Bank of America Donates $1 Million for Social Entrepreneurship
Thursday, April 21, 2011
The McDonough School of Business announced Tuesday that it will partner with Bank of America to form the Global Social Entrepreneurship Initiative, a program designed to prepare students to conduct successful socially-conscious business.
The Bank of America Charitable Foundation has donated $1 million dollars to Georgetown to support the initiative. The gift is among the largest donations given to the university from the banking industry, according to an MSB press release.
According to former AARP CEO and MSB Professor of the Practice William Novelli, who will head the initiative, the program plans to integrate its socially-minded focus into the business school’s curriculum and research. It is Novelli’s hope that every student that graduates will leave prepared to conduct a new form of business that he calls “doing well by doing good.”
“We want to … create the leaders of tomorrow,” Novelli said.
The university approached Bank of America about the partnership, drawing on already existing initiatives by the bank according Novelli.
“They are very interested in tackling economic development and job growth. So it was big issue that fit within our model,” he said.
GSEI plans to partner with government, non-profits and corporations to conduct help creatively solve global problems. According to the initiative’s website, it will focus on the areas of global health and well-being, responsible investing, clean energy technology, international development and economic growth.
