WHAT YOU’LL LEARN:
- Understand the concept of social entrepreneurship and be inspired to find new ways to tackle the world’s greatest challenges
- Appreciate that social entrepreneurship is a mindset to tackle problems across different sectors (public, private, non-profit)
- Discover a pathway for how you can make change whether this is founding an enterprise, serving on a board, or supporting social entrepreneurs in other creative ways
DESCRIPTION:
Ever dream of changing the world or making a difference? You are invited to roll up your sleeves and join a group of entrepreneurs on a journey to change lives by changing systems. In this 5-module introductory course from +Acumen, we’ll cover what social entrepreneurship is and why it’s so exciting. Built from Acumen’s years of experience investing in social entrepreneurs, this course will also feature firsthand stories and advice from 4 inspiring founders: Charles Best of DonorsChoose.org, Thulsiraj Ravilla of Aravind Eyecare, Leila Janah of Samasource, and JB Schramm of College Summit. Designed for anyone approaching social entrepreneurship for the first time, this interactive learning experience will give you an overview of the sector. You’ll begin to identify a problem you care about, understand the considerations needed for impact and financial sustainability, and learn about how various entrepreneurs have thought about scale.
FORMAT AND TIMING:
- Team-Based Course: We strongly encourage (but do not require) that you form a team of 2-8 people to take the course with. It works best to find friends or coworkers who can meet in person. Need to find team members? You can post to the discussion forums a month before the course starts.
- Platform: NovoEd (+Acumen developed the course. We host this course on the NovoEd platform.)
- Timing: This course will be open for 6 weeks. You can work through the materials at your own pace during the time the course is open. There are no required times for you to log in. There will be suggested deadlines for you to complete each assignment. The final deadline is the final day of the course.
COURSE SYLLABUS
SECTION 1: WHAT IS SOCIAL ENTREPRENEURSHIP?
SECTION 2: IDENTIFY YOUR MISSION
SECTION 4: PLAN FOR SUSTAINABILITY