The home for philanthropy professionals who fund entrepreneurship.
EFN brings funders together to connect, learn, and act - driving meaningful impact through collaboration. Together, we learn faster, act smarter, and go further than any of us could alone.
Entrepreneurship builds agency, resilience, and economic opportunity. When an entrepreneur hires a bookkeeper, buys supplies from a local business, and keeps revenue in the neighborhood, that economic flywheel creates value throughout the community. For entrepreneurs in underinvested communities, the stakes are high – and potential for transformation is real.
Philanthropy is uniquely equipped to fund this work. Foundations can fund the programs, organizations, and ecosystems that create real pathways for entrepreneurs to grow — in the places and communities where that work is most needed and least supported.
When foundations work together, sharing knowledge and aligning strategy, they don't just support individual entrepreneurs. They change the conditions under which entrepreneurship happens. As a result, communities thrive.
That’s what we’re building at EFN. Join us.
Connection
EFN is the only peer space specifically built for funders and program officers navigating entrepreneurship philanthropy. EFN is the place where you can finally ask the questions you can’t ask anywhere else.
Learning
Through convenings, cohorts, and peer exchange, EFN members sharpen their strategies, find language for their work, and learn from others doing similar work across the country.
Action
EFN members form partnerships, shift grantmaking approaches, and coordinate across institutions in ways that improve conditions for entrepreneurs and the communities they serve.
“EFN is the only space where I can wrestle with the hard questions and not feel like I have to perform.”
If you’ve ever wondered whether your foundation is doing this right, you’re already one of us.
Many funders who find EFN aren’t leading dedicated entrepreneurship programs. They’re funding entrepreneurship as one strategy among several: workforce development, economic mobility, community resilience, youth opportunity. And they’re doing it without a peer group that speaks their language.
Philanthropy professionals working at that intersection often feel like they’re figuring it out as they go because there are very few places to have an honest conversation about how to do it well.
EFN changes that. Whether entrepreneurship sits at the center of your foundation’s strategy or at the edges of it, if you believe it’s worth funding, EFN is where you figure out how to do it better, alongside people who understand exactly what that takes.