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The Gray Matter Experience

1011 W. 19th St. #3R Chicago, 60608

Please share your mission. 

We create opportunities for African American students to have access to Black professionals, entrepreneurs and resources that fuel their entrepreneurial interests.

Describe how your organization lives/realizes its mission. 

Research has shown statistically significant positive learning outcomes when using experiential learning methods versus traditional learning methods in entrepreneurial education (Zimbroff, Taylor & Houser, 2016). Gray Matter exposes students to entrepreneurship by providing access to Black entrepreneurs, resources & opportunities that help grow their entrepreneurial interests, inspiring them to create businesses that impact underrepresented neighborhoods across Chicago. The program consists of workshops, team building activities, guest speakers & engaging field trips to highlight various forms of entrepreneurship. Students work in selected teams to create & launch businesses that impact underserved Chicago communities. This approach has been shown to not only positively impact social elements like crime & high school dropout rates, but also increase the number of young Black entrepreneurs & sustainable businesses (Studdard, Dawson & Jackson, 2016), further improving these communities.

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