I just had an inspiring interview with a guy named Matt Haggman, who represents an organization that’s really doing things right by giving back to the community in major ways.
Haggman is Miami Program Director at the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation. Most people only know this name from the James L. Knight Center in Miami, but the name should also bring to mind the Knight-Ridder newspaper chain.
The Knight brothers were publishing moguls and at one point had the largest newspaper chain in the country. They owned 26 papers from Miami to San Jose, Calif., including the Miami Herald.
That corporation later provided the financial backing for what is now the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation, which has as its goals to continue working for journalistic excellence and giving back to the communities where it once published.
Of the 26 communities, eight have a program director tasked with tailoring the outreach to the needs of the area.
That’s where Haggman comes in. An award-winning journalist, he arrived on the local scene as part of the foundation’s art program emphasis. He was given the responsibility to talk to people in the community and determine the needs. The foundation wanted to expand the focus beyond artists to entrepreneurs.
Among his findings, Haggman discovered a need to provide a hub where entrepreneurs can not only work on their own ventures but interact with one another. So, joining with a group of investors, the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation launched The LAB Miami, which opened in February.
The LAB Miami is now home to 150 entrepreneurs and has hosted more than 10,000 visitors through a series of events there. And, Haggman said, The LAB has just started building a mentor network for the benefit of its budding business leaders.
This is very important work. I’ve always focused on careers as being the key to economic growth in South Florida, and these entrepreneurs are the ones who will bring the careers that will bring the people we need for a vibrant community.
Click here to listen to the full interview with Matt Haggman of the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation.