reSET Introduces: The Social Enterprise Investment Fund

reSET Communications • August 13, 2013

New source of financing will be available to social entrepreneurs

Hartford, Conn. — reSET, the Social Enterprise Trust, recently announced the launch of the Social Enterprise Investment Fund (the SEIF or the fund). The fund will begin providing working capital to early stage and more developed social enterprises in Connecticut.

Social enterprises are businesses whose goals are to generate profits and solve social problems. These businesses are innovative, market-supported, self-sustaining and mission-driven.

The SEIF is an “impact investment” fund, managed by skilled investors, offering loans to eligible social enterprises to help them grow their business and increase the impact of their work. The SEIF is designed as an evergreen fund, focusing on debt financing, and offering below-market rates. The fund will invest a minimum of $5,000 and maximum of 5% of the enterprise’s value.

The SEIF is a limited liability company wholly owned by reSET, the Social Enterprise Trust, located at 99 Pratt Street in Hartford, Conn.

As of July 16, 2013 the SEIF’s balance was reported to be $77, 000. A private group of investors will match gifts to the SEIF dollar-for-dollar up to $50,000. In addition, gifts will be matched by 50% through a challenge grant issued by CT Next. The goal is to grow the fund to exceed $100,000 by August 31, 2013. reSET is launching an online Crowdfunding campaign to increase the size of the fund. Those interested in providing financial support can go to StartSomeGood.com starting on the kickoff date, July 29th.The fund’s long-term goal is to grow to $1,000,000 in cash and investments.

By establishing an investment fund, reSET is taking on the challenge of connecting social entrepreneurs directly with funding sources. reSET’s suite of programs provides education and support to prospective and early-stage social entrepreneurs. Among these programs, reSET prepares new businesses to develop and strengthen their business plans and to seek investment.

Adding the SEIF to the range of services now provided by reSET is a big step forward for the organization according to CEO Kate Emery. “We are designing the process to be straightforward and uncomplicated, so that social entrepreneurs will have ready access to the resources they need to start and grow their businesses.”

The SEIF will provide access to funding from both reSET donors and impact investors. According to reSET board member Jim Carter “capital is the lifeblood for all new businesses.. This fund will address the particular needs of social enterprises.”

Having an investor like SEIF ? who can speak the same ‘language’ as social entrepreneurs, and who understands the balancing act needed to serve both profit and purpose ? is significant to the growth of Connecticut’s social enterprise sector. Opening a funding resource to early-stage social entrepreneurs will help build a foundation for the growth of a vibrant and active social enterprise community within Connecticut – creating jobs, solving social problems, and generating new tax revenue for the state.

reSET’s mission is to promote, preserve and protect social enterprise, and to help entrepreneurs leverage the power of business to create public good. Strategically, reSET’s goal is to make Connecticut a national leader in social enterprise by offering social entrepreneurs educational and support programs, work space, access to loans through the Social Enterprise Investment Fund, and other services to help launch and grow their businesses. reSET supports legislation to enable social enterprise in Connecticut, and has also convened conferences at Connecticut colleges and universities, inspiring them to develop social enterprise offerings within their business curricula.

Since becoming fully operational a year ago, reSET has helped launch and grow 11 social enterprises, associated with 20 jobs. Two of those businesses are working to become regional in scale and one to become national in scale. reSET has also opened an incubator and community co-working space at 99 Pratt Street in downtown Hartford. The space focuses on social enterprise, but also welcomes freelancers, visiting business people and small businesses.

Contact Information:
Meryl Willett
Community Builder
Phone: 860-560-9120 ext. 204
MWillett@www.socialenterprisetrust.org

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Leadership Transition Announcement: reSET Executive Director to Step Down in 2026

By awalsh • February 13, 2026

Dear reSET Community, The Board of Directors today announces the departure of Sarah Bodley as Executive Director of reSET in a planned transition later this year. The Board has immense gratitude for Sarah and all her contributions over the years. Over the last seven years, Sarah has built an amazing foundation for the organization and she leaves reSET in a strong position for continued growth and service. Sarah joined reSET in 2018 and over the past seven years has solidified and expanded reSET’s mission of supporting impact-driven entrepreneurs throughout Connecticut. Here are a few key highlights from Sarah’s time here: Facilitated the acquisition of Collab New Haven, expanding reSET’s footprint to a statewide geography and further enhancing our mission Developed and implemented new core programs including the award-winning Food Incubator, as well as the Food Accelerator, Retail Incubator, Measure What Matters, and Digital Marketing Mastermind Established reSET as a founding partner of the Hartford Culinary Collaborative, enabling greater connectivity and cooperation among food-centric support organizations in our region Doubled the organization’s budget to over 1 Million Dollars, securing multi-year State government grants Won the prestigious Neighborhood Builders Award from Bank of America, and the Leadership Greater Hartford Polaris Community Award in 2022 Established an endowment fund thanks to support from the Zachs Family Foundation to support the long term sustainability of reSET’s mission Over the coming months, we will be continuing our search to find reSET's next Executive Director. Sarah will stay onboard through June to ensure a smooth handoff to our next leader, and will be available as a resource throughout 2026. It is the Board of Directors’ priority, along with Sarah's, to make this transition as smooth as possible to continue the great work Sarah has helped us do over her tenure. The Executive Director’s Job Posting can be found at this link, and we invite you to keep in mind any potential candidates in your community or network that you think might be a great fit. The Board of Directors wishes Sarah the best of luck in her future endeavors. We are appreciative of the dedication and enthusiasm she has given to reSET over the last seven years, particularly navigating our organization seamlessly during the historic times of the pandemic, changes in administration, and an ever-evolving landscape of opportunity for entrepreneurs. We are confident that with Sarah’s support, this transition will be a smooth one for our Connecticut entrepreneurs, partners, and generous supporters. We look forward to continuing our growth and to serving our mission of supporting the social enterprise sector. If you have any questions or concerns during this transition, please don’t hesitate to reach out via contacting admin@resetco.org to get in touch with the board. Sincerely, Ali Lazowski + Dave Menard, co-chairs, reSET Board of Directors

Applications Open for Spring 2026 Impact Accelerator

By awalsh • February 10, 2026

Inviting Impact Entrepreneurs Into Transformative Growth

reSET Announces Pitch Competition Winners from Fall Food Accelerator and Floor–Plan Retail Incubator Programs

By awalsh • November 25, 2025

21 Businesses Participated, Gaining Valuable Impact-Driven Business Training

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By awalsh • October 27, 2025

Special Discount Available for Attendees Purchasing Tickets to Both Events

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reSET Announces 5th Cohort of Floor - Plan Retail Incubator Featuring 10 Emerging Entrepreneurs

By awalsh • September 22, 2025

Program Partnership with Breakfast Lunch & Dinner Supports Early-Stage Retail Businesses with Social Impact Focus

reSET Food and Retail Programs Featured in Radio Interview

July 7, 2025

Listen in to the replay of John Voket of Connoisseur Media's interview of reSET Food Program Manager Katrice Claudio and Program Manager Ndubisi Okeke that aired on Sunday July 6, 2025. They talked about the reSET programs that are enrolling for the fall--the Food Accelerator for food businesses looking to scale, and the Retail Incubator for early stage product-based businesses looking to ramp up for holiday markets in Connecticut. Listen here: https://audioboom.com/posts/8745230-reset-fall-program-preview The interview aired on the award-winning "For the People" show on Sunday, July 6 on WEBE 108 FM, STAR 99.9, WPLR FM and THe VOICE of Connecticut and on the podcast.