Jeff Ochs

Venn Foundation

CEO

Jeff Ochs, CEO of Venn Foundation, is a successful cross-sector entrepreneur. He first founded and directed Breakthrough Twin Cities, a nonprofit college access and teacher training program. He then invented and commercialized Snake Oil, a hit educational party game that won the prestigious Mensa Select award and was licensed by Hasbro. After serving as the Executive Director of an angel investor network and managing the University of Minnesota’s Discovery Capital program, Jeff went on to launch Venn Foundation in order to mainstream the use of Program-Related Investments in philanthropy. Jeff has a Master of Business Administration and a Master of Public Policy from the University of Minnesota, and he played a leadership role in drafting and advocating for Minnesota's Public Benefit Corporation statute. He was recognized with the “40 Under 40” award by the Minneapolis / St. Paul Business Journal in 2015 and as "100 People to Know in 2020" by Twin Cities Business.

Tuesday, September 15, 2020

9:15 AM - 9:45 AM CDT

THE “MN AFTERSCHOOL ADVANCE” STORY: COLLABORATE TO INNOVATE

Hopin 129

Main Stage Entrepreneurship Education & Training Impact FinTech Investing

Marcus Pope

Youthprise, Vice President

Matt Norris

Youthprise, Policy Director & Dir. of MN Afterschool Advance

Jeff Ochs

Venn Foundation, CEO

Out-of-school time programming has been consistently underfunded in Minnesota, and disparities in access to these activities is one of the leading drivers of the achievement gap. Learn how Youthprise and Venn Foundation, two local nonprofits, combined their expertise to leverage two underutilized tools—program-related investments (PRIs) and the K-12 Education Tax Credit—to pilot and implement an innovative financing model to help low-income families pay for afterschool and summer activities. But the innovation didn’t stop there. Hear how the organizations pivoted in the midst of a global pandemic to use their model to rapidly respond to the distance learning needs of low-income students as well.

Following this session join the speaker(s) in the Community Lounge for a 15 minute Q&A.