Social Impact Round Up: Week of Feb 24

Wharton Social Impact Initiative presents a weekly round-up of events and news related to social impact topics.

Events

Business Plan Writing 101

Feb. 26, Noon-1:30 p.m., JMHH 265: Wharton Entrepreneurship Wednesdays, a series of biweekly workshops and information sessions for Penn entrepreneurs, continues this week with lecture on writing an effective business plan. Aspiring social entrepreneurs or students preparing for the Wharton Business Plan Competition (and new social impact prize) should attend.

The workshop will be led by Wharton lecturer Patrick FitzGerald, C’97, a veteran entrepreneur who has participated in the foundation or expansion of a variety of businesses, most notably RecycleBank, Philadelphia Distilling, Shopiks, Carbonrally, Philly Car Share and ReProduct. This event is free and open to all Penn students.

Theory to Practice: Using Your Education to Make a Difference in the Public Sector

Feb. 26, 4:30 p.m., SHDH 107: Penn’s Public Policy Initiative presents a lecture by Dan Tangherlini, WG’01, Administrator of the U.S. General Services Administration. The lecture is open to all, but registration is required.

Since joining the GSA, Tangherlini has served a vital role in President Barack Obama’s agenda to build a more sustainable, responsible, and effective government. The agency is responsible for improving the government’s workplace by managing assets, delivering maximum value in acquisitions, preserving historic property, and implementing technology solutions.

Wharton Women in Business Lecture: Sallie Krawcheck

Feb. 27, 4.30-6pm, SHDH 350: As part of its leadership lecture series, Wharton Women in Business presents a talk by Sallie Krawcheck, Owner of 85 Broads professional women’s networking organization. Krawcheck is the former President of Global Wealth and Investment Management for Bank of America Merril Lynch, and will discuss the “power of investing in women.”

The lecture is free to attend for students, faculty and staff, but an RSVP is required.

Participants in the 2013 Penn Social Impact House, a two-week fellowship institute consisting of 22 fellows from five countries.

News and Opportunities

This semester, Wharton Social Impact Initiative kicks off a new Sub-Saharan Africa initiative, exploring issues such as poverty, education, social entrepreneurship, and lack of investment capital in an area that’s ripe for entrepreneurial growth. As part of the initiative, we will launch several funded summer internships for Wharton and Penn students. Stay tuned to our Facebook page for more information.

Our social impact job board has new projects, internships, and international summer opportunities for MBAs and undergrads. Browse the listings and apply today.

Applications are now open to become a Fellow at the Penn Social Impact House. Led by Penn experts and thought leaders in social innovation, design thinking, and business development, this two-week Fellowship program, held in late-May to early-June, brings together a community of innovators committed to designing effective solutions for social change. Applications are due this Thursday, Feb. 27 by midnight.

Volunteers are needed for the 2014 Milken-Penn GSE Education Business Plan Competition and Conference, held on May 13-14. Network with leaders in educational entrepreneurship and learn from thought-leaders about the changing landscape of educational technology, and rub elbows with funders, entrepreneurs, researchers and practitioners. For more information, contact Joan Romm at jromm@gse.upenn.edu

On the Wharton Blog Network, Brendan Stone, W’17, describes his experience as a freshman at Wharton (including attending the Lauren and Bobby Turner Social Impact Speaker Series featuring Ashton Kutcher) and concludes that the Wharton experience is really about “the opportunities that students have to learn by listening outside the classroom.”

ABC News explored the concept of impact investing, as well as social responsible and ESG practices. WSII’s Nick Ashburn, GSE’12, responded with a piece on Wharton’s advancement in the field.

At Clinton Global Initiative annual meeting last week, Bill and Chelsea Clinton announced that 2014 would focus on “Reimagining Impact.” This year, CGI members will explore how they can “better measure and assess the outcomes of their…plans to address complex global challenges — and build new approaches that achieve greater impact going forward.” The accompanying video features Erika Karp and several Wharton alums.

Do you have a social impact event or news item you’d like us to share? Email your information to Allie Harcharek at aharch@wharton.upenn.edu. View previous round-ups in our archives.