For young social entrepreneurs seeking
to transform their neighborhoods

The Empire Project is a social entrepreneurship program designed to empower youth, aged 14-24, to launch businesses that address specific challenges in their neighborhoods through hands-on startup experience.

How it
works

A Step-by-Step Approach
to Social Entrepreneurship

  • Work with a team of other young people to identify pressing community problems that your businesses will aim to solve.

  • Receive instruction and mentorship from experts and successful entrepreneurs, providing valuable insights and advice on launching a social enterprise.

  • Collaboratively develop a business plan, outlining your strategy, goals, and how you will address the identified community problem.

  • Launch a one-day pop-up shop within your community, providing an opportunity to test your business model & product, interact with customers, and gain firsthand experience in running a business.

  • Analyze your results and keep the earnings from any sales made at the pop-up shop.

Who Should Apply?

We’re looking for young, ambitious entrepreneurs between the ages of 14 and 24 who are:

  • Passionate about learning and improving their community

  • Creative, driven, and solution oriented 

  • Ready for teamwork and collaboration

Participant Spotlight

Creating Safe Spaces for Residents in Brownsville, Brooklyn.

Closing the Mentorship Gap in Red Hook, Brooklyn.

Spreading awareness about gun violence in Crown Heights, Brooklyn.

Want To Find Out More?

Contact Us

If you have questions about The Empire Project, we can help you. Send us an email, and a member of our team will be in touch to answer your questions.

Partners

Progress Playbook is a business training and service platform that designs customized experiences to help entrepreneurs start and grow businesses.

The Office of Neighborhood Safety (ONS) combines the efforts of the Mayor’s Action Plan for Neighborhood Safety (MAP), the Office to Prevent Gun Violence (OPGV), and Atlas to empower New Yorkers and work with them to pursue community-driven solutions to public safety.