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Start It Up Episode 21: The UNFoundation Uses Small Grants to Foster Change

Using CoLab's 48 Hour Launch as a springboard, The UNFoundation has emerged as an exciting new catalyst for change in Chattanooga. The premise and structure for The UNFoundation are simple.  Each month, 20 Trustees contribute $100 apiece to fund a single grant.  They then meet in an informal setting to select that month's grant recipient and to hear from a previous grantee, who provides an update.  In fact, agreeing to make a report to the Trustees is the only requirement that The UNFoundation places on its grant recipients.

On this episode, Melanie Silva, Bryan Kelly, and Bijan Dhanani discuss the origins of The UNFoundation and why it has gained such traction in Chattanooga. Through their efforts, this group has created a strong network, connecting people and causes across a broad socio-economic spectrum.

Susanne Burnham was the Executive Producer of Start it Up from October of 2014 to August of 2015. She is a graduate of The Company Lab’s Accelerator. She is the Founder and CEO of Click Click Boom, a graduate of the University of Georgia and a U.S. Army Veteran (Desert Storm). She launched her career in the mobile tech industry in 2009, and in 2012 relocated to Chattanooga because of EPB’s fiber optic network and to participate in the City’s growth as a tech and startup hub.
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