The initiative, responding to the soaring interest in social entrepreneurship in recent years, will involve the launch of the Global Social Enterprise Institute, the cloud-based Global Social Enterprise Accelerator, the Community Social Venture Connect Program (CSVC) and a global network of regional and university chapters.
The initiative’s initial phase will deploy $50 million in capital to social entrepreneurs throughout the world and create over 2,000 jobs in the impact sector.
Internationally recognized social entrepreneur and Newhouse alumnus W. Michael Short ’10 will serve as the institute’s president and CEO. Startup Insider was officially announced in October 2014 at the 4th annual Entrepreneurship Bootcamp for Veterans with Disabilities Conference in Atlanta. Since then, the initiative has developed a growing global network of 250 university and institutional collaborators, and nearly 400 undergraduate students from partner institutions have been actively engaged in the initiative’s development.
The Global Social Enterprise Institute is in the process of launching its CSVC program, which is directed towards for-profit, non-profit and hybrid social enterprises and will provide consulting and facilitated workshops in an attempt to empower social enterprises working to strengthen communities throughout the region.
The regional launch of CSVC program in Upstate New York involves a dynamic partnership with the Small Business Development Center (SBDC) at Onondaga Community College, which has had a regional economic impact of $165 million and created 6,920 jobs.
"Social entrepreneurship is a rapidly developing field and SBDC is thrilled to be partnering with the Startup Insider Initiative’s Global Social Enterprise Institute at the Madden School of Business to support social venture creation and growth in Onondaga County," says Joan Powers, SBDC director. "It's a true pleasure to be collaborating and building on our relationship with Le Moyne's Social Entrepreneur in Residence as he develops a world-class social enterprise program at Le Moyne College.”
Catholic Charities of Onondaga County will serve as one of the first participants in the CSVC program offered by the Global Social Enterprise Institute.
Under the leadership of executive director Mike Melara, Catholic Charities is making tremendous progress to date in launching its own social enterprise, Project Joseph, which hires recent refugees and people who are homeless/housing vulnerable and provides them with skills training and entry into the employment market. Named in honor of St. Joseph, the patron saint of workers, Project Joseph has already created 10 full-time jobs.
"Working with this exciting new community resource and Le Moyne's Social Entrepreneur in Residence, we're aiming to double the impact of Project Joseph," says Melara.
A full announcement is expected in the coming weeks regarding the launch of both the regional CSVC program and the first 10 chapter organizations on college campuses throughout the U.S., which will include Stanford University, Le Moyne College and Syracuse University.
“It’s a pleasure to be involved in these exciting endeavors spearheaded by Newhouse alumnus W. Michael Short that are now gaining traction around the world with the help of our students,” says Robert Kucharavy, a professor of practice in public relations at Newhouse. “It’s also inspiring to see the high degree of collaboration that this initiative is inspiring globally, as well as locally, between Syracuse University and Le Moyne College.”
The Startup Insider Initiative is currently housed within the Centers of Excellence at the Madden School of Business at Le Moyne.
“With its focus on helping others in society through sustainable and impactful initiatives, social entrepreneurship fits perfectly with the mission of our institution,” says Le Moyne College President Linda LeMura. “As a Jesuit college, we are committed to identifying and developing opportunities that will foster a more just and equitable society, concepts that are at the very core of social entrepreneurship.”
Work on the Startup Insider Initiative at Newhouse began in August 2014 in Kucharavy’s public relations course. Students spent the fall semester developing comprehensive campaigns focused on engaging the initiative’s core constituencies.
The Newhouse School’s student-run public relations firm, Hill Communications,
is now implementing many of the campaign strategies developed in the fall and
assisting in the launch of the new global brand. Courtney Inbody, a senior in the Newhouse School and the Martin J. Whitman School of Management, is the account supervisor, overseeing a team of seven students collaborating on the Startup Insider launch.
"A major benefit of attending Newhouse is having access to unique hands-on and real-world experiences with high profile initiatives like this one," says Inbody. "As a public relations student, having the opportunity to work with a Newhouse alumnus who successfully launched his own global public relations consultancy focused on positive impact is both inspiring and rewarding."
