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Small Business Entreprenuers

The Knowledge for Impact Award

Investing in the growth of underrepresented and underserved entrepreneurs

Social, educational, and economic inequity can hinder entrepreneurs from achieving their full potential. At Wharton Executive Education, we believe that academic institutions have a collective responsibility to help mitigate this inequity by providing access to continuing education, mentorship, and capital to underserved communities.

To do so, we have established the Knowledge for Impact Award to aid small business owners operating in low-income areas. This award is an investment in talented entrepreneurs around the country, as well as a commitment to diversity and inclusion in Wharton’s programming and classrooms.

INFORMATION

Application Deadline
Our award cycle is currently closed.

For more information, please contact Client Relations at execed-impact@wharton.upenn.edu

What the Award Offers

The Knowledge for Impact Award enables six entrepreneurs per academic year to attend an upcoming Wharton Executive Education live online program at no cost. Their business must be located (or primarily conduct business) in a designated Opportunity Zone. The available programs, listed below, enable participants to acquire invaluable business and interpersonal skills as well as practical tools in finance and accounting, negotiations, business strategy, governance, and marketing.*

*Wharton Executive Education programs are short-duration and do not confer academic credit nor count toward a degree from Wharton or the University of Pennsylvania.

Who Should Apply

Entrepreneurs and small business owners operating a business in a designated Opportunity Zone in the United States and U.S. territories who are striving to further their enterprise, and who are committed to supporting diversity, equity, and inclusion.

A small business should meet at least one of the following criteria:

  • Located in an Opportunity Zone
  • Generates 50% or more of its gross income in an Opportunity Zone
  • 50% or more of the services provided or products manufactured are done in an Opportunity Zone

Successful award recipients will have an existing business that has been in operation for at least seven years and generates at least $500,000 in revenue.

The award is open to U.S. citizens or permanent green card holders only. Applicants who are not U.S. citizens or permanent green card holders are ineligible.

  • At VB Ideas we train students from marginalized communities how to use education to achieve a better life. We turn them from “test avoiders” to “test attackers,” and improve their SAT and ACT scores so they can attend college and pursue their career aspirations.

    Business Essentials for Executives was life-changing for me. Wharton addressed my knowledge deficits as a CEO in practical ways. The program helped me strike a balance between my aspiration to stay innovative and relevant, and my tendency to be blindsided by striving for perfection.

    I can now quantify and speak effectively to people about the economic value of what I’m bringing to the market, and I can communicate better with my CFO. I have a stronger grasp of economics and can delve confidently into terms and concepts. For example, I realized that my business was a demand economies-of-scale company that was about to experience a network effect. I’ve put that on a vision board for my company. As someone who works with marginalized communities, it’s critical for me to be able to articulate the financial worth of my business to those who are not from marginalized groups.

    Recently I was chosen to be a state speaker for ACT and incorporated principles I learned at Wharton into my speech. We were selected for Cohort IV of the University of Southern California’s Ed Tech Incubator, founded by Doug Lynch and Mark DeGennaro, and my company is now in a seed round for up to $30 million. Before Wharton, I wouldn’t have had the courage or knowledge to stay in a pitch round like that.

    Professor Gad Allon was an amazing teacher, and you could tell that all the faculty members love what they do. I highly encourage anyone interested in taking their business to the next level to apply for this program."

    Valencia Belle Founder and CEO, VB Ideas

  • I'm the CEO of DiverseForce, a human capital solution firm specializing in diversity, equity and inclusion. We evolved from a professional network that we grew in the greater Philadelphia area, consisting of over 20,000 professionals of color. Our mission is to engage, empower, and connect the next generation of business and civic leaders in the region.

    I enrolled in Finance and Accounting for the Non-Financial Manager because as a business owner, understanding the numbers and looking at ways to scale our impact was a critical competency that I wanted to brush up on. As an undergraduate at Penn I studied engineering and entrepreneurship, so I did take some Wharton classes in accounting, but this was an opportunity to refresh my skills.

    The program was critical in giving me a roadmap to continue my journey of financial literacy. Among the most valuable things I learned was how important it is to correctly time the reporting of revenue and expenses. Another was learning the math around the time value of money, so that my colleagues and I can accurately assess investments. Because of this program, I now have more productive conversations with my accountant about my plans for the business. In addition, the course gave me an opportunity to think about how I could lead my organization more effectively.

    Wharton has an amazing reputation and posting my certificate of completion will absolutely help my business. It has already generated some good conversations for me. I would recommend the course 100 percent. I’ve already begun thinking about some of the other Wharton programs that may make sense for our DiverseForce network, many of whom are serving on boards and starting businesses.”

    Sulaiman Rahman CEO, DiverseForce

  • At FLIPANY we work with disenfranchised communities and community partners to level the playing field in the area of health. We promote health equity, providing professionals such as fitness educators and dieticians to marginalized populations so everyone can reach their full potential.

    I loved Business Essentials for Executives and I highly recommend the program. To learn from the professors in various areas such as operations and marketing was extremely valuable for me. The program bridged the gap from the population that I work with, to the funders and PhDs who write the research papers, by helping me become a better communicator. During the program I thought, wow, here’s a framework for exactly what my mind is trying to express to my external evaluators that they just don’t get. And now I have the vocabulary.

    Taking this program is also going to help me scale my business. I learned about the operating structure, the framework, and the modeling language. I have a meeting scheduled with someone I’ve hired to help me with the model, and we’ll create a SOP document so my organization can expand into a new market in Florida.

    I really liked the faculty. Professor Gad Allon was fantastic. I enjoyed his teaching style and all of the Wharton research that he shared to show how real-world corporations operate. I also benefitted from the other participants. Hearing about the experiences of the for-profit sector — including large national corporations — made me realize that they face some of the same challenges as my regional nonprofit. I highly recommend the program. It’s how education should be.”

    Lynne Kunins Founder, President, CEO, FLIPANY (Florida Introduces Physical Activity & Nutrition to Youth)