The Young Entrepreneurs Academy (YEA!) Philadelphia helps middle and high school students take their entrepreneurial skills to a new level in a year-long afterschool academic program that gives students project-based, hands-on, experiential education.
YEA! teaches students to become entrepreneurs by offering them the opportunity to write a business plan, work with a mentor, pitch to potential investors, obtain startup funding, and launch their REAL company or nonprofit.
YEA! was founded in 2004 and developed at the University of Rochester with the support of a grant from the Kauffman Foundation. YEA! was introduced to the Greater Philadelphia community in 2013 and has granted $42,000 in startup funds to help 100 students launch 70 businesses in the Delaware Valley.
As a fiscal sponsor, the foundation provides administrative services and financial oversight for the activities of YEA!
Fiscal sponsorship is often used by newly formed nonprofits that need to raise money during the start-up phase, before they are recognized as tax-exempt by the IRS. Using a fiscal sponsor enables a program or organization that does not itself qualify as tax-exempt to attract funding for its operations that will — through the fiscal sponsor – be tax-deductible to donors.
Some organizations – including those that are tax-exempt – find that utilizing a fiscal sponsor to outsource administrative responsibilities, whether back-office tasks, or those relating to fundraising and disbursement of funds, is the right business model for them. This structure might be particularly well-suited for all-volunteer organizations.
To learn more about using the foundation for fiscal sponsorship please contact: Laura DeFlavia.
