South Bend, Ind.-based enFocus has set up shop in the ETHOS Innovation Center in Elkhart. The nonprofit, which focuses on attracting talent to regional communities to spark innovation, says the new location will serve as its headquarters for Elkhart County and house its fellows and interns, as well as programming for the community.
This story by Alex Brown originally appeared in Inside Indiana Business.
enFocus initially expanded to Elkhart in 2017 by opening an office at the Launch Elkhart small business incubator. The nonprofit recruits recent graduates to work as “sponsored problem solvers” in the corporate, nonprofit, education, and public sectors. The new headquarters will serve as a meeting space for those recruits to work collaboratively with community partners.
“We are excited to be at the ETHOS facility because it represents a center for innovation in the Elkhart community,” said Andrew Wiand, executive director of enFocus. “We hope to inspire future leaders of the region with a space to co-create between students, young professionals, and local business leaders.”
In November, enFocus received $400,000 in grant funding from the Indiana Economic Development Corp. and the Community Foundation of Elkhart County to expand in Elkhart over the next two years. The nonprofit says the funding will support the hiring of up to eight fellows each year, who will work as full-time employees in a one-year fellowship program.
