Subject: What's Happening Inside the PGCSIF

Reversing the Outward Commute: Increasing Economic Opportunity

Prince George’s County has the potential to become an economically vibrant community. While median household incomes are relatively high, over 60% of our residents commute outside of the county for employment. We venture to make a direct correlation between the daily outward commute and increased instances of domestic violence; challenged public schools despite the relatively high median income levels, limited healthy food options, and the low commercial tax base that starves Prince George’s County economically.
Our theory of change is that if we reverse the outward commute, public schools will benefit from increased parental engagement giving them the opportunity to connect with teachers during the day without taking time off of work; families will become healthier because there will be shorter commutes and less time spent eating in the car as parents hurriedly rush from downtown to the aftercare pick-up before rushing home to complete homework and dinner; domestic violence will decrease because people are less stressed; crime will decrease because resident schedules will become less predictable; and the commercial tax base will increase because of the increased density of purchasers and suppliers in the county during prime business hours.
We advocate strongly for reversing the outward commute and support effective policies such as employment and contracting preferences for Prince George’s County residents and businesses; research and technical assistance on the creation of sector cooperatives that directly link to the coming business opportunities in Prince George’s County; and by supporting a more dynamic interplay of culture and economy through start-up initiatives, increased opportunities for artists, relaxed food truck policies, and co-working (to name a few).
You will hear more about our work in this space over the coming months. In the meantime, check out PGCO-Work! and join our meet-up to learn more about upcoming opportunities.

PGCSIF partners with University of Maryland’s Smith School of Business Students to ‘Change the World’

 Changetheworld.org Social Venture Consulting matches talented undergraduate and graduate students with nonprofit organizations in semester-long, project-based consulting partnerships. The program is designed to help entrepreneurial, high-potential nonprofit organizations to increase their organizational capacity by providing them with direct access to pro-bono business consulting.

 PGCSIF has engaged four Changetheworld.org MBA students to map downstream business and entrepreneurial opportunities that may result from four major economic development projects that are currently underway in Prince George’s County. The projects included in the mapping are MGM Grand, Maryland Department of Housing and Urban Development, The Regional Hospital Center in Largo, and Riverdale Park. The research will highlight the experiences of similar major economic development initiatives in other municipalities along with best-case scenarios or opportunities for adjacent industries. The results of this mapping will be vetted with sector professionals and shared and widely with interested county residents, business owners, and aspiring entrepreneurs.

 This work supports PGCSIF’s programmatic emphasis in social entrepreneurship or double-bottom line economic development efforts (focusing on people and profit).

 To learn more about pro-bono consulting opportunities, visit changetheworld.org.

PGCSIF is proud to support an upcoming Maryland Gubernatorial Candidates on Monday, April 28th at 7 PM at the Bowie Center for Performing Arts in partnership with the Prince George’s County Women’s Alliance. Kindly RSVP or join the conversation via twitter using #GUBForum14. 
PGCSIF’s mission is to build social capital and invest in new ways of solving old challenges in Prince George’s County. 
Prince George's County Social Innovation Fund, 8181 Professional Place, Landover, MD 20785, United States
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