Enlightened Entrepreneurs’, the nation’s first ‘speed mentoring event

On December 15, 65 entrepreneurs from the state's most dynamic companies shared their expertise with 70 nonprofits, sharing new insights on ways to respond to community needs in challenging economic times. The entrepreneur-mentors were grouped by skill sets such as Finance, Bootstrapping, Fundraising, and Technology and gave one-on-one mentoring in a fast-paced, dynamic and loud environment. Before the event, nonprofits were given 'speed pitch' training by Brock Blake of Funding Universe.

The participants tweeted, blogged and emailed to share how exciting their interactions were. "I came away with specific, actionable advice to more effectively communicate our program. WOW!" Anthony Powers blogged: "The chance to share some thoughts, ask some questions, and hopefully provide some guidance with those who need it most was personally very satisfying. Certainly a better professional gift than the office 'white elephant.' And all it cost me was a morning." You can see other posts on our web site and facebook page or follow the twitter feed at #cfu. More comments and links to press coverage are posted on our web site.

Pete Ashdown, the CEO XMission, Sarah Merz, the CEO of Franklin Covey Products, Phil Hansen, the CEO of CLEARLINK, and Charley Johnson, the owner of SnugZ, shared their strategies for 'Doing Good and Doing Well'. Their advice: don't wait until you have a huge company before you give back to the community. Phil suggests a portfolio approach to community engagement, allowing for experimentation. Charley encouraged people to just get try something Pete encouraged nonprofits to come up with approaches outside of the traditional gala and silent auction , while Sarah said that using your products as a form of giving enhances brand awareness and loyalty. In short, social responsibility pays off in employee satisfaction and profits, but profits should not be the driving factor.

We are grateful to the sponsors who underwrote 100% of the expenses for the event: CLEARLINK, Funding Universe, Salt Lake Community College, Jason's Deli, the law firm of Jones Waldo, iTOK, and David Sorenson of Merrill Lynch.

Enlightened Entrepreneurs' confirmed a core belief of the foundation: that the intellectual capital entrepreneurs is a vital and underutilized resource that can, when coupled with the state's nonprofit organizations, bring new perspectives to solve complex public problems.