Civic Innovation Lab Grants $30,000 for Beyondmotherhood.com
 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE / PRURGENT
Civic Innovation Lab grants $60,000 to new projects.
Initiatives target talent attraction and high school athletes
CLEVELAND (April 30, 2008) – The Civic Innovation Lab, which provides grants and mentorship to individuals with ideas for improving Greater Cleveland, recently awarded grants to two entrepreneurs.
• Shannon Davis, $30,000, BeyondMotherhood.com. BeyondMotherhood.com is a niche job board that connects employers with educated, experienced, stay-at-home moms looking for flexible or part-time work opportunities. This initiative addresses the attraction and retention of an "untapped" highly educated workforce in northeast Ohio. Davis will be assisted by Lab mentors Ron Copfer, president, Copfer & Associates, Inc., and Paula Grooms, a consultant with Creative Marketing and Communications.
• David Gilbert, $30,000, World School Games. This project will provide an Olympic-style athletic and cultural event for students enrolled in secondary schools around the world. Cleveland will host the first event and serve as the operating center for future global events. The goal is to establish Cleveland as a leader in sports-related economic activity. Gilbert, president and chief executive officer of the Cleveland Sports Commission, will be assisted by Lab mentor Jon Adams, president of Noom Enterprises.
Jennifer Thomas, the Lab’s director, said these new initiatives are examples of how the Lab supports entrepreneurs at different levels.
“Shannon is on the cusp of a budding business, targeting an untapped market that has huge national potential,” Thomas said, “while David is seasoned in attracting sports events and understands the industry. Both targeted the Lab because of its ability to take risks on unproven ideas.
“BeyondMotherhood will add a new dimension to attraction of talent, and World School Games will attempt to capitalize on a growing industry in Cleveland.”
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Civic Innovation Lab, a project funded by the Cleveland Foundation, fuels innovation by providing mentorship, training and funding of up to $30,000 for ideas that have a measurable economic impact on the Greater Cleveland community. Since its launch, in September 2003, the Civic Innovation Lab has provided more than $1 million in grants to 37 initiatives and trained more than 550 entrepreneurs. For more information on Civic Innovation Lab, please visit www.civicinnovationlab.org.
Contact: Jennifer Cimperman 216-615-7591
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Website Link: http://www.beyondmotherhood.com | 
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