GreenLight Fund invests $2.3M to bring nonprofits Single Stop USA, Year Up to Philly

GreenLight Fund has invested $2.3 million to bring two nonprofits to Philadelphia, it announced this week.

The federally-backed Boston-based social entrepreneurship funding firm expanded to Philadelphia last August and is headquartered at The Exchange, a Center City coworking space for social entrepreneurs.

The nonprofits include:

• Year Up: This Boston-based organization offers a one-year program to provide young adults 18-24 with job skills, college credits and and professional internships. It’ll roll out in the next five years and aims to help up to 1,200 young adults get degrees and jobs.
• Single Stop USA: This New York-based organization helps keep community college students in school by offering free financial planning services. It’ll work with the Community College of Philadelphia.

The fund’s 23-person selection committee is co-chaired by First Round Capital managing partner Josh Kopelman and Kynetic vice president Saj Cherian.

Some in the local nonprofit world have asked if the GreenLight Fund could better help Philadelphia by funding existing nonprofits rather than importing them.