This Wednesday, November 3rd, Technology Underwriting Greater Good (TUGG) will host their 5th Annual New England Venture Charity Wine Party fundraiser. BostInnovation is excited to be giving away FREE tickets (normally $125 each) by visiting our Facebook page and telling us your favorite type of vino!
TUGG, with a mission to catalyze and spread social entrepreneurship in New England, was born out of the Atlas Ventures office in 2006 and subscribes to an “open source philanthropy” model. This model focuses on collaboration and aims to leverage the thousands of professionals in the New England entrepreneurial ecosystem.
According to their website, “TUGG empowers the individual and the community to identify the most important issues and collaborate to solve them. It funds programs that help young people realize their full potential through entrepreneurship, education and life experiences.” TUGG funds 12-15 organizations and initiatives each year at a maximum grant of $20k each, and this years 400+ attendees to the New England Venture Charity Wine Party is projected to raise a record of $100,000+ for them.
Since its inception, TUGG has funded five non-profit initiatives in the greater Boston area that target the young and under-resourced, including:
Bikes Not Bombs, Jamaica Plain – @BikesNotBombs: Provides recycled bicycles to economic development projects (micro-enterprise bike businesses, sustainable technology projects, youth training programs, etc.) in Ghana, Tanzania, Guatemala, and Nevis Island.
More Than Words, Waltham – @MTWYouth: Empowers youth who are in the foster care system, court involved, homeless, or out of school to take charge of their lives by providing the opportunity and learnings to take charge of a business.
Boston Scholars, Boston – @BostonScholars: Provides educational opportunity to disadvantaged Boston-area students through scholarships to tuition-based high schools and one-on-one mentoring.
Teen Voices, Boston – @TeenVoices: Helps girls achieve personal and community transformation by providing a journalism mentorship program, whereby girls learn writing and editing skills, develop critical thinking, and understanding of social justice that they then present at speaking engagements and their magazine.
Young Entrepreneurs Alliance, Roxbury: Helps low-income teens realize their economic potential and take steps toward financial independence by owning and running viable businesses.
You can purchase your own (1 ticket for $125 or 2 for $200) for this charity event at www.TUGG.org. The event will be held at Artists for Humanity in South Boston.
