Community Involvement
In an effort to be good stewards of our company, communities, and planet we prioritize involvement through donations, sponsorships, speaking engagements, mentorship, and designated PTO for volunteer work.
In an effort to be good stewards of our company, communities, and planet we prioritize involvement through donations, sponsorships, speaking engagements, mentorship, and designated PTO for volunteer work.
For several years we ran regional programming groups — namely the State College Ruby Group, and “Hacky Hour” — a place for the local developer community to share knowledge and connect with each other. We hosted many speakers and talks, and many jobs, gigs, and partnerships were formed.
Before closing in January 2022, New Leaf was a community-oriented coworking space was across the street from West Arete’s offices in State College, Pennsylvania. It supported creatives, entrepreneurs, and professionals; in addition to providing a beautiful place to work downtown, it connects people in the community. West Arete provided sponsorship funding, membership, volunteer time, and board direction over the 12 years they were operational.
The Summer Founders Program gives $10k each, along with mentoring and space, to several startup teams, so that they can focus on their idea for an entire summer. The goal is to get to one of those breakthrough moments, both for your business and for your confidence. Several successful businesses have come through the program, including Project Vive, Phospholutions, and Gastrograph. West Arete provided the first 2 pilot years of organizing effort.
Here are some of the other organizations that we’ve contributed to over the years, whether it’s through donations, sponsorships, speaking engagements, volunteer time or mentorship:
The first step is often a zero-pressure phone call to answer questions and explore whether we both feel that there could be a fit.