Programs and results
What we aim to solve
The mission of our organization is to serve the grassroots, economic development needs of our nation's most vulnerable; developing programs that assist in improving the systemic conditions of under-served communities that have been disproportionately impacted due to a lack of social access and economic opportunity. This is achieved through: Empowering at-risk communities through social, economic, entrepreneurial, and professional development platforms; Economic development programs designed to strengthen our social capacity by creating pathways for non-profits, corporations, & private institutions to align around a common, social mission; Outreach and community organizing initiatives intended to broaden coalitions of support to advance awareness, outreach, & meaningful grassroots collaboration; and Research-based seminars and leadership gatherings designed to improve best-practices.
Our programs
What are the organization's current programs, how do they measure success, and who do the programs serve?
eLaunch™ Career Development Program
Sponsored in part by Wells Fargo, "eLaunch” is a customized curriculum of online career training courses powered by EdX: one of the world’s leading providers of online education resources. Founded by Harvard University and MIT, EdX is an online learning destination and MOOC provider, offering high-quality courses from the world’s best universities and institutions. To expand the range of our veteran and youth startup programs, we’ve aligned with EdX and Wells Fargo to offer a full range of Verified Certificate Course and Micro-Masters opportunities to participants of our "Service to Success” Veterans Career Reintegration Program and our Urban Leadership Lab, in an effort to equip our vets and college-age youth with the tools necessary to further their entrepreneurial, career, and leadership capabilities. Our startup cohorts; led by Sr. Administrators from the MIT, Harvard University, Georgetown University, and Babson College (recognized by the Princeton Review and Entrepreneur Magazine as the #1 ranked Undergraduate Entrepreneurial university in the US); will introduce participants to the fundamentals of starting a business. We also offer courses in over 40 other career disciplines; from Leadership, Finance, and Network Security, to Healthcare Analytics, Marketing, and Business Modeling.
Service To Success™ Veterans Career Reintegration Program
Powered by a Community Development Grant from Wells Fargo, “Service to Success” is an ambitious economic initiative; providing our service-members and their families with direct access to a variety of career-focused resource programs. Our simple goal is to align the talented individuals of our nation’s military with valuable Employment, Transitional, Educational, Entrepreneurial, and even Social resources from across the region; bringing together a range of non-profit service providers for the benefit of those who have sacrificed so much in defense of our country. Service to Success aims to provide our veterans, reservists, transitioning service-members, and military spouses with workforce preparedness training and job placement resources. The program is designed to equip our nation’s heroes with access to resume writing assistance, skills evaluations, interview prep, and other career development resources as they seek to transition back into the job market.
The Urban Leadership Lab™
The Urban Leadership Lab™ provides our youth with access to the kinds of resources that will advance their capacity to do (and become) their best! Our program brings together non-profits, community & faith leaders, industry executives, university personnel, and volunteers to introduce creative ways of engaging our community’s under-served youth. Just as our non-profit organization uses Entrepreneurship as a pathway for community development, our lab aim to surround young people with startup tools, leadership training, and community service opportunities; all in an effort to help our teens unlock the full range of their potential! We’ve not only joined the White House’s "Computer Science for All” campaign as one of its 2016 service organizations, but have also joined forces with The Emily K. Center, First LEGO League, The LEGO Foundation, and others to offer a productive & safe environment for kids to explore their creativity. Programs include: STEM programs, ranging from a LEGO robotics teams to an online Coding Academy; An online & classroom-style entrepreneurship curriculum that introduces young people to the core functions of launching a business or social enterprise; Group achievement, mentorship, and community service programs; and Monthly learning labs, designed to help our young people fully envision themselves in positions of leadership.
Federal Contracting and Strategic Management Services
As a registered federal contractor, our organization is committed to not only meeting the servicing needs of our contractors but creating inroads for others to benefit from our broader community involvement. This includes extending resource training in the contracting places of performance, engaging key community stakeholders to improve best-practices, and utilizing the proceeds from our contracting portfolio to advance our non-profit efforts. Primary federal contracting services Include (but are not limited to): Economic Development, Capacity Building, and Grassroots Outreach Services, Administration of Urban Planning and Community/Rural Development, Educational Support Services, Professional Management Development Training, Vocational Rehabilitation and Workforce Readiness Services, Small Business & Entrepreneurial Development Training, and
Corporate Social Responsibility Consulting Services.
The ChampsCon Research Series™
Developed in 2013 as a way of broadening our organization’s partnership opportunities, The Champions Leadership Conference (or ChampsCon™) aims to bring together the nation’s top service leaders, entrepreneurs, advocates, influencers, researchers, and resources within the public & private sectors to develop and strategically enact initiatives designed to combat the disparities that exists within our communities. In 2012, eMerging Entrepreneurs’ Founder T.J. Breeden received the White House’s “Champions of Change” award for his leadership in helping veterans transition through entrepreneurship, which prompted his desire to collaborate with other service-providers as a way of growing the organization’s capacity to make an impact! The goal of these types of gatherings is to advance intellectual discussions that will spearhead collaboration, influence, and research. Our first multi-day convening for example (held on January 31st, 2014 in Washington, DC) focused specifically on exploring the connections between Post Traumatic Stress Disorder and veteran’s socio-economic issues; through which we hope to make meaningful strides in identifying solutions and resources that will aid in lowering suicides, unemployment, and homelessness. Like our military gatherings, all other conferences and speaker series extends access to the combined wealth of knowledge of leaders of innovation, business, entrepreneurship, social development, health & wellness, technology, education, community development, and intellectual affluence, to create opportunities for us to come together in support of communities in need.
