EFN is the home for philanthropy professionals who believe entrepreneurship changes lives. Funders come here to connect with peers, ask hard questions, and find the clarity to do it better - because together, we learn faster, act smarter, and go further than any of us could alone.
About EFN
OUR VISION
We envision vibrant communities fueled by equitable entrepreneurial ecosystems and innovative mindsets.
Big Ideas, Real Impact.
Every event we host is designed with intention, from the atmosphere we create to the way each session flows.
Start Your Next Adventure
Welcome to a space designed for ideas that move people. With a focus on quality, clarity, and connection, we're here to help you make an impact that lasts.
WHAT WE BELIEVE
Entrepreneurship builds agency, resilience, and economic opportunity — and that work begins long before someone starts a business. From early education through adulthood, cultivating an entrepreneurial mindset and the skills to innovate and adapt strengthens individuals and the communities they're part of. When entrepreneurs hire locally, buy from neighboring businesses, and keep revenue in their neighborhoods, that flywheel creates value far beyond any single venture. For learners and entrepreneurs in underinvested communities, the potential for transformation is real.
Foundations can go where other capital won't: staying the course when results take time, measuring success in ways that matter to communities, and funding the programs, organizations, and ecosystems that create real pathways — for young people discovering what's possible and for entrepreneurs working to grow — in the places where that work is most needed and least supported.
When foundations do this work together rather than in isolation, even more becomes possible. Shared risk enables bolder bets. Shared learning makes the whole field smarter, faster. When aligned foundations coordinate their strategies, they don't just support individual learners and entrepreneurs — they change the conditions under which entrepreneurship happens, and communities thrive.
WHAT EFN DOES
EFN galvanizes philanthropic funders to improve conditions for entrepreneurs, advance inclusive entrepreneurship, foster innovative mindsets and skill development, and strengthen the ecosystems that make entrepreneurial communities possible.
WE DO THIS THROUGH
About EFN.
Vision
The Entrepreneurship Funders Network (EFN) envisions vibrant communities fueled by equitable entrepreneurial ecosystems and innovative mindsets.
Purpose
EFN galvanizes philanthropic funders to support and catalyze change to improve conditions for entrepreneurs and inclusive entrepreneurship, foster innovative mindsets and skill development, and strengthen equitable entrepreneurial ecosystems.
Entrepreneurship
EFN considers entrepreneurship as having a broad definition and value. This encompasses the accessibility and readiness to own, run, and develop a business; creating pathways to entrepreneurship and career success; and the development of an entrepreneurial mindset and innovation skill building across an individual’s lifespan.
Entrepreneurship strengthens shared prosperity in communities and closes wealth gaps.
Guiding Aspiration
EFN and its philanthropic funder members recognize entrepreneurship as a tool to advance social and economic equity. EFN creates and holds space for funder members to connect, convene, and co-create with each other and other participants in entrepreneurial ecosystems, to identify opportunities, advance emergent agendas, and catalyze effective investment in entrepreneurship.