JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – The One Spark team announced Wednesday that Florida Coastal School of Law and the Jacksonville Chamber of Commerce will be co-title sponsors of the One Spark Academy, an educational asset to the 2016 crowdfunding festival which takes place April 7-9, 2016 in downtown Jacksonville.
One Spark Academy is entering its second year as a formal program offering educational programming and support to creators to best capitalize on their One Spark experience. One Spark Academy originated in 2013, then called “Campfire Chats,” and has since expanded into a full curriculum program. Offered courses will allow experts to share their inside knowledge on topics such as market validation, marketing and public relations, and crowdfunding.
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“This is really about doing all we can to help make sure the Creators with great ideas are armed with the tools needed to succeed,” said One Spark CEO Elton Rivas. “We are thrilled to have great community partners in the Jax Chamber and Florida Coastal School of Law to help expand the One Spark Academy in 2016.”
“Thanks to these organizations, we are able to offer post-festival courses to our Creators for free or at a reduced rate,” said One Spark board chairman Peter Rummell. “Since day one, One Spark has prided itself on being a strong community asset that helps take our city to new heights in terms of entrepreneurship, innovation and start-ups. Partnership is key in this effort, and we couldn’t be more pleased to have Coastal Law and the Chamber on our team.”
The academy will feature a mix of both online and in-person courses, to reach both Jacksonville and out-of-market Creators alike. Many offerings will be free of charge. Thanks to the new partnerships, individual paid courses will be only $20 in 2016.
Full course dates will be available in January on One Spark’s website. Pre-registration is now open and creators that pre-register will receive a 10 percent discount on all paid courses.
The creator application period for One Spark 2016 remains open and runs through Jan. 29, 2016. This year’s festival features a streamlined footprint, with Creators grouped by category in Creator Districts. The districts include Arts & Culture, Education, Lifestyle, Health & Wellness, Social Good, and Technology & Engineering. Each district will host up to 50 expert-curated projects.