Capital Access and Grant Funding
Committed to supporting communities, small businesses, social entrepreneurs, and innovators to reduce health disparities and create social change.
EmPowered to Serve Investments
The need to come together to find solutions for longer, healthier lives is more critical than ever.
You're invited
Virtual EmPOWERED to Serve Business Accelerator™ Finale Please join the American Heart Association as our eight extraordinary innovators present business models and concepts that promote health equity, sustainability and community transformation.
These business accelerators will highlight their work and impact to a panel of expert judges. The top finalist will receive a $40,000 grant, runner-up $15,000 and fan favorite $5,000.
Learn more about the eight candidates and vote now for the one who most inspires you.
Investing for Community Impact
Opportunities to build wealth.
Those include paths to home ownership, fair lending practices, access to employer savings and retirement plans, non-regressive taxation structures and the allocation of public dollars for equitable economic development.
Opportunities to earn an equitable income.
Those include appropriate wages for essential workers, a fair and living wage, universal basic income and universal basic health care.
Opportunities to access capital markets.
Those include seed capital for innovative ideas and small business, access to investor markets, fair lending practices, economic development investments, independent banking options, cooperative networks and fair procurement practices.
Opportunities for well-paid employment.
Fair employment practices.
EmPOWERED to Serve Business Accelerator™
The EmPOWERED to Serve Business Accelerator™ is a free service that supports community entrepreneurs and organizations that are breaking down the social and economic barriers to health equity. Past Business Accelerator participants include:
Learn more about the National Business AcceleratorBusiness Accelerator Alumni
EmPOWERED to Serve Scholars
Creating stronger communities by improving health equity and social justice.
Meet the 2020 Empowered Scholars
The EmPOWERED to Serve Scholars program supports college freshmen, sophomores and juniors who are working to improve health equity and social justice in their communities. Past scholars include a health policy and management student who encouraged corner groceries to sell fresh, healthy foods, and a biochemistry student who taught diabetes courses at a community health clinic.
Community Innovation Exchange
The EmPOWERED Community Innovation Exchange is a searchable, interactive digital hub that accelerates exploring and adopting new grassroots business models, municipal strategies, and community-led models for improving social determinants of health.
About Us
EmPOWERED to Serve accelerates innovative solutions to eliminate disparities in under-resourced communities caused by social determinants of health, also called structural determinants.
Sign up to receive the EmPOWERED to Serve e-newsletter.
EmPOWERED to Serve seeks to improve health outcomes and reduce the gap in health disparities among minorities in multicultural communities.