{"id":1679,"date":"2018-03-29T09:00:05","date_gmt":"2018-03-29T13:00:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.syracusewomanmag.com\/?p=1679"},"modified":"2018-03-28T20:51:50","modified_gmt":"2018-03-29T00:51:50","slug":"pragya-murphy","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.syracusewomanmag.com\/?p=1679","title":{"rendered":"Pragya Murphy"},"content":{"rendered":"

Funding WISE Women\u00a0<\/em><\/h1>\n

By Carol Radin | Photography by Mary Grace Johnson<\/a>\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

In her role on the WISE Women\u2019s Business Center\u2019s board of directors, Pragya Murphy takes to heart the words WISE stands for: \u201cWomen Igniting the Spirit of Enterpreneurship.\u201d Pragya, chair of the board\u2019s fundraising committee, is ignited by the spirit to empower other women.<\/p>\n

\u201cI take pride in helping women start or grow a business and contribute to the local economy,\u201d she said. \u201cIf you have a business idea or if you have a business already and need other ideas, WISE is here for you.\u201d<\/p>\n

For aspiring women entrepreneurs, WISE is the place to see ideas take hold, through training classes, individual business counseling sessions, direct coaching support and mentoring. WISE has helped women put ideas into action since 2006. Last year, WISE trained 733 women entrepreneurs and individually counseled 134 clients.<\/p>\n

The business center is hosted by Syracuse University\u2019s Whitman School of Management, where the Falcone Center for Entrepreneurship helped WISE obtain its first federal grant from the Small Business Administration. The Falcone Center continues to collaborate on WISE events and meet a portion of matching funds for the SBA grants. It is the center\u2019s responsibility, however, to meet most of the matching funds through federal grants and corporate support.<\/p>\n

This is where Pragya comes in. Drawing on her MBA background in finance and banking, as well as her experience with fundraising for nonprofit organizations, Pragya identifies potential funding sources, organizes events and pursues opportunities to get WISE\u2019s name and mission out into the community and attract financial support.<\/p>\n

Last year, she organized an event for business owners in Skaneateles and Auburn, sponsored by Key Bank and hosted by The Krebs restaurant. Key Bank will partner once again at an event in May at Owera Vineyards.<\/p>\n

While Pragya has been instrumental in helping WISE meet its goals, she also credits colleagues on the board for their generosity in sharing expertise and the services of their businesses in fundraising efforts. Board members from successful businesses and companies like Laci\u2019s Tapas Bar, Natur-Tyme and Hancock Estabrook, among others, have stepped up to contribute their time, talent and skills.<\/p>\n

For Pragya, skills are only part of the equation. She knows supporting a community takes heart.<\/p>\n

\u201cNonprofit is my passion,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

Pragya\u2019s own strong motivation to give back to the community stems from values instilled in her by her family.<\/p>\n

One of her first fundraising projects in Syracuse was a telethon in 2015 to raise money for earthquake relief after the 7.8 magnitude earthquake in Nepal, the country from which Pragya and her family emigrated when she was a teenager. The telethon raised $50,000 in one night.<\/p>\n

She was also a member of the Make-A-Wish Foundation of Central New York\u2019s board of directors. It was there that a fellow board member asked her to join the WISE board of directors two years ago.<\/p>\n

\u201cI said yes immediately,\u201d Pragya said. \u201cI saw it as a wonderful way to learn and contribute to the local economy.\u201d<\/p>\n

At the WISE Women\u2019s Business Center, women can find support in their business ventures. The center offers practical training classes, like The Building Blocks of Starting a Business and Creating A Business Culture to Thrive In. Women can also attend roundtable discussions with career professionals, covering topics such as using Facebook in business, email advertising and time management. In addition, business counselors work one-on-one with clients to address individual needs and business plans.<\/p>\n

The center also offers an initiative to support Latina female entrepreneurs. The Exito! program \u2014 which translates into Success! program \u2014 was initially funded as a pilot by the Women\u2019s Fund of CNY, and now regularly offers Latina women a series of training courses, roundtable sessions and coaching in creating business plans.<\/p>\n

Pragya\u2019s next challenge is raising money to match a federal grant recently awarded to WISE from the Small Business Administration. According to WISE\u2019s director, Joanne Lenweaver, the money raised will continue to support client business counseling and expansion of all services. Pragya also hopes to target funding for more technology-based training classes and webinars for WISE clients.<\/p>\n

