Helping entrepreneurs build businesses that uplift and strengthen their neighborhoods.

Get the Guidance, Support, and Capital you need to grow a business that empowers your community 

A (free) business program for residents at NYCHA/ONS sites - Sponsored by the NYC Office of Neighborhood Safety (ONS).

Deadline: April 5, 2024

Have a business idea that brings positive change to your neighborhood?

If you have an innovative business idea that helps to create safer, healthier, and more prosperous neighborhoods in NYC, we want to help you bring your vision to life. 

Designed for entrepreneurs who are passionate about improving their local communities, the Renaissance Project offers business training, mentorship, $4,000 in funding, and an opportunity to pitch your business ideas for a chance to win up to $10,000 in additional funding at our Pitch Competition.

There is no one better than you to build a business that strengthens & improves where you live.

Ready to start a renaissance in your neighborhood?

 

PHYSICAL SPACE

Building and Campus Safety
Clean + Sanitary Conditions
Recreation + Play

ECONOMIC STABILITY

Education + Training Access
Career Growth + Sustainability
Entrepreneurship Opportunities

HEALTH + WELLBEING

Mental Wellness
Food Security
Public Health

SAFETY + JUSTICE

Crime + Gun Violence
Social Issues
Community + Police Relations

YOUTH DEVELOPMENT

Youth Programming + Engagement
PreK – 12 Education

Get the skills and funds you need to grow your business.

  • Receive up to $4,000 in funding to hit the ground running

  • Explore new ways to improve your neighborhood by starting or growing a for-profit business or non-profit. 

  • Discover impactful and profitable opportunities in your neighborhood and gain the skills and knowledge needed to take action on them.    

  • Get personalized, step-by-step guidance from mentors to explore, test and build out your ideas.

  • Learn how to start, operate and grow a sustainable business from a network of mission driven business owners, experts, and industry professionals.

  • Have a chance to win up to $10,000 in grand prizes at our Pitch Competition.

Past Participants 

SG Next Level Tennis

Based in Bed-Stuy, Brooklyn, SG Next Level Tennis creates equity in tennis for girls of color by offering high-quality, affordable tennis programs and consulting services.

Both Sides of the

Violence

Dedicated to preventing violence and aiding victims in vulnerable communities, they uniquely engage both victims and perpetrators of violent crimes, addressing root causes for more effective solutions.

Your

Queens

African Royalty character company depicting the stories of non-fictional African Kings and Queens.

 How it Works

1. Submit Your Application

By March 31, 2024 tell us all about you, your business idea and/or existing business and how it adds to the well-being of your neighborhood.

2. Get
Selected 

A selection committee will choose the most promising businesses to interview. Interviewees will be accepted into the program based on the quality of the business idea, fit for the program, motivation, and level of commitment to community wellbeing.

3. Join
the Program

 Work with mentors and instructors who will help you develop everything from the basic concepts of your business to plans for step-by-step execution. Receive up to $4,000 in startup funds to help grow your business. 

4. Pitch
Your Idea

Having completed The Renaissance Project, you’ll be immediately eligible to enter a Pitch competition. Stand before a panel of judges, pitch your idea, and win up to $10,000 in additional capital.

 Who Should Apply?

 

The Renaissance project is looking for mission-driven entrepreneurs, and leaders, who are residents of NYCHA/ONS and starting or growing businesses in these areas:

  • Youth Development

  • Health and Wellness

  • Physical Spaces

  • Economic Stability

  • Safety + Justice

You must: 

  • Have a business idea that addresses one of the ONS priority areas listed above.

  • Live in a NYCHA/ONS site 

  • Are 18+ years of age

  • Have availability and commitment to the 10 week process

  • Have access to technology and tech skills (i.e. zoom, google calendar, Microsoft)

 

Frequently Asked Questions

  • BRONX

    1. Castle Hill 2. Butler 3. Mitchel 4. Morris 5. Mott Haven 6. Patterson

    BROOKLYN

    7. Boulevard 8. Brownsville 9. Bushwick, 10. Gowanus 11. Ingersoll 12. Langston Hughes 13. Linden 14. Marcy 15. Red Hook 16. Summer 17. Tilden 18. Tompkins 19. Van Dyke 20.Whitman, 21. Wyckoff

    MANHATTAN

    22. Jefferson 23. Johnson 24. Polo Grounds 25. Saint Nicholas 26.Wagner

    QUEENS

    27. Beach 41st St 28. Queensbridge

    STATEN ISLAND

    29. Stapleton 30. West Brighton

    • Live in NYCHA housing or have a business address in NYC MAP site areas.

    • Be 18+ years of age

    • Have a business or a non profit idea that uplift your neighborhood

    • Availability and commitment to the 10-week process

    • Access to technology and tech skills (i.e. zoom, google calendar, Microsoft)

    • Building and Campus Safety

    • Clean + Sanitary Conditions

    • Recreation + Play

    • Education + Training Access

    • Career Growth + Sustainability

    • Entrepreneurship Opportunities

    • Mental Wellness

    • Emergency Preparedness

    • Food Security

    • Public Health

    • Crime + Gun Violence

    • Social Issues

    • Community + Police Relations

    • Youth Programming + Engagement

    • PreK – 12 Education

    • $4,000 in funding to start or grow your business

    • Skill-development and prototyping workshops and seminars

    • Mentorship and other pro-bono services

    • Peer-to-peer accountability partnerships

    • Group and one-on-one ideation sessions

    • A business model canvas and action plan

    • Chance to win up to $10,000 in grand prizes at our Pitch Competition

  • The curriculum and calendar will be finalized based on applications received. This means we’ll focus on topics each cohort needs or wants to discuss. Each topic will always have a multi-stakeholder approach since we focus on training entrepreneurs who seek to run conscious, community-safety businesses and non profits. General topics we will cover include the following:

    • Neighborhood development

    • Business and Issue Foundations

    • Business legal considerations

    • Designing Thinking

    • Market Validation

    • Business Operations and Cost

    • Branding and Marketing

    • Financial Management and Funding

    • Pitching

  • We encourage startups in the ideation stage and registered businesses to apply. Applicants who have yet to start their business but demonstrate strong business ideas and commitment to uplift their neighborhood through business will be invited to be interviewed and a determination will be made shortly after.

  • Yes, expect 1-2 hours of homework each week. Participants will be required to complete assignments before each live session. Live sessions will focus on active discussion and workshops to apply concepts to participants’ businesses.

  • The Renaissance Project is FREE for all participants accepted into the program. The program is funded by the NYC Mayor's Office of Neighborhood Safety.

  • NYCHA residents will be given priority consideration, but other applicants will be considered if space allows.

Our Partners

Progress Playbook is a business training and service platform that designs customized experiences to help entrepreneurs start and grow businesses. Together with the NYC Office of Neighborhood Safety, they’ve launched two programs for entrepreneurs living across the 30 MAP developments, The Renaissance Project and The Blueprint Project.


The Office of Neighborhood Safety (ONS) combines the efforts of the Mayor’s Action Plan for Neighborhood Safety (MAP), the Office to Prevent Gun Violence (OPGV), and Atlas to empower New Yorkers and work with them to pursue community-driven solutions to public safety.

 

Want to find out more?

Contact us

If you have questions about The Renaissance Project we can help you. Send us an email, and a member of our team will be in touch to answer your questions.