The VERGE Startup Fund is here to help
social enterprises, whether it be
individuals or organizations, nonprofits
or businesses or cooperatives that need
access the capital to bring their social
enterprise idea to life.
Earmark is a social impact real estate initiative and it's earmarking real estate commissions for community good
The Old East Village Grocer is a social enterprise of ATN Access for persons with disabilities
Part of what I know is cooking so I just want to establish that
in helping the people that's partly I
did this and I help newcomers and people
born here it's really helped me because
he's more like brother to me
I'm more confident now because you know
like I I have to take care of my
customer and how to be polite with
people and to be frank.
Through the
earmark donations there's been a number
of different projects one great project
was called the free for wall project and
they were able to beautify a wall in Old East Village
 
Our clients that are coming to the train here are often those people who are the furthest from the workforce
who have the most difficulty finding jobs. At first we do some skills
training and some upgrading and then
they come into the store and they get to
prove their skills. The Old East Village
grocer is another one that has been
supported my clients have donated over
fourteen hundred dollars.  Since the VERGE
Startup Fund Launched, what's changed?
We've helped newcomers and people disabilities get
fair chance at employment. We've helped
education be accessed across the world
in an affordable way. We've created safe
environments for our families online, and
we create an environmentally friendly
production for clothes and other goods
in our world. Many times in the social
finance world as we're always focused on
only giving money but in order to create
success for our social enterprises we
need to give a lot more so that includes
providing coaching, incubation, workshops,
so with  Pillar's social enterprise program we do
that and we wrap around the social
entrepreneurs to ensure that have
success. VERGE
has provided opportunities for new
beginnings for social enterprises which
I believe is an extremely important part
of our future.
I wouldn't be here without them