Where we work
Awards
White House "Champions of Change" award for Veterans Economic Advancement, in conjunction with President Obama's "Winning the Future" Initiative. 2012
The White House: Office of Public Engagement
"Veteran Entrepreneurship Advocate of the Year" award 2013
US Small Business Administration
“Cathy Hughes Business Community Service” Award 2014
Radio One
“Dr. John Hope Franklin Humanitarian of the Year” Award 2014
Radio One
Tarheel of the Week 2015
The News and Observer
The "Hugo Germino Youth Ambassadors Award” 2015
Durham Sports Club
Participatory Budgeting Grant, $100,000 Award 2019
The City of Durham
Affiliations & memberships
Computer Science for All (CSforAll) 2016
White House Champions of Change 2012
External reviews

Photos
Videos
Our results
How does this organization measure their results? It's a hard question but an important one.
Number of students registered for online courses
This metric is no longer tracked.Totals By Year
Population(s) Served
Children and youth, At-risk youth, Adolescents
Related Program
The Urban Leadership Lab™
Type of Metric
Output - describing our activities and reach
Direction of Success
Increasing
Context Notes
Our Startup, Tech, & Leadership programs introduce youth to the core elements of building a successful business, while also empowering them with the tools to explore their interests in STEM fields.
Number of job skills training courses/workshops conducted
This metric is no longer tracked.Totals By Year
Population(s) Served
Veterans, Homeless people
Related Program
Service To Success™ Veterans Career Reintegration Program
Type of Metric
Output - describing our activities and reach
Direction of Success
Increasing
Context Notes
Courses designed to equip our nation’s heroes with access to resume writing assistance, skills evaluations, interview prep, and other career development resources.
Number of individuals attending community events or trainings
This metric is no longer tracked.Totals By Year
Population(s) Served
Veterans, Economically disadvantaged people, Homeless people
Related Program
Service To Success™ Veterans Career Reintegration Program
Type of Metric
Output - describing our activities and reach
Direction of Success
Increasing
Context Notes
Events ranged from workforce reintegration training to vocational rehabilitation services, to participation in on-base & conference-style career transition training for retiring military personnel.
Number of students showing interest in topics related to STEM
This metric is no longer tracked.Totals By Year
Population(s) Served
Children and youth, Adolescents, At-risk youth
Related Program
The Urban Leadership Lab™
Type of Metric
Outcome - describing the effects on people or issues
Direction of Success
Increasing
Context Notes
Our Coding Academy equips youth with computer programming and general coding skills. Alternatively, our LEGO Robotics program introduces kids to the excitement of the LEGO® Mindstorm education series
Number of graduates enrolled in higher learning, university, or technical/vocational training
This metric is no longer tracked.Totals By Year
Population(s) Served
Ethnic and racial groups, Military personnel, Veterans
Related Program
eLaunch™ Career Development Program
Type of Metric
Outcome - describing the effects on people or issues
Direction of Success
Increasing
Context Notes
Our customized curriculum of online training courses giving access to a full range of Professional Certificate courses and Micro-Masters programs; ranging from entrepreneurship, to public policy.
Number of conference attendees
This metric is no longer tracked.Totals By Year
Population(s) Served
Academics, Military personnel, Veterans
Related Program
The ChampsCon Research Series™
Type of Metric
Output - describing our activities and reach
Direction of Success
Increasing
Context Notes
Our ChampsCon Leadership and Think-tank series is designed to bring together thought leaders, subject matter experts, policy advocates, and executives to explore best practices.
Goals & Strategy
Learn about the organization's key goals, strategies, capabilities, and progress.
Charting impact
Four powerful questions that require reflection about what really matters - results.
What is the organization aiming to accomplish?
Our long-term vision is to develop, implement, and advance servicing projects that provide access to economic opportunity (small business ventures, employment, and education) within communities that have been disproportionately impacted from a socio-economical perspective. These target communities include (but are not limited to) our nation's active duty service-members & veterans, military spouses, urban youth, and under-served minority communities.
What are the organization's key strategies for making this happen?
eMerging Entrepreneurs, Inc. is a North Carolina-based 501c(3) non-profit organization that enacts socio-economic strategies designed to advance the small business, educational, and economic development interests of disadvantaged communities; specifically our nation's military families, urban youth, and minority populations. The organization adopts a grassroots approach to assisting individuals of under-served communities and serves as an access point for the acceleration of entrepreneurial, workforce, and career prosperity; partnering with state & federal agencies, universities, local chambers of commerce, and military installations to extend resource solutions to at-risk and economically impaired communities. With programs ranging from our "Service to Success™" veteran's reintegration program, our Urban Leadership Lab™ for at-risk youth, the ChampsCon™ research series, and our new eLaunch™ online training academy, we've reached over 2,500 military families and 500 urban youth.
