PLACE (Pava LaPere Award for Cultivating Ecosystems) Builders will be an intensive, 3-month fellowship program empowering these change-makers to catalyze more equitable entrepreneurial ecosystems. The fellowship is inspired by the legacy of Pava LaPere, the late Co-Founder of EcoMap Technologies as a tribute to her legacy of fighting for equal access to opportunity.

PLACE BUILDERS CENTERS THE FOLLOWING VALUES:

Building community through mutual love of place.
Being a prolific connector of people and resources.
Breaking down barriers in the name of equity and accessibility.

Eight builders representing regions across the country will have an opportunity to build their capacity through training, peer support, and community pilots. Fellows will have access to professional mentorship, a digital toolkit, community, funding, and a platform to tell the stories about the places they love to a broader audience. By the end of the fellowship, each builder will also have identified, developed, and launched a pilot project to either address an ecosystem gap or scale something that’s working well.

We are raising $100K to fully fund this inaugural cohort of this fellowship program while the Forward Cities and EcoMap teams work to make this program systainable for years to come. Funds will be used to help cover fellow stipends, operational grants for their pilot projects, travel expenses for the in-person cohort retreats, and additional programmatic support.

Please consider making an individual contribution according to your means and/or spreading the word about this fundraiser to those who also may be interested in making a contribution. Forward Cities is a 501(c)3 tax-extempt organization all individual donations will be tax deductible.

The PLACE Builder Fellowship applications/nominations will be come out shortly in mid-February.

Visit the Forward Cities PLACE Builders page

Media Links

[Baltimore Banner] ‘This is our gift to our daughter’: Pava LaPere honored at memorial service

[Technical.ly] EcoMap offers PLACE Builder Fellowship in ‘tribute’ to Pava LaPere’s ‘enduring legacy’

[WMAR] Colleagues honoring legacy of Pava LaPere

EcoMap PLACE Builder Fund Crowdfunding Campaign

Contribute to the inaugural EcoMap PLACE (Pava LaPere Award for Cultivating Ecosystems) Builders Fund