President of the Fairman Family Foundation Joyce Fairman, at center, with her children and fellow foundation board members Lisa Pfingstler and Derek Fairman.
With a $25,000 gift, the Fairman Family Foundation Endowment for the North Central PA LaunchBox Powered by Penn State DuBois has been established. This makes the Fairman Family Foundation the inaugural donor to support this initiative, with other donors in line to make similar commitments.
Funding from the endowment will be used to support the North Central PA LaunchBox and Innovation Collaborative, programming and activities. This $25,000 gift will actually double thanks to a matching program offered by Penn State, resulting in a $50,000 program endowment. Penn State will match up to $1 million raised locally at DuBois to create a $2 million endowment that will keep the LaunchBox funded in perpetuity.
“The Fairman family has been fortunate to have several entrepreneurs in our family over the last few generations,” said foundation president Joyce Fairman. “We are proud to contribute to the North Central PA LaunchBox powered by Penn State DuBois, so that we can encourage others to seize their entrepreneurial opportunities. The LaunchBox brings together all the resources that entrepreneurs or local businesses need to succeed. As a community, we need to support endeavors that will create new ideas and new businesses and allow our region to prosper.”
The North Central PA LaunchBox and Innovation Collaborative will also include an entrepreneurship center with office, meeting, and flexible co-working spaces where staff and existing providers can be housed, and partners and clients can collaborate to advance their ideas and initiatives. In addition, there are plans for a light-industry incubator to foster innovation in manufacturing, including space to host educational programming and workforce development training for advanced powder materials, additive manufacturing, and associated industries and start-up businesses. Additional spaces would include low-rent facilities designed to promote and support a variety of small-business startups in need of low-cost housing.
To support this cause, contact Director of Development Jean Wolf at 814-372-3038 or [email protected]
