Proximity Accelerator: Camelback Ventures
The Proximity Accelerator, which is led by New Profit Managing Partner Tulaine Montgomery and Partner Marco Davis, is part of a larger effort by New Profit to support visionary social entrepreneurs and other leaders from underrepresented communities, in this case communities of color. Participants in the one-year Proximity Accelerator receive a one-time unrestricted grant of $50,000, intensive group learning and collaboration on leadership and organizational development, regular consultations with New Profit partners with expertise in nonprofit capacity building, and access to New Profit’s larger learning community of social entrepreneurs and other changemakers through events like the annual Gathering of Leaders.
The first cohort of this year-long initiative features eight selected organizations. Today we celebrate one of the eight selected organizations: Camelback Ventures.
Camelback Ventures aims to address the inequities of entrepreneurship by providing coaching, capital, and connections to underrepresented entrepreneurs. The organization works with their social impact innovators through their fellowship, with the ultimate goal of creating great schools and prosperous, livable communities for all families. To do this, they identify local leaders with promising ideas, and empower them to enact change within their communities by providing them with coaching, capital, and connections.
About Aaron Walker
Aaron is Founder & CEO of Camelback Ventures. Aaron is on a journey to live in the spirit of his baseball hero, Jackie Robinson, who said “a life is not important except in the impact it has on other lives.” With this ethos, Aaron taught ninth grade English in West Philadelphia, put together deals for companies large and small as a lawyer, and supported new ideas to improve education as a portfolio director for the NYC Fund for Public Schools. Aaron is humbled to say that he graduated from the University of Virginia and Penn Law School. He also knows that this doesn’t entitle him to anything and is ready to earn his keep.
Follow @walker_at and @camelbackorg to keep up with Aaron and Camelback Ventures!