Our Model: Innovations

We engage in applied research—working alongside innovative practitioners, learning from them, and measuring the impact of ideas and theories put into practice.

COhatch: New Town Square

COhatch reinvents work in America by blending enhanced productivity with family and community well-being. In other words, their success is measured in human flourishing and community renewal.
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Enhancing Opportunity in Indianapolis

This year, Lilly Endowment took bold action to catalyze good jobs for the 2 in 10 Indianapolis residents struggling in poverty: a $93.6 million initiative to defeat poverty through enterprise. Included in the list of grantees is Sagamore’s operating partnership with Purposeful Design.
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Indiana Defense Network (NCCO)

Indiana is playing a major role in strengthening U.S. national security, and the National Center for Complex Operations (NCCO), now the Indiana Defense Network, is a central component of this initiative. The NCCO acts as a “one-stop-shop” to connect state, federal, and private interests with services, programs, and training and testing capabilities that will serve defense industry partners and a variety of government and non-government agencies.
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Integrated Business Roundtable

The Integrated Business Roundtable (IBR) was launched in January 2020 to advocate for the shared prosperity of Israelis and Palestinians through an integrated economy and faith-inspired impact investing in Judea and Samaria.
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Lt. Governor's Mental Health Roundtable

Indiana Lt. Governor Suzanne Crouch launched the Roundtable in 2021 to address one of the state’s biggest challenges—1 in 5 Hoosiers struggle with mental health issues yet many do not feel safe to seek help.
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Constructing Our Future

Constructing Our Future provides a pathway for eligible members at Indiana Women’s Prison back into private society with certified construction skills. The program, conceived and created by inmates during a structured study of public policy, calls for abandoned homes in the City of Indianapolis to be used for hands-on learning, and in turn, the refurbished real estate becomes affordable housing.
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Entre Capital

Born out of the Prisoner Entrepreneurship Program’s 15+ year mission serving men in prison with character formation and entrepreneurship mentoring, Entre Capital provides continuity for PEP graduates as they launch their ventures and seek to transform their lives.
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Innopower Minority Business Conference

This conference convenes community and corporate leaders to identify frameworks and action guidelines on how innovation initiatives can accelerate economic development and wealth generation for minority communities.
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J-1 Visa Program

The J-1 Program exists to provide caring, personalized service to international teachers who seek to serve in US classrooms and to assist US schools with hosting international teachers.
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MEI Annual Pitch Competition & Forums

MEI holds annual pitch competitions, investor forums, and educational summits for minority communities across the Midwest.
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MEI Fellowship at Cohatch

The MEI Fellowship at COhatch is a two-year fellowship designed to help minority founders access critical resources and support networks to help scale their businesses.
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The Ohio Good Community Project

Directed by senior fellow Chip Weiant, this Buckeye project is based on the foundational work of Sagamore President Jay Hein and senior fellow Amy Sherman in demystifying the role of "the faith-driven intermediary."
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One America Pathways

In 2017, a Bookings Institution report showed that only 35% of central Indiana workers without bachelor’s degrees held good or promising jobs. Through Pathways, we’re taking steps to reverse that trend by building and strengthening our local workforce.
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Prison Entrepreneurship Program

The Prison Entrepreneurship Program (PEP) transforms the lives of incarcerated and formerly incarcerated men through their In-Prison Leadership Academy and post-release services and support. Their vision is to expand a community of accountability and encouragement until every inmate who is truly committed to change has the choice and the chance to reboot his life.
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Reclaiming Twin Aire

Jeff Sparks is an selfless innovator and consistent exemplar of what Hoosier Hospitality is all about. Yet, none of these descriptors do his nearly 40 years of philanthropic service justice. Indeed, when attempting to describe his own personality, Sparks settles on the simple title of ‘encourager.’
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Secretaries' Innovation Group

The Secretaries’ Innovation Group is a membership organization of state human service and workforce secretaries, founded in 2011. We exchange state program innovations and press for national solutions which favor healthy families, work, economic self-reliance, budget responsibility and limited government.
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Thrive Farmers community stratetgies in central america

Thrive Farmers coffee company shares more revenue with Guatemalan farmers – allowing farming families to support themselves year in and year out. Their farmers see an average increase of 350% in their net income and often invest this new wealth in their communities.
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One Heart Project

One Heart Project’s mission is to rescue, restore and rehabilitate incarcerated youth through an integrated strategy of programming, services, and social enterprise. Their goal is to create an innovative and collaborative solution that will change the current approach to juvenile justice and transform individual lives through character building, skill acquisition, and resource equipping.
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Purposeful Design

Purposeful Design's mission is to help rebuild lives of individuals broken by addiction or homelessness, equip them with valuable work skills, and provide the gift of work.
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Second Chance 4 Youth

Second Chance 4 Youth is a national mentoring program dedicated to helping at-risk and incarcerated youth experience the American Dream, founded by Burgess Owens, U.S. Representative and former All-Pro NFL Super Bowl Champion.
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Scholarships for Education Choice

SEC awards scholarships to children in low-income families seeking educational alternatives at tuition-based schools.
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