The application portal for the 2024 SBA T.H.R.I.V.E. Emerging Leaders Reimagined Program is open through April 28. This program is designed to provide free, comprehensive business coaching and education to CEOs of small businesses, like yours, looking to take their businesses to the next level.

The SBA Eastern Pennsylvania District office will host two cohorts: in King of Prussia and Harrisburg/Lebanon

This program is community-based and supported by the U.S. Small Business Administration. The curriculum is taught by experienced Subject Matter Experts and includes a mix of virtual and in-person sessions. You will have the opportunity to learn from a cohort of accomplished peers with diverse perspectives and life experiences, and to build a nationwide business network for life.

Eligibility Qualifications:

The T.H.R.I.V.E. Emerging Leaders Reimagined advanced training series is open to small business owners and executives who:

● Have annual revenues of at least $250,000

● Have been in business for at least three years

● Have at least one employee other than themselves

● Can commit to completing the entire program, including coaching, submitting assignments, participating during in-person sessions, and reaching out for help

● Are coachable, ready to be challenged and supported, and willing to put in the necessary work to accelerate growth

Essential details about T.H.R.I.V.E. Emerging Leaders Reimagined:

● Applications are open through April 28, 2024

● The program runs from June to December 20, 2024

● Attendance is required for the eight in-person sessions at your local cohort

Don't miss out on this incredible opportunity to reimagine your organization's future and accelerate your business growth.

Start the application process at sbathrive.com today!

Questions?

Visit our website at sbathrive.com or contact Kimberly Stout, SBA Eastern Pennsylvania T.H.R.I.V.E. Program Manager, at [email protected]. We look forward to receiving your application and helping you achieve your business goals. 

All SBA programs and services are provided on a nondiscriminatory basis. Reasonable accommodations will be made if requested at least two weeks in advance.

SBA’s participation is not an endorsement of the views, opinions, products or services of any participants, person or entity.

Every Voice, Every Vote coalition launches two-year, $2.875 million grantmaking program to expand access to civic news  and information in Philadelphia  

Local news organizations and community groups are invited to apply for  grant funding to enhance coverage of Philadelphia’s new administration  and encourage civic engagement 

As Philadelphia’s new city government prepares to mark its 100th day in office, the Every Voice,  Every Vote coalition of community groups and media organizations is announcing the launch  of a new two-year, $2.875 million grant program to support in-depth local journalism and  catalyze civic action around the issues that matter most to Philadelphians.  

Every Voice, Every Vote is organized by The Lenfest Institute for Journalism, which first built  the coalition to elevate Philadelphia’s diverse voices and inform voters ahead of the 2023 city  elections. With a coalition of 130 media outlets, community nonprofit organizations, and civic 

minded social media creators as partners, the project is Philadelphia’s largest-ever collaborative journalism and community engagement effort. 

As the administration ramps up its efforts to address Philadelphia’s most pressing challenges,  Every Voice, Every Vote partners will catalyze collaboration and build stronger connections among media outlets, community organizations, residents, and elected officials to continue an  ongoing movement to encourage civic engagement, raise issues, and track progress over  time. 

The next phase of Every Voice, Every Vote comes at a critical moment for Philadelphians whose concerns include public safety, public education, affordable housing, sanitation  services, and economic mobility. A 2023 Pew Research analysis of the Every Voice, Every  Vote public opinion poll, “What Philly Wants,” showed that 65% of Philadelphians believed the  city was “on the wrong track,” up from 38% in 2019.  

“We heard consistently from our media and community partners that if the Every Voice, Every  Vote coalition was serious about our commitment to citizen participation in local government,  we could not stop our work at the general election,” said Lenfest Institute Head of Philadelphia  

Programs Shawn Mooring. “We are extremely excited to launch the next—and most critical —phase of the Every Voice, Every Vote initiative to ensure that residents from every  neighborhood across our great city continue to have access to the information they need to  monitor progress and become civically engaged on the issues that are most important to  them.” 

Lead support for the next phase of Every Voice, Every Vote is provided by the William Penn  Foundation with additional funding from The Lenfest Institute, Comcast NBCUniversal, The John S. and James L. Knight Foundation, Henry L. Kimelman Family Foundation, Judy and  Peter Leone, Arctos Foundation, the Wyncote Foundation, and others.  

In total, $4 million is being invested into Every Voice, Every Vote over the next two years. In  addition to grantmaking, Every Voice, Every Vote will undertake public issue awareness  campaigns, conduct public opinion research into the issues that matter most to Philadelphians,  partner with social media creators to connect with residents, and more. 

Organizations interested in joining Every Voice, Every Vote can apply for funding to support  community-centered journalism or nonpartisan civic engagement projects to address the  needs of underrepresented communities. Applications are welcome in the following areas of  civic support:  

• Solutions journalism and government accountability reporting  

• Civic education and civic literacy  

• City performance data, data visualization and related news reporting • Collaborative community civic engagement activities 

• Translation services, applied to civic education and/or civic news and information • Projects focusing on one or more of the following issues of concern to Philadelphia: Public safety, public health, education, economic opportunity, affordable housing,  homelessness, trash pick-up, and the environment.  

Funding will range from $10,000 to $150,000, and the grant term will run from May 2024  through November 2025. The deadline to apply is April 19, 2024 at 11:59 p.m. EDT. 

You can apply here. More details, including eligibility requirements and instructions for how to  create an account in the Institute’s Fluxx grant management system are available here.  

The extension of the project is built on the foundation of Every Voice, Every Vote’s earlier  success in covering the 2023 Philadelphia election cycle.  

In the run-up to the 2023 elections, when voters cast their ballots for Philadelphia’s 100th mayor, community partners created more than 365 civic engagement projects to inform  voters. Media partners published nearly 600 pieces ofreporting and voter engagement content, amassing a total of 16.5 million media impressions. Unprecedented translation efforts  resulted in civic education and voter resources available in 15 languages. Thirty-eight coalition sponsored candidate forums helped voters determine who might best represent their needs  and interests in the city’s highest offices. 

“Never in the city’s history have there been so many mayoral forums or so much news  coverage on so many topics critical to the future of our city,” said Reverend Luis Cortés,  president and CEO of Esperanza, an Every Voice, Every Vote partner.

Coalition partners focused on amplifying voter concerns so that candidates would address  them on the record.  

Examples include: 

• WHYY hosted listening sessions with communities affected by gun violence and posed their questions directly to the mayoral candidates during the “100th Mayor: Restoring  Safety Forum.” 

• The Philadelphia Inquirer published a dozen, in-depth front-page stories about issues  and policy concerns highlighted by Every Voice, Every Vote public opinion research.  

• Enon Tabernacle Baptist Church and Black-serving media organizations WURD, The  Philadelphia Tribune, and Philadelphia SUN hosted Black Media Matters, a mayoral  candidate forum centered on education, safety, and economic opportunity. 

• Ahead of the general election, 6ABC and the Every Voice, Every Vote  coalition partnered to source questions from diverse community voices for a  televised debate called “A New Chapter: The Philadelphia Mayoral Townhall.” 

• PA Youth Vote and other youth-serving organizations hosted Philly Youth Voices, a  teen-led forum during which municipal candidates gathered to listen to the  perspectives of young Philadelphians.  

Organizations can learn more about how to join Every Voice, Every Vote and apply for grant funding here.