Photo by Al Delcy.

MentorDay, a movement born in Miami, seeks to increase civic engagement by connecting entrepreneurs with experts in one-on-one mentoring sessions. Our idea is simple: Share your expertise with someone else, pay it forward and see others thrive. No matter your level of funding, your association or organization, we are open for everyone.

We have established a high-impact mentorship system, using a “problem-driven” approach, entrepreneurs (aka “mentees”) apply with a very specific ask, and we pair them with a mentor who we know can solve that problem. We set them up once a month at a particular time and place, and let the magic happen. Mentor Day takes place the third Friday of every month—except for July and December.

Our program is just 4 months old. We have had three meet-ups, but we have enabled 91 free sessions between mentees and mentors. We’re proud to say that in 92 percent of the cases, the relationship has resulted in a problem being solved. As PropeIU’s Patrick Corbett said, before MentorDay there was “nowhere [to go] when you’re moving fast, to get answers to a specific challenge you’re going through.”

Since the very beginning we’ve had the support of Lateral View, a world-class web development shop based in Argentina, Building.co in Miami, Startup Visa, and of course, our amazing Miami director, Pete Kovach.

We can’t do this alone and are thrilled to receive Knight Foundation’s support. Together, we will expand our mission even further. With the help of this grant, we expect to reach 250 mentorship sessions by the end of the year in Miami. This kind of support is what we need to take MentorDay to the next level. We want to create engaged local communities with a strong sense of identity and pride. And we couldn’t ask for a better partner for this.

We’re also pleased that a large number of Miami’s leaders have joined us to become mentors, including Ben Wirz of Knight Foundation, Juan Diego Calle of Classic.com, Brian Breslin of Refresh Miami, Mark Crofton of SAP, Mark Kingdon of Quixotic Ventures, and Lori Wardi of Neustar.

“Keep doing what you’re doing. Hopefully I can participate every time. When I do participate, I have enjoyed it very much and I think the founders are finding it truly helpful and useful,” said Jose Rasco from Building.co.

Proudly from Miami, our next goal is to expand beyond the limits of the city, and make every third Friday a day that reaches people in other cities and other countries. We are now working to open our next two chapters outside of Florida with our minds set on going global by 2017.

Email Juan Lopez Salaberry via [email protected]. The next MentorDay is Friday, Aug. 19. For more, visit mentorday.co.