Looking south from Top of the Rock, New York City (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
Here’s a fascinating article on a Manhattan network that funds Christian-owned startup companies. And not surprisingly (to me), Tim Keller’s Redeemer Presbyterian Church is involved, providing seed funding to a bunch of startups already.
A couple of snippets, then the link:
The scene at the Faith and Tech meetup group is part of a small subculture of the tech world that supports Christian entrepreneurs. In contrast to the hard-partying, get-rich-fast lifestyle portrayed in a new Bravo reality show on Silicon Valley, these entrepreneurs and investors not only pray together, but also give financial support to faith-based startups and discuss how to build religious companies that are both financially successful and socially responsible.
. . .
In New York City, Redeemer Presbyterian Church has funded 20 startups over the past seven years as part of its annual small business competition. The church sees its investments as an outgrowth of its mission to serve the city, said Calvin Chin, director of entrepreneurship initiatives at Redeemer. To enter the competition, the business founder must be Christian — a rule meant to ensure that each startup operates in line with church values, Chin said.
“The entrepreneur needs to be somebody who is aligned with our values and what we believe in,” Chin said.
The church, which has about 6,000 members, picks three business winners each year. Some are for-profits. Others are nonprofits. Each receives $25,000 in seed money, which comes from affluent church members, Chin said. Redeemer has taken an equity stake in one startup, Hoppit, a search engine that suggests restaurants and bars with the appropriate atmosphere. But Chin said the church has yet to see any of its investments make big returns and is not looking to get rich.
Another startup Redeemer has funded is FaithStreet. The directory for Christians seeking churches now has 7,400 places of worship listed in 50 states and is searchable by location and denomination.
The whole article, at Huffpo, is here.
Related articles
- Startup FaithStreet lives at the corner of tech and Christianity (pandodaily.com)
- What Would Jesus Do? He’d Back A Startup (huffingtonpost.com)
Medieval Wisdom for Modern Christians
Grateful to the dead 
Re-posting a comment left elsewhere on this blog from local (Twin Cities) pastor Daniel Harrell, of Colonial Church:
Wanted to make sure that you know about a similar effort happening in your own back yard. Colonial Church in Edina is funding social entrepreneurial initiatives to the tune of $250,000. Our deadline is Jan 11. If you live in the greater Twin Cities and are 35 years old or younger, check out http://www.innoveproject.org.