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CO+HOOTS ANNOUNCES LAUNCH OF NON-PROFIT ARM
CO+HOOTS Foundation will help open new space, focus on influencing and supporting business community growth.
CO+HOOTS, downtown Phoenix’s largest coworking community, announces the launch of a charitable non-profit arm: CO+HOOTS Foundation, which will focus on building business educational opportunities, nurturing a stronger coworking community and providing pro bono service to the non-profit sector.
“When I founded CO+HOOTS, we always had the intention of bringing coworkers together to benefit the local community through pro bono service projects and leadership,” CO+HOOTS Founder Jenny Poon said. “Now that our members have rocked their way through the recession and are growing in size, we not only see a need for a second space but also a desire to give back. The CO+HOOTS Foundation will give our members — as independent companies — the capacity to have a greater community impact.”
The Foundation will help open a new space, an expansion of CO+HOOTS’ location at 11th Street and Washington Street in downtown Phoenix. The location has not been announced nor a timeline for its opening. CO+HOOTS leadership is exploring options in the Valley and is open to any space within close proximity to light rail.
The non-profit organization was co-founded by Poon, CO+HOOTS founding member Odeen Domingo and Kristin Romaine, a local nonprofit strategist and fundraiser who will serve as the organization’s first Executive Director. Sunbelt Holdings President and CEO John Graham will act as the Foundation’s Advisory Board chair.
The Foundation is a sponsored project of the Technical Assistance Partnership (TAP AZ) program. Donations to the Foundation are tax deductible. The organization will focus on four main areas: Empowering Coworkers Success, “CO+Building” Community through pro bono service, “Tapping Talent Early” through youth programs, and “CO+Changing” the world through an innovative entrepreneur exchange program with other cities within the U.S. and abroad.
The CO+HOOTS Foundation will offer programming and services when its location opens, which is expected to be winter 2014/spring 2015. The new space will operate in conjunction with the current CO+HOOTS location and focus on teams of two or more and will include variable office space options as well as flex space and will combine for-profit and non-profit members.
