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Amara Obiyo is a graduate student at the University of Texas-Arlington who sells
Mary Kay cosmetics in her spare time when she’s not studying or working.
A Nigerian student who came to the US when she was a child, she joined the
Strategic Business Intelligence Group as an original charter member in March,
2005. ...read more»
USING THE
SBIG WEBSITE The web is loaded with information on social entrepreneurship
and for anyone who can invest 15 minutes in Google, you should find more
than enough information to keep you busy for weeks to come. Looking for ground-breaking
innovators with international reach in social enterprise? Great! Check out Ashoka and the great stuff Bill Drayton has going on. Want to dialogue with
hundreds of other social entrepreneurs and NPO executives on all kinds of
topics?
Super! Check out eBay founder Jeff Skoll’s awesome site at the Social Edge or the online discussion
forum at the Social
Enterprise Alliance ...read
more»
FEATURE
RGK Center Launches Social Innovation Competition
AUSTIN, Texas–In an effort to spark the energy, idealism, and spirit of social entrepreneurship for the public good,
the RGK Center for Philanthropy and Community Service at the LBJ School of Public Affairs has announced it will award
$50,000 to a student who develops a compelling and innovative new initiative that will contribute to the public good.
The Social Innovation Competition. will provide the “venture capital” for a student innovation from idea to reality
by developing skills in plan development, pitching ideas to investors, developing networks and receiving constructive
feedback for increasing the probability of successfully launching a venture....read
more»
FEATURE
From the NFL (via the Salvation Army) to Social Enterprise
As I’m writing this column, the temperature has reached that menacing point where the rain is turning to ice on the trees. Several inches of snow are expected tomorrow. And I just came from the grocery store where the Salvation Army volunteers hadn’t ceased ringing their bells even though shoppers were darting past them to scrape the ice off their cars. Ah, the predictable signs of the holiday season in Central Illinois.
As I greeted the Salvation Army bell ringer, my thoughts drifted to Herb
Lusk. I haven’t spoken to Herb since I interviewed him for The
Power of One,
but now when I come in contact with the Salvation Army, I’m often reminded
of his initiative, People for People, in North Central Philadelphia and how
it all began....read more»
FROM THE DIRECTOR'S DESK
Are You Listening SMU?
This month is a crucial one for SBIG…and a tremendously busy one for me.
Beginning in January we launch the first phase of our partnership with the
Dallas based Yvonne A. Ewell Townvew Magnet Center to provide the Townview
School of Business and Management with a unique online curriculum in social
entrepreneurship for high school students. As far as we know, it’s the
first of its kind anywhere. There is obviously a great deal to do before
our August rollout for the fall semester of 2007. On top of this SBIG is
in the middle of some changes designed to boost our reach and magnify our impact.
All of this takes a LOT of my time…HUGE amounts in fact.
That’s why it’s always nice when something good happens that I wasn’t expecting…something
I can get truly excited about…especially when it didn’t require any extra time or effort
on my part. A couple of weeks ago Cody Gilleland, a nanotechnology researcher at Texas
Instruments (and a 2005 Skoll World Forum on Social Entrepreneurship participant),
who is also a key participant for SBIG in helping us launch the social enterprise
curriculum at Townview, sent me an email with the prospect of an interesting networking contact.
I really love it when people do that…because it’s ALL about the networking! ...read
more»