As a busy mother of two school-age children, Pragya also has insight into the personal obstacles women face when taking on a new venture.<\/p>\n

\u201cWomen have particular needs,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

Pragya explained that a myriad of issues can hold women back, including the need for flexibility to address family commitments, fear of risk as a sole family caretaker or even limits in transportation.<\/p>\n

\u201cEven people who have resources need moral support and confidence,\u201d she said. SWM <\/em><\/p>\n

For more information on the WISE Women\u2019s Business Center, visit wisecenter.org<\/a>. <\/em><\/p>\n

Hair and makeup by Amanda McCarty of Karma Salon & Spa<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Funding WISE Women\u00a0 By Carol Radin | Photography by Mary Grace Johnson\u00a0 In her role on the WISE Women\u2019s Business Center\u2019s board of directors, Pragya Murphy takes to heart the words WISE stands for: \u201cWomen Igniting the Spirit of Enterpreneurship.\u201d Pragya, chair of the board\u2019s fundraising committee, is ignited by the spirit to empower other…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":1740,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[101],"tags":[572,312,594,160,593,573,189],"class_list":["post-1679","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-features","tag-april-2018","tag-carol-radin","tag-joanne-lenweaver","tag-mary-grace-johnson","tag-pragya-murphy","tag-the-entrepreneurship-edition","tag-wise-womens-business-center"],"gutentor_comment":0,"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.syracusewomanmag.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/03\/Pragya-6.jpg?fit=5200%2C3417&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":3036,"url":"https:\/\/www.syracusewomanmag.com\/?p=3036","url_meta":{"origin":1679,"position":0},"title":"The Women of WISE","author":"Staff","date":"April 23, 2021","format":false,"excerpt":"By Emma Vallelunga \u00a0 At one point in time, business was a man\u2019s world. Women dreamt of being more than just the secretary who only took his phone calls, scheduled his meetings or fetched his coffee. Today, those dreams are a reality, and women who run their own businesses can\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Features"","block_context":{"text":"Features","link":"https:\/\/www.syracusewomanmag.com\/?cat=101"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.syracusewomanmag.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/Group_Carolyn_Meghan.jpg?fit=1023%2C681&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.syracusewomanmag.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/Group_Carolyn_Meghan.jpg?fit=1023%2C681&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.syracusewomanmag.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/Group_Carolyn_Meghan.jpg?fit=1023%2C681&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.syracusewomanmag.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/Group_Carolyn_Meghan.jpg?fit=1023%2C681&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":1662,"url":"https:\/\/www.syracusewomanmag.com\/?p=1662","url_meta":{"origin":1679,"position":1},"title":"Exito!","author":"Staff","date":"March 29, 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"Seeking Exito!\u00a0 Story and photos provided by the WISE Women\u2019s Business Center Imagine yourself as a motivated woman with the desire to own a business, yet faced with language barriers, childcare challenges and the inability to understand laws of a newly-adopted country. These challenges and more were addressed in a\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Features"","block_context":{"text":"Features","link":"https:\/\/www.syracusewomanmag.com\/?cat=101"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.syracusewomanmag.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/03\/Graduation-Damara.jpg?fit=1200%2C798&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.syracusewomanmag.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/03\/Graduation-Damara.jpg?fit=1200%2C798&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.syracusewomanmag.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/03\/Graduation-Damara.jpg?fit=1200%2C798&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.syracusewomanmag.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/03\/Graduation-Damara.jpg?fit=1200%2C798&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.syracusewomanmag.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/03\/Graduation-Damara.jpg?fit=1200%2C798&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":2318,"url":"https:\/\/www.syracusewomanmag.com\/?p=2318","url_meta":{"origin":1679,"position":2},"title":"LETTER FROM THE EDITOR: A note from WISE","author":"Sarah Hall","date":"April 5, 2019","format":false,"excerpt":"Editor\u2019s note: In honor of our WISE edition this month, instead of my blathering, I\u2019m giving over this space to Nicole Samolis. Looking forward to seeing you at the Symposium on the 25th! - Sarah \u00a0 Hello,Readers, \u00a0 Welcome to the WISE Symposium issue! \u00a0 This year marks the 17th\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "From the editor"","block_context":{"text":"From the editor","link":"https:\/\/www.syracusewomanmag.com\/?cat=717"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.syracusewomanmag.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/03\/New-WISE-Symposium-Logo.jpg?fit=1200%2C720&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.syracusewomanmag.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/03\/New-WISE-Symposium-Logo.jpg?fit=1200%2C720&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.syracusewomanmag.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/03\/New-WISE-Symposium-Logo.jpg?fit=1200%2C720&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.syracusewomanmag.