The Forum would like to give a big thank you to Robert Egger for last night’s inspiring discussion on social enterprise in America. For those who were unable to attend, we hope to have an audio of the event up shortly. In the meantime, click here if you’re interested in volunteering with D.C. Central Kitchen, or here to check out the V3 campaign to unite America’s social enterprises.

“I want to demonstrate that you can employ people that society views as unemployable, on the fringe, or dangerous. And I aim to give people the best show they’ve ever seen… Doing a good deed is too often perceived as the ashes and sackcloth stuff. I want to break free of that. I want it to be something that’s joyful and purposeful and profitable — all at the same time.” – Robert Egger, “15 Minutes with Robert Egger,” Stanford Social Innovation Review

Join the GW Social Enterprise Forum as we welcome Robert Egger to campus for our last event of the semester. As a social entrepreneur, the founder of DC Central Kitchen, and Oprah’s Sexiest Real Man Alive, Robert Egger is the Forum’s prime example of social enterprise at its finest! Download the event flyer here.

Date: 12.03.09
Time: 7-8pm
Location: Funger 103

RSVP on Facebook!

Thank you so much to everyone who came out for the SHE Soiree last night!

Thank you especially to Elizabeth Scharpf – founder of Sustainable Health Enterprises – for generously agreeing to join us for the soiree; Kelly Ann Collins, for coordinating the venue; and the staff of Mate in Georgetown for hosting us.

Please visit she28.sheinnovates.com to join the she28 campaign!

Please join the Forum for a special speaking engagement with Awista Ayub, author of However Tall the Mountain, followed by an open reception and book signing. Click here for the event flyer.

After years of exile in the U.S., Awista returned home to Afghanistan to found the Afghan Youth Sports Exchange, nurturing a generation of Afghan girls through soccer. Come listen to Awista discuss her new book and speak to the remarkable challenges and opportunities facing the girls of Afghanistan. For more information on Awista and her book visit www.awistaayub.com.

Date: Tuesday, Dec. 1

Place: 1957 E St. Room 213

Time: 6:30-7:30pm

This event is sponsored by the GW Social Enterprise Forum and the Institute for Global & International Studies. Thank you also to our co-sponsors, Delta Phi Epsilon Professional Foreign Service Sorority and Fraternity and the Elliott School’s Graduate Program in International Affairs.

Please RSVP to gwsocialenterprise@gmail.com.

StartingBloc has extended their fellowship application deadline to Nov. 30th! Below is a message from StartingBloc:

Are you ready to join 120 other emerging leaders for a once in a lifetime experience? We’re scouring the globe to bring together doers, thinkers, movers and shakers, ages 20-29, who want to make a bigger difference and build a better world.

The StartingBloc Fellowship begins with our Institute for Social Innovation, where we educate, inspire and connect these social innovators to create new solutions to global challenges. We believe real change happens through collaboration between diverse individuals, so our Fellows hail from all disciplines and sectors.

Following the Institute, Fellows have access to our graduate and business school partners, and go on to join our network of 1,100 Fellows from over 50 countries and 220 universities. Are you ready? Apply for the StartingBloc Fellowship :: www.startingbloc.org/application. Questions? :: fellowship@startingbloc.org

Despite Thursday’s weather, Kiva Days went off without a hitch. Thank you SO much to everyone who worked shifts and everyone who invested. We definitely achieved our goal of spreading the concept of microfinance on GW’s campus. We couldn’t have asked for a better event!!

Total invested: $2475

Number of investors: 81

Additional amount donated to Kiva.org: over $150

Amount of knowledge spread: Priceless

If you would still like to invest, please visit http://gwsef.wordpress.com/kiva-days. Easy lending instructions can be found at the bottom of the page. Email us at gwsocialenterprise@gmail.com with any questions.

Kiva Days begins tomorrow!

From 9am – 9pm in Kogan Plaza, the Forum and its co-sponsors will be facilitating student microfinance investment in five micro-entrepreneurs from across the world. A $25 investment will help them to kickstart or expand their business – empowering themselves, their families and their communities. But it’s not a donation, because in 6 to 12 months, students get their money back. So join us in giving a hand-up, not a hand-out.

And now… please meet our five selected micro-entrepreneurs:

Rosalie Nilea Bek Marta Mahmadsaid

Download the official event flyer here, and if you have any questions, shoot us an email at gwsocialenterprise@gmail.com. See you in Kogan!

The Forum is excited to announce our SHE Soiree: a special cocktail hour and discussion with Elizabeth Schrapf, the founder of Sustainable Health Enterprises (SHE).

Girls and women across the developing world miss up to 50 days per year of school and work time because of a lack of access to affordable sanitary pads. Yup, that’s right: menstruation is a big barrier to women’s progress in developing countries.

SHE is innovating a solution: a franchise model of locally-owned businesses run by women that manufacture and distribute affordable, high quality and eco-friendly sanitary pads.

Check out the event flyer and watch the awesome video below. To attend the event, please RSVP by clicking here. This will be a fun, swanky and exciting evening filled with (cheap) cocktails, sushi and, of course, social enterprise!

The Forum is working hard for our up-coming campus-wide event, Kiva Days! For two days, the Forum will set up shop in Kogan Plaza to facilitate student investment in five select micro-entrepreneurs from five continents.

Students may invest as little as $25 in a micro-entrepreneur, periodically receiving updates on the impact. After 6-12 months, students get all their money back. Through person-to-person microfinance lending, the Forum hopes to help the GW community explore alternative ways of helping: giving a hand-up, not a hand-out.

So please join us on November 19 or 20 in Kogan Plaza from 9am-9pm. Visit our Kiva Days page for more information, download the event flyer here, and register on our Facebook event page. And, as always, feel free to email us at gwsocialenterprise@gmail.com for any further questions or comments!

The Forum would like to give a big thank you to Scott Beale for sharing his experiences and insights as a social entrepreneur! If you would like to support Atlas Corps in America’s Giving Challenge, visit here to donate.

Stay tuned for more information from Atlas Corps on their upcoming happy hour. All Forum members are invited!