Influenced by the enterprising heritage of the firm and its founders, The Blackstone Charitable Foundation has committed to a five-year, $50 million initiative to foster entrepreneurship and economic recovery in communities hardest hit by the global economic crisis.  The Blackstone Entrepreneurship Initiative will fund innovative programs and ideas with potential for fostering entrepreneurship and, in turn, the high-growth businesses and industries that are most known to spark economic growth.

Through its investment expertise spanning multiple asset classes and regions, Blackstone has a unique perspective on the global economy and particularly how entrepreneurial activity is often the crucial component in the growth of successful businesses, industries and communities. We feel with our resources and intellectual capital we are well positioned to help entrepreneurs across the globe.

Training the Next Generation of Entrepreneurs

Blackstone LaunchPad – The Blackstone Charitable Foundation, in partnership with The Burton D. Morgan Foundation, committed $3.2 million in November 2011 to support the creation of the Blackstone LaunchPad program on the campuses of Baldwin-Wallace College, Case Western Reserve University, Kent State University, and Lorain County Community College in the Northeast Ohio region. This grant represents the first of a five-region Blackstone LaunchPad expansion that the Blackstone Charitable Foundation committed to as part of our participation in the White House’s Startup America Partnership.

Based on a successful program developed by the University of Miami and expanded by Blackstone to the campuses of Wayne State University and Walsh College in Detroit, Michigan in 2010, Blackstone LaunchPad is an innovative program that treats entrepreneurship as a viable career path. The program teaches students, faculty and alumni how to transform their ideas into thriving businesses. By connecting entrepreneurs with mentors, experts and resources, the program provides the advice, counsel and network necessary to get their ideas off the ground.

Based on the initial results in Miami and Detroit, The Blackstone Charitable Foundation and The Burton D. Morgan Foundation project as many as 150 new ventures will be created in Northeast Ohio over the next five years, with the potential to generate thousands of new jobs.

Blackstone LaunchPad Ohio

For more information about the Blackstone LaunchPad program, go towww.blackstonelaunchpad.com

Igniting Rural Economies

Blackstone Accelerates Growth – The Blackstone Charitable Foundation has committed $3 million in 2011 to support the creation of Blackstone Accelerates Growth, an initiative designed to foster entrepreneurship, spur economic growth and help Maine transition from a historically resource based economy to an innovation economy.

Blackstone Accelerates Growth will bring a critical network of entrepreneurial services to high potential companies in newly created Innovation Hubs throughout the state.  These hubs will serve as catalysts for propelling new and existing companies to the next level of growth and profitability.

Blackstone Accelerates Growth will support established local organizations and help them bring or expand their services to target regions over the next three years. Local partners include:  Innovation Engineering/Jump Start, a mentorship program that works with existing companies on growth strategies and Top Gun, a venture development program that coaches start-ups.  The University of Maine will receive support to train the next generation of entrepreneurs and prepare a cadre of student interns to assist Hub companies. The Maine Technology Institute, an established entrepreneurial support institute, will administer the program. Watch the video about Blackstone Accelerates Growth.

Innovation hubs will help Maine overcome the challenges that a state with geographically dispersed population centers presents to existing companies and start-ups.. Like many rural states, Maine’s companies lag others in terms of innovation and R&D investments.

By supporting growth at new and existing companies, training the next generation of entrepreneurs and creating communities that support and foster entrepreneurship the initiative hopes to create 10,000 new jobs and infuse $664 million into Maine’s economy over ten years.

Blackstone Accelerates Growth

For more information about the Blackstone Accelerates Growth, go to http://www.mainetechnology.org

New Jobs for North Carolina

For more information about the Blackstone Entrepreneur Network go to www.blackstoneentrepreneursnetwork.org

Blackstone Entrepreneurs Network – The Blackstone Charitable Foundation has committed $3.6 million in 2011 to support the formation of The Blackstone Entrepreneurs Network, a dense network of entrepreneurial support in North Carolina’s Research Triangle Park (RTP). Working in partnership with Duke University, North Carolina Central University, North Carolina State University and the Council for Entrepreneurial Development, this five year initiative will help the RTP become headquarters for America’s next high-growth companies. Watch the video about the Blackstone Entrepreneurs Network.

