Our mission is to advance the economic vitality of greater Irvine.
Our core initiatives are to be a catalyst for local economic growth, champion for the business community with all levels of government, and to convene greater Irvine stakeholders.
The Irvine Valley College (IVC) Foundation is now accepting cryptocurrency donations, putting the college in the first ranks of a new era in fundraising. “We are thrilled to be among the first colleges that can accept contributions via BitPay,” said Elissa Oransky, the foundation’s executive director. “The IVC Foundation received its first gift of crypto (also known as digital, virtual, or cyber) currency recently. While we are not the first nonprofit to accept gifts of this kind, we are among the early adopters.” Founded in 2011 as a Bitcoin payment solution, BitPay has handled more than $50 million in donations since 2017. Working similarly to stock donations, crypto donations are acknowledged for tax purposes and provide donors with new giving opportunities. The IVC Foundation looks forward to building new relationships with its diverse and tech-savvy community of supporters in this manner. The decentralized cryptocurrency market has grown and evolved into a global force since the 2008 creation of the first cryptocurrency, Bitcoin. According to CoinMarketCap, which tracks more than 5,000 forms of cryptocurrency, they have a collective market value of more than $255 billion. Fidelity’s annual Charity Giving Report has shown a mercurial rise in the number of crypto donations each year since 2016...
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America’s researchers, scientists, and entrepreneurs are driving the next wave of innovation—whether they’re developing lifesaving therapies for previously untreatable diseases or pioneering new technologies to improve the human condition. And what makes these achievements possible? In a few words: intellectual property (IP) rights. IP rights are the backbone of our economy, rewarding inventors for their risk-taking and ingenuity. And in today’s global marketplace, it’s not enough for our own IP regime to be strong—other economies must also respect IP rights. That’s one reason why the U.S. Chamber of Commerce’s Global Innovation Policy Center (GIPC) published the 2020 International IP Index, an annual report card that ranks the intellectual property framework of 53 different countries. The Index is a roadmap for countries that aspire to greater economic growth, as well as an instrument for affecting global IP policy. Since we first unveiled the Index in 2012, multiple governments have reached out to the U.S. Chamber to discuss ways to raise their Index score. These governments recognize that by making simple tweaks to their IP infrastructure, they can be 39% more likely to attract foreign investment and 38% more likely to attract venture capital and private equity funds. This year’s Index brings good news. Countries around th...
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University of California, Irvine’s entrepreneurial and innovation platform came about in 2014 as an initiative by UCI Chancellor Howard Gillman to connect students and faculty and help grow Orange County’s entrepreneurial ecosystem. The result was UCI Beall Applied Innovation, and Executive Director Richard Sudek was brought on in August 2014 to lead the effort. The program was renamed last year after a multimillion-dollar donation to the university from the Beall Family Foundation. It relocated in November to a larger facility in the Cove — a hub of state-of-the-art technological facilities and office space at the UCI Research Park — and the university marked the fifth anniversary and the new location with a grand opening, inviting the public for a reception and tours. The newly renovated Cove, at 5270 California Ave., includes updated event space that can accommodate more than 300 guests and includes 180 degrees of seamless display technology on a 132-foot-long screen, along with meeting and event rooms of varying sizes. It also includes working spaces such as a “makerspace” with equipment for entrepreneurs to build prototypes. “We’ve grown dramatically,” Sudek said. “When we started five and a half years ago, we had a much smaller office space. We’ve stood up a number of program...
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The Greater Irvine Chamber was honored with top awards by the Western Association of Chamber Executives (W.A.C.E.) for its communications accomplishments and portfolio in front of more than 400 attendees during the 2020 W.A.C.E. Conference in Portland, Oregon. The Chamber received the top honor of best Overall Communications Program Award, as well as first place in the E-Newsletter category for its Weekly Connection digital newsletter, and Special Merit in the Website category. Jessica Welch, vice president of operations, Greater Irvine Chamber, was recognized as a recently W.A.C.E. Accredited Chamber Executive for her own professional development, as well as encouraging that of other chamber executives. As the immediate past W.A.C.E. Hathaway Staff Person of the Year, Welch presented this year's award to Eddie Truong of the Silicon Valley Organization. As the immediate past W.A.C.E. Executive of the Year, Bryan Starr, president and CEO, Greater Irvine Chamber, presented this year's award to Joshua R. Bonner, president and CEO, Greater Coachella Valley Chamber of Commerce. Laura Perdew, senior director of communications, Greater Irvine Chamber, was awarded during the conference with a five-year Service Award, recognizing her ongoing dedication to chamber work. Jessica Welch (left), vice president of operations, Greater Irvine Chamber, presents Eddie Truong (right) the 2020 W.A.C.E. Staff Person o...
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