The Seminar Network

Make a greater impact.

Get the tools and support you need to make a far greater impact on helping people improve their lives. Or be an investor who makes that possible. The Seminar Network provides a platform that connects and empowers social entrepreneurs tackling the major challenges of our time.

We work with: Nonprofit leaders at over 100 community-based groups. Over 700 of the country’s most effective business leaders and philanthropists. Over 1,000 professors at 350 universities. Tens of thousands of K-12 teachers. And millions of grassroots activists in 35 states. We’ve united to move toward a society where people succeed by helping others, so that everyone has the opportunity to realize their extraordinary potential.

“In just one year of partnering with The Seminar Network, we have been able to help twice as many people in recovery from substance use disorder. With their partnership, we are now poised to scale across the country and realize our goal of helping hundreds of thousands of people to rise, recover, and transform their lives.”

Scott Strode, founder and executive director of The Phoenix, social entrepreneur

Our Vision

Founded by Charles Koch in 2003, our growing network of social entrepreneurs comes from diverse backgrounds. We have different points of view. Yet all of us share a commitment to equal rights, openness, progress through mutual benefit, and the belief that all people are capable of extraordinary things.

We believe that everyone has something unique to offer, if they have the opportunity to learn, contribute, and succeed. Unfortunately, too few do.

Persistent poverty. Our failing education system. The broken criminal justice system. A rigged economy. Crushing national debt. These barriers and more are holding far too many people back from improving their lives. Yet history shows, by uniting together and applying a core set of principles, people can break the barriers standing in the way of a better life, community, and society. Take a look:

What We Do

Drawing on the experience and capabilities of our network’s business leaders, we provide a robust platform that unites social entrepreneurs to accomplish far more than they otherwise could. We help them transform their effectiveness, increase their efficiency and lower their costs, and dramatically scale their operations.

The broad range of capabilities they can draw upon includes: access to capital, management and operations expertise, mentorship and community engagement, research and data analytics, educational support, volunteers and talent, and grassroots organizing. We work with a wide array of social entrepreneurs working to advance social change: Teachers. Professors. Former gang leaders. Former prisoners. Entrepreneurs. Grassroots organizers. Policymakers, and more.

“By joining with others who are like-minded and who have shared values, we can leverage our time and resources in a truly effective way to really move the needle so much more than we can ever individually.”

Bill Kimsey, investor with The Seminar Network and former CEO of Ernst & Young

Our Comprehensive Approach

We’re connecting and empowering social entrepreneurs who are focused on applying the principles of social progress across five key priority areas. Click on each to learn more about our vision and efforts:

Educational Opportunities
that help people discover their gifts and pursue their dreams.
Criminal Justice Reform Poverty

that break the cycle of poverty.
Economic Opportunities
fostered by responsible public policy that enable all people to succeed.
Business
as an engine of progress and innovation that creates value for all stakeholders and helps employees realize their potential.
Foreign Policy Free Expression Immigration Trade

through a culture of respect and understanding so that new people and new ideas can improve our society.

There is no quick fix. Making progress on any of these priorities requires comprehensive, long-term strategies. That’s why, when we tackle a problem, we partner with a diverse group of social entrepreneurs to drive solutions from multiple angles – particularly by addressing barriers in Education, Communities, Business, and Government. When these institutions are all functioning properly, people’s ability to live a successful, fulfilling life becomes far greater.

“Immigrating with my family from Colombia to Miami with $80 in our pockets, we ultimately achieved the American Dream. I grew passionate about helping others achieve it too. By partnering with The Seminar Network, we’ve been able to grow from just a few people five years ago to thousands today, achieving dozens of policy reforms needed to unleash opportunity for everyone in our community.”

Cesar Grajales, grassroots leader at The LIBRE Initiative, social entrepreneur

Courageous Collaboration

At a time when America is becoming more polarized and people with different views often can’t even talk with each other, we’re committed to working together with anyone interested in overcoming the obstacles that keep people from reaching their potential. This requires the courage to embrace our differences but focus on our common ground, engage with each other, and collaborate on our best opportunities for progress.

We’re engaged in dozens of projects that show this is possible:

StoryCorps’ “One Small Step” helps those with different political views see each other as people with shared values beyond politics.
Discussions like the “Course Correction Conversation” on the 50th anniversary of Martin Luther King Jr’s assassination demonstrate that even people seemingly so different as victims of police brutality and the families of slain police officers can work together to unite communities.
We teamed up with the ACLU, despite our differences on other issues, to help restore voting rights to formerly incarcerated men and women deserving of a second chance.
As a co-sponsor of the After Charlottesville Project, we help foster a culture of dignity and respect for everyone.

These are just a few of the dozens of courageous collaborations we’re helping to facilitate.

“I would unite with anybody to do right and with nobody to do wrong.”

Frederick Douglass