Reboot Charlotte: Queen City ForwardSocial entrepreneurship startups in Charlotte are getting some help in moving the "Queen City Forward."Related ContentCHARLOTTE, N.C. - Social enterprises tackle social problems, improve communities or the environment all while operating at low or no profit. It's not an easy task. That's where Queen City Forward comes in.
"We seek to bring social entrepreneur together because we know that they sometimes work in isolation and by being together they can collaborate and growth their business," says Charles Thomas, Executive Director at Queen City Forward. As a non-profit, Queen City Forward connects entreprenuers with helpful resources and relationships.
"Being able to take your financials and show them to somebody and say 'hey does this look right what do you think.' As we're doing proposals, having another set of eyes being able to look at that," explains Rob Burbank of Speak Up! Magazine. Speak Up! aims to give a voice to the homeless while giving them work selling the magazine. Being one of Queen City Forward's early members has helped this newer non-profit get off the ground faster. "We've had people step up to volunteer because I've met 'em here at a meeting and they say do you need some help with marketing do you need some help with this," says Burbank. After several years in corporate America, Rashad Davis wanted to shift his focus. "Instead of being driven by profit alone you can really look at the social impact and the social benefit of the business and sometimes that's much greater than the actual economic impact," says Davis. Rashad's company, Urban Equity Advisors works to make a positive impact on the environment, providing sustainable energy retrofitting to commercial buildings including Queen City Forward's home at Packard Place. Thomas believes it's a perfect time for Queen City Forward to leverage its resources. "We know that our city is diversifying our economy and we know that entrepreneurs are the drivers of job creation." Queen City Forward plans to showcase its mission and many of its vendors at the Democratic National Convention in September. Their hope is to bring high impact social enterprises to Charlotte allowing them to do more for the greater good.
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