What are the organization's capabilities for doing this?
Among other endorsements, a result of our efforts eMerging Entrepreneurs and its Executive Director, T.J. Breeden has received a number of awards and acknowledgements, including the White House's “Champions of Change" award (in conjunction with President Obama's “Winning the Future" initiative), as well as the US Small Business Administration's “Veteran Entrepreneurship Advocate of the Year. Furthermore, Mr. Breeden was invited to contribute to the US Dept. of State's “Global Innovation Summit," as part of its Mentoring Partnership for Innovation & Entrepreneurship amongst citizens of African nations, was presented with RADIO ONE's “Cathy Hughes Business Community Service Award," as well as the “Dr. John Hope Franklin Humanitarian of the Year" Award, and is an active contributor to the CS For All Consortium; a public/private partnership first established by the Obama Administration which aims to advance STEM learning opportunities for under-served communities across the US.
What have they accomplished so far and what's next?
In 2012, our organization's servicing model was endorsed by the White House's Office of Public Engagement for its “2.0 approach" to assisting with the transitional career needs of veterans, particularly the younger generation of retirees who served in the Iraq and Afghanistan commitments. Our program heavily utilizes web-based tools, class-style tutorials, pre-existing federal resources (“My Next Move," the Veterans Employment & Training Services division within the Department of Labor (VETS), etc.) and partnerships with both local and federal agencies to leverage every available resource for the benefit of our region's economically under-served military communities. To date, we've serviced over 800 individual small business clients, 60% of which were veteran owned. Moreover, our servicing program (including all workshops, web-based training modules, client sessions, conferences, and trade-show participation) has directly engaged nearly 5,500 transitioning veterans, reservists, or military spouses through our transitional career services program. Our organization is also committed to providing young people with access to entpreneurial and career-based programming; extending startup, tech, and leadership training to youth ages 5-18 via an assortment of online & classroom-based mentorship, educational, and STEM platforms. Named the "Urban Leadership Lab," our youth academy has enrolled over 1,800 young people.
Our multi-dimensional strategy (and the range through which we've worked to align with other charitable organizations and veterans resource groups) positions us to make a drastic impact through these initiatives. First, because all of the for-mentioned programs and services are in place through our collaborations with SCORE, the SBA, etc.. Secondly, research has demonstrated that providing a myriad of services to meet the social, economic, health, and job readiness needs of veterans and military spouses provides a clearer pathway to a more successful transition.
How we listen
Seeking feedback from people served makes programs more responsive and effective. Here’s how this organization is listening.
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How is your organization collecting feedback from the people you serve?
Electronic surveys (by email, tablet, etc.),
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How is your organization using feedback from the people you serve?
To identify bright spots and enhance positive service experiences, To make fundamental changes to our programs and/or operations, To inform the development of new programs/projects, To identify where we are less inclusive or equitable across demographic groups, To strengthen relationships with the people we serve,
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With whom is the organization sharing feedback?
We don’t share the feedback we collect,
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Which of the following feedback practices does your organization routinely carry out?
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What challenges does the organization face when collecting feedback?
We don't have any major challenges to collecting feedback,
Financials
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Operations
The people, governance practices, and partners that make the organization tick.
Connect with nonprofit leaders
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- Analyze a variety of pre-calculated financial metrics
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Connect with nonprofit leaders
SubscribeBuild relationships with key people who manage and lead nonprofit organizations with GuideStar Pro. Try a low commitment monthly plan today.
- Analyze a variety of pre-calculated financial metrics
- Access beautifully interactive analysis and comparison tools
- Compare nonprofit financials to similar organizations
Want to see how you can enhance your nonprofit research and unlock more insights? Learn More about GuideStar Pro.
Emerging Entrepreneurs Inc
Board of directorsas of 03/09/2022
T.J. Breeden
Board leadership practices
GuideStar worked with BoardSource, the national leader in nonprofit board leadership and governance, to create this section.
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Board orientation and education
Does the board conduct a formal orientation for new board members and require all board members to sign a written agreement regarding their roles, responsibilities, and expectations? Not applicable -
CEO oversight
Has the board conducted a formal, written assessment of the chief executive within the past year ? Not applicable -
Ethics and transparency
Have the board and senior staff reviewed the conflict-of-interest policy and completed and signed disclosure statements in the past year? Not applicable -
Board composition
Does the board ensure an inclusive board member recruitment process that results in diversity of thought and leadership? Not applicable -
Board performance
Has the board conducted a formal, written self-assessment of its performance within the past three years? Not applicable
Organizational demographics
Who works and leads organizations that serve our diverse communities? GuideStar partnered on this section with CHANGE Philanthropy and Equity in the Center.
Leadership
The organization's leader identifies as:
Race & ethnicity
No data
Gender identity
No data
No data
Sexual orientation
No data
Disability
No data