California Congresswoman Nanette Barragan will honor the Polk Institute Foundation’s Gary Polk, President and CEO, with The 2025 Business Trailblazer Award at her Black History Month Celebration on March 1.
At the Polk Institute Foundation, social entrepreneurship companies are endeavors that are purpose-driven and represent the passion of the founder, whatever their ethnicity. These endeavors focus on People, Planet and Profit (Triple Bottom Line) and the belief that behaving ethically and generating profits are not conflicting concepts. It focuses on serving those who are underserved, i.e., black, brown, veterans, women and others, and is open to all entrepreneurs who are educable, driven, and socially focused.
While Polk’s cohorts are located throughout the nation, the majority have been based in Southern California. The plurality of these entrepreneurs, not surprisingly, are women. That follows national statistics which indicate that the number of women-owned businesses has increased 114% and represents 39.1% of all businesses according to a 2024 Wells Fargo Impact Report.
Polk Institute Foundation is an innovative online enterprise offering a tuition-free Master Practitioner Training Accelerator and Access to Capital Funding, a virtual training program with the focus of graduating ethical and fundable CEOs.
Polk Institute (Pi) specializes in:
- Comprehensive program of practitioner-driven training
- Founders interested in the Triple Bottom Line and Social Entrepreneurship
- Tuition-free training for U.S. residents through scholarships
- Welfare withdrawal transformed into business ownership
- Capital support from individual donors, government, corporate, and foundation grants
- 20-month training of a 10-course program of required/elective workshop modules
- Online learning and technology and innovation-driven modalities, plus synchronous and asynchronous workshop modules
It was founded by Gary Polk, a Black businessman, CEO, business consultant, university professor and author who is passionate about creating successful social entrepreneurs.
For information, email info@polkinstitute.org
