What's YOUR “why”? No really, we want to know. What is your reason for doing what you do? What is your personal mission statement, your core driver, your life’s one true calling? We don’t just write these blogs, post them, and never look at them again. We’re trying to create and engage in a thoughtful dialogue among our peers. At Innovate Springfield, we often challenge the starters that we serve with this question to help them maintain their clarity and focus, especially in

This giving season, we're celebrating the small businesses who have established their headquarters at Innovate Springfield, in the heart of our community, and who proudly call Springfield their home. Welcome to the iSPI Holiday Shop, a curated selection of Innovate Springfield member-owned products and services. Please tell your friends near and far, because when you purchase from a local business, you're supporting the local economy in a meaningful way. You also get to share

When Raychel McBride and Sarah Tapscott contacted Innovate Springfield about an initiative encouraging more diversity on local nonprofit boards, we only had one question. “When do we start?” The 2017 BoardSource Index of Nonprofit Board Practices found that nonprofit boards in the United States were no more diverse than in the previous two years. 90% of both chief executives and board chairs were white, as well as 84% of board members. Only 16% of board members surveyed were

Hello from Innovate Springfield! In previous months, we’ve introduced our mission , our history, and our two programs: Business Incubation and Social Innovation. We already dove into business incubation, so what in the world is social innovation? Simply put, we believe that by working together, we can make our community a better place for everyone, but especially for community members who are less-advantaged. What does our social innovation work have to do with our business i

Hello from Innovate Springfield the UIS social Innovation and Business incubator located in the heart of downtown Springfield, IL and the newest members to the UIS family! At Innovate Springfield, we’re creating new and disruptive ways to support the “communiversity” and the local economy through our two programs, Social Innovation and Business Incubation. For innovators addressing social issues, the need is great, the work is hard, and the stakes are high. That's why Innovat