The entrepreneur development aspect of the One Spark festival gained a pair of new supporters with the announcement this morning JAX Chamber and Florida Coastal School of Law have signed on as co-title sponsors.
“This is really about doing all we can to help make sure the creators with great ideas are armed with the tools needed to succeed,” said One Spark co-founder and CEO Elton Rivas in a news release.
The Creator Academy will begin in mid-January with a free class at the Jessie Ball duPont Center Downtown titled “Creator Foundations.”
The class overview posted at onespark.com indicates the opening session will cover topics including how to design a successful project, how to recruit a team of volunteers and the basics of crowdfunding, the process through which festival attendees may make donations to support projects.
More sessions, including online instruction to serve out-of-town participants, are scheduled through March leading up to the April 7-9 festival. Some classes will be free, others will require a $20 fee.
Local branding consultant Al Emerick, facilitator of last year’s inaugural academy, will again lead many of the courses offered. He’ll be joined by other local, regional and national presenters.
In the release, Katherine Hartland, director of the Business & Entrepreneurial Law Clinic at Florida Coastal, said the law school has helped more than 50 small-business owners and entrepreneurs with their start-up legal needs.
“Small business is the driving force behind most local economies, but not all business owners properly establish their enterprises successfully,” she said. “One Spark Academy is a perfect way to equip business owners participating in One Spark for the momentum the festival provides.”
Carlton Robinson, senior director of entrepreneurial growth at the chamber, said the organization is committed to creating an environment where entrepreneurs can thrive and the partnership is a “natural fit.”
Full course descriptions and dates will be available in January at onespark.com/creator-academy.
Registration is open and participants who register before classes begin will receive a 10 percent discount on paid courses.
The creator application period for One Spark 2016 is open through Jan. 29.
Exhibits will be grouped by categories comprising arts and culture, health and wellness, education, lifestyle, social good, and technology and engineering.
Participants will be selected by a curatorial team and limited to 50 exhibits per category.
For more information, visit onespark.com.