Canopy Education Director Adam Watson hosted a coffee chat networking event at their Portland headquarters at 1500 Lytle Street in late June. Canopy is a non-profit organization that “strengthens Kentucky businesses by providing the education and connections required to turn community impact into a path for sustainable profit,” according to its mission statement. Canopy offers visibility into an inclusive network of companies and organizations, as well as practical professional development sessions. They also partner with Junior Achievement and the Metro United Way and held sustainable business courses in nine Louisville-area high schools last year, including pitch competitions.
“We want to learn students’ ideas, what’s important to them,” Adam said, noting that members can plug into a better pool of employees and “foster the base of the upcoming workforce.”
“Our message is that profit and purpose are not at odds,” he said. “We can show that we are improving communities.”
One program Adam mentioned is how they can coach nonprofits to implement sustainable revenue streams, “instead of just asking for money all the time.” He gave the example of Feed Louisville, which could find ways to sell food to a paying public to help support the primary focus of donating food.
Of the 73 member companies, Portland-related organizations include Louisville Visual Art, Louisville Grows, LPX Group/Pace Contracting and Facilities Management Services (FMS), which shares the space as Canopy.
Learn more about upcoming events at https://canopyky.org/.
