The USAID Economic Support for Eastern Ukraine Project, in cooperation with SILab Ukraine, invites representatives of civil society organizations (CSOs), local government SMEs from Donetsk, Luhansk, and southern Zaporizhia Oblasts to participate in a two-day Forum on social entrepreneurship and corporate social responsibility. The Forum on social entrepreneurship and corporate social responsibility is two days of hard work, the experience of successful Ukrainian entrepreneurs, knowledge of international experts, networking and the opportunity to get answers to key questions related to the development of social enterprise in Ukraine. Our goal: To determine the priority vectors of ecosystem development for social entrepreneurship in the eastern region of Ukraine. WHERE? Kharkiv, Art Factory "Mechanics", st. Plekhanovskaya, 126 WHEN? November 17-18, 2021 More information here.

Klein is a modern Inclusive Child Health Development Center located in Rivne. At the same time, Klein is a social result-oriented organization. The development center team is a graduate of our SELab acceleration program. The main activity of the center is the development of children, including those with special needs. The peculiarity of the Klein Development Center is that some children whose parents can pay for classes are paid, and a child of socially disadvantaged groups can attend classes absolutely free of charge. Throughout May 2021, the center cared for 10 children, including 4 children from a boarding school who received free therapy. “We embody true inclusiveness, because all the students in our center work together - on equal terms. If the groups expand, our center will be able to increase the number of free places to provide services to families from socially vulnerable categories. This is the main goal of social entrepreneurship ”- Klein's team on how they will be their social business. The development center has a team of qualified professionals who know exactly how to approach each child. Among them are: • psychologist; • speech therapist; • music director; • rehabilitation specialist; • English teacher. The center also has a dark sensory room, which helps children with special needs to feel safe. Classes in this room help to stimulate the brain, and as a result - new skills and feelings are formed. Such therapy is useful for all children without exception, because it helps to correct behavior and reaction to the environment. The Klein team overcame a difficult and incredibly interesting path, creating a center, but now they prove in their experience that the main thing is to go to the goal. Develop and implement your plans. If you are in Rivne or have acquaintances with young children, we invite you to attend several classes at the Klein Child Health Development Center. In this way, you will not only help the development of your or friends' kids, but also help the team develop and provide more free places to children of vulnerable groups.

The Digital Lab focuses on the theory of change and the social impact assessment. Completing the course of six lectures, you will define what you strive to change in society, write down the steps you should take and measure what you have already achieved. Experienced social entrepreneurs and impact investors from the EU, UK, and Ukraine will be here for you to help. They will provide an overview of the main theories, share the stories from their practice and answer all of your questions during personal mentoring sessions. Together with your peers from Ukraine, you will exchange ideas and design new tools for work. Digital Lab consists of six sessions and a graduation party and will take place from 10 November till 10 December. We invite translators: you will communicate with foreign experts fluently. Carefully study the details, join the Digital Lab, and boost your social business. What do I get? The theory of change and a wholesome system of impact measurement for your enterprise you will design while working on homework Lectures from social entrepreneurs and impact investors that will provide the understanding of why and how you should measure your social impact: choose impact indicators, collect data, and apply the assessment for management decisions Personal mentor sessions with experts from the EU, UK, and Ukraine where you will get personal advice and an outside perspective on your impact measurement system Printed “Impact measurement toolkit” to use when the Digital Lab is over Printed certificate and access to grants and meetings of the alumni community More information about the course is here.

Social Impact Day 2021 took place yesterday: SIA Ukraine 2021 International Conference and Award Ceremony. Congratulations to the winners - IONKID, CupToU, Check It, who received € 1,500 for the development of their impact startups, as well as the favorites of the audience Challity, who received € 500. ⠀ During the event, a separate block was dedicated to our international expert, the head of the Impact Funds Initiative from EVPA - Martin Blom. He started his career as an entrepreneur in 2003 when he left JongeHonden. Since 2007, he has been an active investor in his native Netherlands with his company Droomzaken. In 2016, he co-founded Hivos Impact Investments and two foundations managed by a large Dutch NGO. For many years, Martine has held many positions on the boards and investment committees of foundations initiated by universities and the Dutch government. He is also a co-founder and a member of the board of De Investeerdersclub. Now Martin is a business angel of the Ukrainian Social Venture Fund, which we are developing together with partners. ⠀ Also during the conference, we discussed important aspects for social entrepreneurs - starting a business and attracting financial resources or not. Successful impact entrepreneurs shared their own experiences, mistakes and real success stories. Here we both laughed and were proud, and, of course, we were inspired. ⠀ The SILab Ukraine team did not sit aside and also took part in the conference and awards. You have definitely seen us in the role of moderators and members of the jury. We had a great experience! Thank you! ⠀ It will be recalled that it was organized with the support of the European Union and the International Renaissance Foundation within the framework of the joint EU4USociety initiative. The co-organizer of the conference is the School of ME.

Assistance to SELab graduates does not end after the program is completed. We monitor the success of our social entrepreneurs, answer questions that arise in the new stages of business development, and create a community where everyone shares experiences. Also, we are always proud to tell about each of them. ⠀ Natalia Grigoryan is the Head of the NGO "Namysto Druziv", as well as the initiator of the Inclusive Pottery "Svit Nadii" on the basis of the NGO in Mykolayiv, where young people with intellectual disabilities undergo occupational therapy and have the opportunity to communicate and adapt to society. Also on the basis of the NGO "Namysto Druziv" there is an opportunity to teach young people to work with computers. The inclusive workshop was opened in October 2020 in Mykolayiv with the support of the Nechitaylo Family Foundation and the Dobrota i Doverie Foundation. It is designed to help children with disabilities to socialize, acquire skills, find and pump their creativity. Clay modeling also develops such important skills as the ability to concentrate and patience. The team of the NGO "Namysto Druziv" organizes pottery master classes for everyone, the withdrawn funds help to pay for the premises for pottery, materials, as well as accelerate the development of the workshop. The team has the following plans for the future: 1. make repairs in the second room, where the stove and rack will be placed. 2. create and launch a workshop studio website 3. attract resources to purchase a compressor for the airbrush 4. organize a charity exhibition-sale of pottery. ⠀ You can support the team of the NGO "Namysto Druziv" by purchasing products made in pottery. But if you are in Mykolayiv, we recommend attending their master classes to not only learn to work with clay, but also to get wonderful emotions from the process.

On July 21-23 was study tour on social entrepreneurship to Chernivtsi. Together with current and future social entrepreneurs of Donetsk, Luhansk, southern Zaporizhia regions, as well as the city of Henichesk, we got acquainted with the experience of successful impact businesses in this city. We met the founders of the following companies: • Social cafe • Social store Do rechi • Kraft Hub FortelUA • Papa Papa Karlo And also attended trainings on extremely important topics for all social entrepreneurs: • Building a model of social entrepreneurship • Legislation. State regulation • Financial management • Marketing • Risk management ⠀ The study tour was organized in cooperation with SILab Ukraine and the USAID Economic Support for Eastern Ukraine Project. They returned home full of new ideas, knowledge and charged to create positive changes in Ukraine!