Youth Economic Pathways Initiative

Problem Worth Solving

A recent Intuit study projected that by the year 2020, 40% of the American workforce will consist of independent freelancers and contractors.

However, only 5% of public education K-12 curricula aims to prepare youth for entrepreneurship or financial literacy.

YEP Images.png — There is increasing evidence that financial stress is linked to negative health outcomes.

Brook, J. S., Brook, D. W., Zhang, C., Seltzer, N., & Finch, S. J. (2013). Adolescent ADHD and adult physical and mental health, work performance, and financial stress. *Pediatrics*, *131*(1), 5-13.

Youth Economic Pathways Initiative Overview

The Youth Economic Pathways (YEP) Initiative implements SocialPreneur Lab, a comprehensive, evidence-based program offering curriculua to teach K-12 youth the entire business development process. With a web-based crowdfunding platform, and online marketplace, educators can empower their students to raise startup capital, sell products online, and earn real revenue from their student ventures—without having to leave the classroom.

Powered by Jomoworks, an education management consulting firm specializing in University & K-12 partnership development, the YEP Initiative connects institutions in higher education with local youth organizations to disrupt cycles of poverty by promoting entrepreneurship and financial literacy. Through this partnership, Jomoworks will support new SocialPreneur Lab implementations with program evaluation, data collection, and research services designed to measure its impact on key K-12 social-behavioral, financial and health and wellness outcomes.

Photos of previous SocialPreneur Lab implementations 2018-2019.

Social Entrepreneurship & Financial Literacy Curriculum

SocialPreneur Lab offers facilitator training and student activity workbooks that consist of 24 lessons (35-90 minutes each) to teach students how to write a business plan, investigate market validation, run a capital campaign, and more. The curriculum teaches entrepreneurship through the social entrepreneurship framework. The platform, exclusive to SocialPreneur Lab, gives students the opportunity to raise money for the startup costs of their business and earn real money from their student ventures.

Copy of Working with our community (1).png — SocialPreneur Lab has introduced over 1,200 students to business concepts and launched student ventures generating over $15,000 in revenue.

Educators can empower their students to raise startup capital, sell products online, and earn real revenue from their student ventures—without having to leave the classroom.

Faculty Fellowship

Each YEP site is led by a university Faculty Fellow who has agreed to supervise 8-12 undergraduates to facilitate SocialPreneur Lab programming within local youth organizations as part of their research lab. The undergraduates will also undergo training and meet weekly with the local youth organization for 12-weeks to facilitate SocialPreneur Lab workshops.

The Youth Economic Pathways Initiative will support each fellow with:

A stipend of up to $12,000
SocialPreneur Lab curriculum workbook and materials (print)
Ongoing facilitator training
Digital Dashboard Access
Program evaluation services through Jomoworks
Monthly data collection, analysis, and reporting

Application Letter of Intent (LOI)

Please complete the online application Letter of Intent (LOI) by December 1, 2019. If selected, we'll email you the full application-which is due March 1, 2020. Program launch is Fall Semester 2020.