Bank of America Reinvests in Georgetown's Global Social Enterprise Initiative
The Global Social Enterprise Initiative (GSEI) at Georgetown University’s McDonough School of Business has received $500,000 from the Bank of America Charitable Foundation to support the initiative’s work in training business leaders to create social, economic, and environmental value.
This funding, part of a $1-million commitment to the university, will support the initiative’s many activities including author Leslie Crutchfield’s work as a senior research fellow for GSEI. A leading authority on social innovation and philanthropy, Crutchfield is the co-author of “Do More Than Give” and “Forces for Good: The Six Practices of High-Impact Nonprofits.” While at Georgetown McDonough, Crutchfield will work on her third book and provide expert guidance while with the initiative. She also will use her insights as an industry practitioner to provide meaningful advice and experience to student leaders and in original content for GSEI publications.
“The new book builds on the ideas in my first two books, which looked at how high-impact nonprofits and foundations create societal change,” Crutchfield said. “Now, we’re going to look at how leaders from across all sectors – private, public, and nonprofit – work collectively to address large-scale systemic societal problems.”
In 2011, the Bank of America Charitable Foundation awarded Georgetown $1 million to create GSEI within Georgetown’s McDonough School of Business. Impressed with the success of the program, the foundation decided to provide additional funding in 2015 to add, in addition to the fellowship, a corporate social responsibility speaker series and five internships for undergraduate and graduate students. In addition, the foundation supports annual leadership series events and the bank’s experts in impact investing, corporate social responsibility, and environmental sustainability guest lecture in MBA and undergraduate business courses during the academic year.
“Bank of America recognizes the importance of cultivating the next generation of business leaders to think differently – to be both good corporate citizens and community citizens who are in service to business and to society,” said Ladan Manteghi, GSEI executive director. “Through our collaboration, we’re fortunate to add Leslie Crutchfield to our team and to partner with her on her next book.”
“GSEI is operating at the intersection between business and society, and advancing thinking and practice by leveraging the best of both of these worlds,” Crutchfield said. “That’s where I think some of the most exciting initiatives are happening today. It’s distinctive for a business school to move in this direction.”
Crutchfield serves as a senior advisor with FSG and is a former managing director of Ashoka. Her work has been featured in national media, including Fortune, Forbes, The Harvard Business Review, The Washington Post, and The Chronicle of Philanthropy, and she has appeared on programs such as ABC News, NPR, and PBS. She has served on the board of the SEED Foundation and was a Crossroads Africa volunteer. She received an MBA and a B.A. from Harvard University.
About the Global Social Enterprise Initiative
The Global Social Enterprise Initiative at Georgetown’s McDonough School of Business aims to prepare current and future leaders to make responsible management decisions that yield both economic and social value. Through practical training for global business leaders, the initiative promotes transformative solutions to and impactful investments in the world’s significant challenges in health and well-being, economic growth, the environment, and international development. It is led by Distinguished Professor of the Practice Bill Novelli and Executive Director Ladan Manteghi. Learn more at http://socialenterprise.georgetown.edu.