Sharp Gives Back to Underserved Social Entrepreneurs

As many of you know, Dwell with Dignity’s Ashley Sharp recently shared a game-changing experience with a cohort of nonprofit and mission-based business executives in the Social Innovation Accelerator, a program of the United Way of Metropolitan Dallas Social Innovation Lab.

Under Sharp’s leadership, Dwell with Dignity made the program pitch competition’s final four, earning a $25,000 investment from United Way donors. Perhaps more importantly, the organization’s participation in the accelerator jump-started a new era of innovation at DwD, sparking new initiatives like the planned social impact marketplace at Dallas’s West Village, as well as the recently launched Diversity in Design initiative.

Now, according to Ashley, it’s time to give back, as the United Way’s Social Innovation Lab has announced the first cohort of its new Social Innovation Incubator. Designed as a feeder program for the more advanced accelerator that typically attracts more mature growth-oriented organizations, the incubator will look to specifically lift women social entrepreneurs and social entrepreneurs of color. Ashley has been selected as part of the first group of mentors for the cohort. 

“I am humbled to work with the leaders of the first cohort of the Social Innovation Lab, and this is meaningful for me on so many levels,” she explained. “The innovation programs at the United Way of Metro Dallas have funded and equipped us to keep expanding our impact, from individuals to communities and societal change. On top of that, I am a biracial woman and a social entrepreneur. While I expect my fellow mentors to advise with power and empathy, I’m excited to provide my first-hand perspectives as a woman of color in this space to these aspiring leaders. This is an amazing honor for me, and I’m sure it’ll impact me and Dwell with Dignity on the same level as being part of the accelerator cohort last year.”

To learn more about the high-impact social innovation programs on offer at the United Way of Metropolitan Dallas, visit https://unitedwaydallas.org/innovation/.