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.