Attending or helping plan the Social Enterprise Club’s “Think Social, Drink Local” marquee fundraiser is one of many options that socially conscious aspiring MBAs will find at New York University’s (NYU’s) Stern School of Business to fulfill their interests. With help from corporate sponsors, the event raises money for the school’s Social Venture Fund, a student-run fund that awards grants to nonprofits focused on educational services in the New York City area. In 2012, the event raised more than $10,000 and featured an open bar with organic, locally produced drinks as well as a fashion show featuring ecofriendly designers modeled by Stern students and administration members.
So…what exactly are we implying? Although NYU Stern is perhaps not well known among the top MBA programs for sustainable enterprise or social entrepreneurship, the school actually offers an array of resources for those interested in pursuing careers in these fields. The Stewart Satter Program in Social Entrepreneurship serves as the hub of all socially entrepreneurial activities and events at the school, and in 2008, Stern introduced a Social Innovation and Impact specialization, thereby formalizing an academic track for students with this career path in mind.
Outside the classroom, through Stern Consulting Corps, students can partner on consulting projects with New York City–based nonprofits such as the William J. Clinton Foundation’s Economic Opportunity Initiative, and for those who also have the entrepreneurial bug, Stern added a Social Venture Competition to its traditional for-profit Annual Business Plan Competition, in which participants compete for the $100,000 Satter Family Prize.
In short, socially conscious Sternies have quite a bit to keep them busy!