Raise the Bar matches celebrated beverage industry leaders with up-and-coming talent to support their development, expand their network, and fast track their rise in the community. This is accomplished through 1:1 mentoring, strategic goal setting, and the mentee’s chosen project.

The program is a robust six-month commitment, with biweekly mentor-mentee discussion sessions, group progress presentations every two months, and a final presentation by mentees to key Uncle Nearest leadership resulting in the selection of two recipients of a $10,000 grant to fund ongoing project development.

A key difference in Raise the Bar’s programming is our focus on mentor development. While many leaders in our industry are experts in their field and have the desire to share their knowledge and expertise with the next generation, for mentorship to be successful it needs structure. Our program ensures participating mentors are set up for success by providing tools to strengthen the skills needed to facilitate the mentoring process.

• Raise the Bar is centered around inclusivity and equity within the bar industry. To this end, we will not focus on any singular demographic in our recruitment or selection, however we will make it a point to ensure that each cohort reflects a broad representation of our bar community.

• The application requirements include a completed application form with essay questions or a video submission explaining why you want to be considered for the program, as well as one letter of recommendation. Applicants who move on to the second round of consideration will complete a virtual interview.

• Section of mentees will be based on their communicated ambition to positively impact the industry, not on prestige of their current job status, employer, or network.