks of application. Successful applications will leverage resources to support a network beyond the applicant.*
Examples of COVID-19 relief could include (but are not limited to): strategies to improve digital access to arts & culture and enhancing long-term networks and resources for community resiliency.
Equity & Justice Solution examples could include (but are not limited to): creating spaces for community dialogue which reach across social and cultural boundaries; expressing messages of hope, healing and change that amplify voices of those who are most impacted; providing immediate support to marginalized communities through creative, entrepreneurial or artistic solutions
Please contact emily@ingenuitycleveland.org with any questions.
Ignite! Impact Award
NOMINATION FORM
Whatever your vision is for the future, we can almost guarantee that creativity, innovation, and collaboration are critical considerations.
ignite! Lecture Series
Entreprenruship training without the stuffiness.
The Ignite! Entrepreneurship Series provides business knowledge and down-n’-dirty skills in an affordable, social environment.
We are helping artists see themselves as entrepreneurs! Programming is targeted to the needs of creative and arts-based entrepreneurs within the Ingenuity and Hamilton Collaborative network, as well as Cleveland’s wider creative landscape. We emphasize peer-to-peer learning and partnerships with established resources in the entrepreneurship ecosystem. Ignite! maximizes the value of social learning and peer mentorship, and provides networking opportunities in an engaged yet informal setting.
The Ignite! Lecture Series has been on hold due to the COVID-19 pandemic, but stay tuned! We hope to bring them back soon!
Writing for Business
Michelle Nguyen of Mindset Mastery discussed the ‘Minto Method’ or ‘McKinsey Method'. Attendees learned to develop a better system for gathering thoughts, presenting them in a logical well-structured way and writing clearly and concisely.
SEO for Small Business
Liza Sue Studebaker of Liza Sue Productions discussed Search Engine Optimization (SEO) for your small business with our audience, who learned how to grow their visibility organically (without paying!) and increase awareness of your brand.
Legal & Tax Considerations for Small Business
These topics often come with a lot of questions and concerns for small business owners. Thompson Hine's Sean Ganley and Danielle Hayden from Kickstart Accounting spent an evening answering these questions and offering some clarity around this daunting topic.
Navigating the Gig Economy
Three local gig economy pros sat down for a panel and discussed the joys, hardships, frustrations, and successes in this arena.
Food Entrepreneurship
Local food business owners shared their experiences in that realm - they talked about everything from finding space, operating mobile food units, branding, and more!
Finding Funding for Small Business
Local fundraising professionals answered questions and provided resources to our audience of eager listeners. An in-depth Q&A allowed personalized advice along the way.
The Entrepreneurial Spirit & Serial Entrepreneurship
Two local entrepreneurs shared their journeys, explaining what drew them to the life of entrepreneurship and the traits and skills that aided them in their success.