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/03\/New-WISE-Symposium-Logo.jpg?fit=1200%2C720&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.syracusewomanmag.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/03\/New-WISE-Symposium-Logo.jpg?fit=1200%2C720&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":620,"url":"https:\/\/www.syracusewomanmag.com\/?p=620","url_meta":{"origin":1679,"position":3},"title":"Notes from the Board","author":"Staff","date":"March 30, 2017","format":false,"excerpt":"Five members of the WISE Women\u2019s Business Center advisory board share their stories, memories and advice. Madelyn Hornstein Dermody, Burke & Brown CEO SWM: How did you get involved with WISE? A number of my business associates and\/or clients had been involved with WISE, so I believe they mentioned my\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Features"","block_context":{"text":"Features","link":"https:\/\/www.syracusewomanmag.com\/?cat=101"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.syracusewomanmag.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/01\/cropped-SWM-logo-use-this-one.jpg?fit=930%2C448&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.syracusewomanmag.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/01\/cropped-SWM-logo-use-this-one.jpg?fit=930%2C448&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.syracusewomanmag.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/01\/cropped-SWM-logo-use-this-one.jpg?fit=930%2C448&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.syracusewomanmag.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/01\/cropped-SWM-logo-use-this-one.jpg?fit=930%2C448&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":3553,"url":"https:\/\/www.syracusewomanmag.com\/?p=3553","url_meta":{"origin":1679,"position":4},"title":"Guest commentary: Thinking about starting or scaling a small business? You don\u2019t need to do it alone!","author":"Alyssa Dearborn","date":"April 19, 2023","format":false,"excerpt":"By Meghan C. Florkowski At the WISE Women\u2019s Business Center (WBC), we\u2019re often asked about why we do the work we do. We love this question! The short answer is that our center is wholly dedicated to helping Central New York women achieve their potential as business owners. At WISE,\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Guest Commentary"","block_context":{"text":"Guest Commentary","link":"https:\/\/www.syracusewomanmag.com\/?cat=1245"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.syracusewomanmag.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/WISE-WBC-Women.png?fit=1200%2C960&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.syracusewomanmag.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/WISE-WBC-Women.png?fit=1200%2C960&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.syracusewomanmag.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/WISE-WBC-Women.png?fit=1200%2C960&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.syracusewomanmag.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/WISE-WBC-Women.png?fit=1200%2C960&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.syracusewomanmag.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/WISE-WBC-Women.png?fit=1200%2C960&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":847,"url":"https:\/\/www.syracusewomanmag.com\/?p=847","url_meta":{"origin":1679,"position":5},"title":"WISE Woman: Suzanne Taddeo","author":"Staff","date":"June 30, 2017","format":false,"excerpt":"Featured Entrepreneur By Lindsay Wickham Growing up in a family with both a father and mother owning their own business and surrounded later in life by two sisters who have both owned their own companies, Suzanne Taddeo is no stranger to an entrepreneurial lifestyle. After completing her graduate degree in\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Features"","block_context":{"text":"Features","link":"https:\/\/www.syracusewomanmag.com\/?cat=101"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.syracusewomanmag.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/01\/cropped-SWM-logo-use-this-one.jpg?fit=930%2C448&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.syracusewomanmag.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/01\/cropped-SWM-logo-use-this-one.jpg?fit=930%2C448&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.syracusewomanmag.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/01\/cropped-SWM-logo-use-this-one.jpg?fit=930%2C448&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.syracusewomanmag.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/01\/cropped-SWM-logo-use-this-one.jpg?fit=930%2C448&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.syracusewomanmag.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1679","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.syracusewomanmag.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.syracusewomanmag.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.syracusewomanmag.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.syracusewomanmag.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1679"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.syracusewomanmag.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1679\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1680,"href":"https:\/\/www.syracusewomanmag.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1679\/revisions\/1680"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.syracusewomanmag.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/1740"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.syracusewomanmag.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1679"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.syracusewomanmag.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1679"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.syracusewomanmag.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1679"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}