Lend for America: Summer 2012 Microfinance Internship for College Students

In January I published a blog post about microfinance organizations run by college students. My blog post mentioned the report "Can Student-run Microfinance Organizations Help Address Issues of Scale and Sustainability in the U.S. Domestic Microenterprise Industry?" written by Elaine Edgcomb and Luz Gomez, published by FIELD of the Aspen Institute, and the Campus Microfinance Alliance.

I recently got to speak with Luz, who then introduced me to Vanessa Carter. Vanessa works for the Campus Microfinance Alliance. Luz and Vanessa both let me know about an amazing, brand new summer 2012 opportunity for college students. Check it out!



From the Lend for America website:

You'll spend your summer at Lend for America working with real people, real businesses, and real money. You'll get to meet entrepreneurs, review loans, and see how microenterprise works in the U.S. You'll be working with people who've chosen careers with a conscience.

All of your travel expenses are paid and you'll receive a $2,500 stipend.

After the summer, you'll start a new Campus MFI and join a national movement of social entrepreneurs working to build a better country through microfinance. After a few weeks, you'll serve your first client, make your first loan, and soon you'll be hooked.

Apply for the Lend for America Internship here. Have some questions? Check out the Virtual Information Session on Friday, December 16 from 2-2:45pm EST. Register here.

Not your Average Business School Guides.

Received this info today via an email from the Aspen Institute:

Net Impact's annual Business as UNusual guide gives the inside scoop on what business programs are doing to prepare students for careers that make a positive impact on the world.

Each year, we ask current students to profile their program's curricula, activities, career services, and more. Now bigger and better than ever, Business as UNusual is the go-to guide for comparing each program's commitment to themes such as corporate responsibility, sustainability, social entrepreneurship, and more.

Download the free 2010 guide here. It looks fantastic!

Another great (and also free) resource for persons interested in alternative grad school reviews is Beyond Gray Pinstripes.

Obama: "The Surest Path to Success is to surround yourself with Brilliant Women."

This appeared on President Obama's Facebook wall this morning.



I like that Obama referenced the young women in the room so many times during his speech. This talk focuses on access to education & jobs, and private-public partnerships that Obama has coordinated to make this happen. Obama references initiatives Race to the Top, Change the Equation, Skills for America's Future (in partnership with the Aspen Institute), & the recent White House Council on Women & Girls' Women's Entrepreneurship Summit.

Beyond Grey Pinstripes

The Aspen Institute mission is twofold: to foster values-based leadership, encouraging individuals to reflect on the ideals and ideas that define a good society, and to provide a neutral and balanced venue for discussing and acting on critical issues.

The Aspen Institute does this primarily in four ways:

* Seminars, which help participants reflect on what they think makes a good society, thereby deepening knowledge, broadening perspectives and enhancing their capacity to solve the problems leaders face.
* Young-leader fellowships around the globe, which bring a selected class of proven leaders together for an intense multi-year program and commitment. The fellows become better leaders and apply their skills to significant challenges.
* Policy programs, which serve as nonpartisan forums for analysis, consensus building, and problem solving on a wide variety of issues.
* Public conferences and events, which provide a commons for people to share ideas.


Within it's policy work, the Aspen Institute has a Business and Society Program. Within that, is the Center for Business Education.

The Aspen Institute Center for Business Education targets innovators and works with business managers at all levels, from MBA students to Fortune 500 CEOs in order to prepare leaders for social and environmental stewardship.


One of it's programs is Beyond Grey Pinstripes, an alternative global data base and report card on MBA business education that's published bi-annually.

The 2009 - 2010 edition came out on October 21st. You can view the school rankings here.

You can search for courses across all business schools who participated in the ranking, by subject matter, here.

Why Grey Pinstripes?

Whereas a major purpose of many rankings is to generate “buzz” that will sell magazines, Beyond Grey Pinstripes has a different aim: it is undertaken as part of Aspen CBE’s broader effort to ensure that MBA programs are preparing future business leaders to both identify the opportunities and mitigate the costs of business’ relationship with society and the environment.

Specifically, the program has two main goals:

- To provide a detailed “map” of what is currently taught, so that faculty, administrators, students and alumni can benchmark their schools and identify best practices from around the world.

- To offer public recognition of the faculty, departments, and schools that are doing excellent work, which may encourage schools to allocate greater resources to this aspect of MBA education.

Note: To be ranked by Beyond Grey Pinstripes, schools that meet a certain set of qualifying criteria must opt in to the process and submit data. Schools can opt in to the 2011-2012 Beyond Grey Pinstripes survey by emailing Justin Goldbach.


Two of Aspen CBE's other programs of note:

- CasePlace.org - teaching resources for business educators.
A free and practical on-line resource for up-to-date case studies, syllabi, and innovative teaching materials on business and sustainability. Created for the educators who will shape our next generation of business leaders!

- The Corporate Values Strategy Group - a forum for business leaders to promote change in policy and business practice in pursuit of long-term value creation.


MORE resources from The Aspen Institute - I just saw these:

The Sustainable MBA: The 2010-2011 Guide to Business Schools That Are Making a Difference.

The Sustainable MBA features detailed information on over 150 leading MBA programs worldwide that incorporate environmental and social stewardship into their curricula. With this guide, prospective students can compare and contrast MBA programs that deal with social and environmental issues based upon required and elective courses, career resources, faculty research, concentrations, joint degree programs, student clubs and activities, and on-campus institutes and centers. For practitioners and academics in the field, we also recommend The Sustainable MBA as the most up-to-date guide on what leading institutions are focusing on within the field of business and society.


They also recommend these 2 resources for both prospective and current MBA students --

Net Impact's 2009 Business as UNusual: The Student Guide to Graduate Programs: Established in 2006 and now published annually, Business as UNusual provides the student perspective on how nearly 90 business schools and other graduate programs incorporate social and environmental themes into their curriculum, extracurricular activities, and career services. To download Business as UNusual visit Net Impact's web site.

Profession and Purpose: A Resource Guide for MBA Careers in Sustainability:
Through hundreds of conversations with MBA students, professionals, and recruiters, as well as her own personal experience, Katie Kross has compiled key job search resources and tips for MBAs interested in sustainability careers with ideas for researching companies, making the most of networking, identifying job and internship openings, and preparing for interviews.