Vantage

Dear Friends,

Our 2017 annual report Vantage captures a unique moment in our evolution. We spent the last year looking back at our first fifty years reflecting on the legacy of Burt Morgan, celebrating accomplishments in the entrepreneurial ecosystem, and awarding special grants to mark the milestone of our 50th anniversary. It was a momentous year in which we welcomed our new Trustee Eddie Taylor, launched our timeline and redesigned website, and partnered with Fasenmyer Foundation on the introduction of the Scalerator program in Northeast Ohio. We doubled the number of K-12 educators attending the ENSPIRE conference, pitched in to launch the Bounce Innovation Hub in Akron, and sponsored research on Camp Invention programming through our Entrepreneurship Education Experiment.

As we note all the great things that happened in the last year, we excitedly anticipate what is yet to come. We are poised to tackle more challenges – to plant the seeds of an entrepreneurial mindset in children, to see the sparks of connection illuminate the path forward for college students, and to create fertile ground so entrepreneurs of all ages can enjoy success. We are committed to excellence in all that we do. In 2018 we will pause to plan for the future, taking stock of where we have been and seeking truths that will help us achieve our full potential as a foundation that recognizes our dynamic roots in the vision of founder Burt Morgan. While honoring the past, we will forge ahead, experiment with fresh approaches, and support our Northeast Ohio region on its quest to be a place where entrepreneurs grow and thrive.

We are indeed standing at a vantage point and we will seize this critical moment in time.

Deborah D. Hoover
President and CEO