The Network will recruit a team of veteran “master entrepreneurs” to identify marketable innovations out of area universities and pair them with regional start-ups with the greatest potential to become high-growth companies. Ideal targets are those with the potential to create $40 million in revenue, become profitable within 10 years and are in the early stages of fundraising.

The Blackstone Entrepreneurs Network will mentor 30 new start-ups each year, for five years. Over a ten year period, these 150 regional businesses could create in aggregate 17,200 new jobs and $4.8 billion in revenue.

Watch Amy Stursberg, Executive Director of the Blackstone Charitable Foundation, talk about the Blackstone Entrepreneurs Network.

To read more about the Blackstone Entrepreneurs Network click here

Training the Next Generation of Entrepreneurs

Blackstone LaunchPad – The Blackstone Charitable Foundation committed $2 million in April 2010 to create Blackstone LaunchPad on the campuses of Wayne State University and Walsh College in Detroit, Michigan. Based on a successful program created by the University of Miami, Blackstone LaunchPad is an effort to create a national model for fostering entrepreneurship through higher education. It encourages entrepreneurial thinking and activity among undergraduate, graduate students and alumni for the purpose of incubating a new generation of entrepreneurs who will contribute to the economic revitalization of a distressed regional economy. Having been deeply impacted by the economic crisis, experiencing record unemployment and the deterioration of the auto industry, the region’s historic employer, Detroit is the perfect laboratory for such an idea. Blackstone LaunchPad pairs students with coaches who help them develop their business ideas. As their ideas mature, Blackstone LaunchPad connects students with entrepreneurs, lawyers, accountants, venture capitalists and others with professional expertise to help bring them to market.

In its first six months, more than 2,000 students and alumni have expressed interest in the programs, more than 80 business ideas are being evaluated and considered for the comprehensive support services and 27 new ventures were formed. Based on its early success, the program was recognized by the Obama Administration. As part of The White House’s Startup America Initiative, we recently committed to expand the program to five new regions over five years.

Addressing Youth Employment Worldwide

Global Youth Employment Agenda – The Blackstone Charitable Foundation in partnership with CNBC, hosted Global Youth Employment Agenda (GYEA) in London December 2nd and 3rd, 2010. Leading business, government and Non-governmental organization (NGO) leaders gathered to raise awareness of youth unemployment and to start the conversation about how to shape a solution through a collaborative, cross-functional approach.  The intent of GYEA was to provide a public forum for business and world leaders to address the crisis in youth unemployment through building a global network of support activities and sharing of best practices.

The current platform to impact youth unemployment is fragmented, with no coordinated effort integrating all of the influential stakeholder groups.  The purpose of the two-day event, which included panel discussions and presentations on critical topics, was to focus on how to galvanize greater private sector involvement to bring in the viewpoint and job needs of employers and to enable greater cooperation with the public sector and NGOs. The Blackstone Foundation has made a significant commitment to entrepreneurship which is viewed as having the greatest potential for job creation, an issue addressed throughout the meeting.

Stephen A. Schwarzman, Blackstone’s Chairman and CEO, participated in the conversation on the evening of December 2nd.

Interview - Steve Schwarzman’s interview with Maria Bartiromo at the GYEA event (http://www.cnbc.com/id/15840232/?video=1678412968&play=1)

Summary of his remarks (http://www.cnbc.com/id/40451871)

Partners:

The founding partners of GYEA include: CNBC, Siemens AG, Manpower Inc. The Bharti Foundation, Fiba Holding, Haier Asia Pacific, NAACP, International Youth Foundation, International Labor Organization and The Blackstone Charitable Foundation. 

Sponsoring the World’s Largest Global Startup and Accelerator

MassChallenge – MassChallenge is considered the world’s largest global startup and accelerator competition. The competition aims to support the development and success of high-growth, high-impact new businesses, while stimulating job creation across Massachusetts and beyond. Any startup entrepreneur can enter the MassChallenge competition, with any idea, from anywhere in the world.

In 2010, The Blackstone Charitable Foundation’s $100,000 donation helped MassChallenge fulfill its goal of raising more than $1 million for the cash awards for the 16 winning teams. The 2010 competition attracted 446 applicant startups from 26 countries and 24 states. The Foundation will make a second grant of $250,000 to MassChallenge in 2011 to explore bringing this model to other priority regions.