The Tamer Fund for Social Ventures awarded seed grants to three Columbia University affiliated social ventures this spring. In addition to funding, these entrepreneurs also gain access to a wide variety of connections and resources available through the Tamer Center for Social Enterprise at Columbia Business School. The Tamer Fund for Social Ventures is open to all early-stage Columbia University affiliated social and environmental ventures. Ventures must be led by Columbia University students, alumni, faculty or researchers, or be advised and have significant involvement by Columbia University faculty or researchers from any of Columbia University’s 20 schools. The following Tamer Fund for Social Venture awardees were selected after participating in an application screening round, a due diligence process with student teams as part of a Columbia Business School course, and a final pitch to the fund’s investment board: Root & Rebound: Root & Rebound, founded by Katherine Katcher, ’07CC, works to create a world where people impacted by mass criminalization have full restoration of their rights so that they can move forward with hope, dignity, and opportunity. MEI Facil: MEI Facil, founded by Marcelo Moraes, ’11BUS, is the individual entrepreneur's partner for financial inclusion. Supportiv: Supportiv, co-founded by Helena Plater-Zyberk, ’06BUS, delivers instantaneous peer support as mass-market accessible mental health care for the 80% of adults facing typical life challenges who don’t want or need a therapist. This semester’s grantees are a diverse group. Root & Rebound is a nonprofit organization tackling criminal justice, which aligns closely with the center's new ReEntry Acceleration Program (REAP). MEI Facil is working to address financial inclusion for entrepreneurs in Brazil, as currently only 4% of individual entrepreneurs have access to the financial services a small business needs. Finally, Supportiv delivers accessible mental health care, and with this grant will be able to provide over 150,000 minutes of peer support free of charge for victims of natural disasters and high school students seeking support in the wake of the series of domestic school shootings. These recent grants form the Tamer Fund for Social Ventures’ sixth funding cycle, bringing the fund’s total portfolio to 23 ventures. To learn more about the social ventures and their founders, please visit: www.gsb.columbia.edu/socialenterprise/socialventures/portfolio More information about the Tamer Fund for Social Ventures and the online application is available at: www.gsb.columbia.edu/socialenterprise/socialventures/apply Application Deadlines: August 15 and March 1, annually About the Tamer Fund for Social Ventures Established in 2015, the Tamer Fund for Social Ventures provides seed grants of up to $25,000 to early-stage nonprofit, for-profit, and hybrid social and environmental ventures. In addition to funding, the ventures gain access to a wide variety of resources and connections available through the Tamer Center for Social Enterprise. The Tamer Fund for Social Ventures was made possible by a generous donation by Tony and Sandra Tamer.