For the past three years, through innovative programming and aggressive outreach, Ascend Long Island has helped diverse entrepreneurs develop the capacity to win contracts from larger companies. At the heart of Ascend is a community-focused effort to recruit, train, mentor and provide capital to cohorts of diverse entrepreneurs through the tested “3 M” model: management, money, and markets.

Ascend Long Island is primarily financed by JPMorgan Chase, and is part of JPMC’s national Ascend Cities initiative. Ascend LI is also supported by National Grid, Northwell Health, the PSEG Foundation, and the Long Island Community Foundation.

Ascend Long Island is administered by Hofstra University’s Center for Entrepreneurship, National Center for Suburban Studies, and Scott Skodnek Business Development Center and partners with BOC Capital Corp and an Anchor Partner Advisory Council comprised of regional corporations and governments who are committed to supplier diversity.