Edward Lowe Foundation

ed and darlene lowe established the edward lowe foundation in 1985 to leverage entrepreneurship as a strategy for economic growth and community development. in contrast to most u.s. foundations, which are grant-giving entities, we are an operating foundation that funds its own programs. our entrepreneurship initiatives are focused on second-stage companies — growth-oriented firms that have moved beyond startup but haven’t yet reached maturity. our peer learning, leadership education and strategic information programs are geared to help these companies continue growing. we also educate communities about the unique challenges second-stagers face, how to work with them — and how to develop the kind of culture they need to flourish. to scale our impact, the foundation delivers its programs to second-stagers through other entrepreneur support organizations, which includes chambers of commerce, small business development centers, technology councils and economic development agencies. althoug