• For sophomores and juniors in the College of Business, or students who have completed Social Venturing courses

• 8-10 weeks

• 1 credit business* / 1 credit theology

• Financial stipend for living expenses

• $2,500 scholarship

• Application deadline: February 10, 2013
• Sites will be filled on a rolling basis starting in January 2013

• APPLICATION IS NOW CLOSED

*Only one internship credit can be applied toward a Mendoza student’s degree requirements. If a student has any questions or concerns, she or he should consult the undergraduate advising office in the Mendoza College of Business.

SOCIAL VENTURING INTERNSHIPS

2013 SITES

2012 Intern: Chicago

Alexandria Doctor ’14

SITE DESCRIPTION

ACCION CHICAGO

ACCION CHICAGO is an alternative lending organization dedicated to providing credit and other business services to small business owners who do not have access to traditional sources of financing. By encouraging the economic self-reliance of microentrepreneurs throughout the Chicagoland area, ACCION Chicago strives to help businesses and communities grow. Many of the ACCION clients do not have access to traditional bank loans. The small size of their loan request and limited credit history regularly make them ineligible for conventional financing and unable to obtain the credit they need to grow their businesses. ACCION Chicago provides the credit and training necessary to help small business owners increase their incomes, create new jobs, and strengthen their communities. 

2012 Intern: Texas

Ricardo Barrios ’14

SITE DESCRIPTION

ACCION TEXAS

The mission of ACCION TEXAS, INC. is to provide credit and service to small businesses that do not have access to loans from commercial sources, and to provide leadership and service to the micro-lending field on a national level. Established in 1994 in San Antonio, ACCION helps entrepreneurs strengthen their businesses, stabilize and increase their incomes, create employment, and contribute to the economic revitalization of their communities.

ACCION Texas Inc. provides individual business loans from $500 to $50,000 for startups and up to $250,000 for established businesses. All loan funds repaid to ACCION are reinvested in the community. Additionally, ACCION Texas Inc. is a SBA 504 Certified Development Company. The 504 program, available only in Texas, provides healthy growing businesses with affordable long-term, fixed-rate financing for major fixed assets, such as land and buildings. ACCION works with the SBA and Private-Sector lenders to provide commercial real estate financing up to $4 million, to small businesses under the SBA 504 Program.

NEW SITE FOR

SUMMER 2013!

SITE DESCRIPTION

CATHOLIC CHARITIES

Catholic Charities Archdiocese of New Orleans serves people throughout Southeast Louisiana, offering life-giving programs, advocating for the voiceless, and empowering the poor and vulnerable to foster a more just society. Cornerstone Builders, one of their social justice initiatives, helps transform incarcerated men and women through opportunities for service and education. Participants are mentored and challenged to become servant leaders and to realize their own potential to become community organizers and social entrepreneurs. Cornerstone Builders also provides free family bus rides to prisons and mentors to children whose parents are incarcerated. The student intern will assist in various capacities including needs assessment, asset mapping, and business plan development.

NEW SITE FOR

SUMMER 2013!

SITE DESCRIPTION

CLEAN TURN

CLEAN TURN, launched in Columbus, Ohio in January 2012, provides employment opportunities to individuals who are seeking to break the cycle of poverty and recidivism. CleanTurn provides career opportunities for individuals who want to become self-sufficient, in a way where there is a focus on contributing to society in an interdependent, positive and productive manner. Individuals at risk of homelessness and chronic unemployment are trained in the skills they need to work as part of a team devoted to high quality and cost-effective demolition, deconstruction, post-construction, janitorial and exterior grounds keeping services. Through these training and employment opportunities, CleanTurn has already become one of Ohio’s leading social enterprise ventures.

2012 Intern:

John Mandarakas ’13

SITE DESCRIPTION

COLORADO ENTERPRISE FUND

COLORADO ENTERPRISE FUND (CEF) is a non-profit community development financial institution founded in 1976 to help small businesses. Located in Denver, CEF provides small business loans up to $250,000 to entrepreneurs who are unable to obtain financing from traditional sources. Colorado Enterprise Fund provides small business loans and technical assistance to entrepreneurs who are unable to obtain financing from traditional sources. Clients have access to management consulting and business training from the experienced staff. The student offers administrative support, assists in the loan process, and takes on independent, specialized projects.

2012 Interns:

Marrisa Kinsley ’14

Maria Rigby ’13

SITE DESCRIPTION

CROSSROADS RURAL ENTREPRENEURIAL INSTITUTE – APPALACHIA

The CROSSROADS RURAL ENTREPRENEURIAL INSTITUTE located in Galax, Virginian, opened in July 2005 to help improve the lives of people in southwest Virginia and beyond, by providing an innovative educational and economic development engine that will contribute to the revitalization of the region's economy while offering a brighter future for its citizens. The specific responsibilities of the intern are being determined.

2012 Intern:

Crisel Cassillas ’13

SITE DESCRIPTION

HANDCRAFTING JUSTICE, INC.– ASTORIA, NY

HANDCRAFTING JUSTICE, INC. Fair Trade not-for-profit, sponsored by the Sisters of the Good Shepherd. We work with cooperation of women struggling for economic justice and independence in the developing world. HCJ markets goods made by women in Asia, Africa and South America and assist them in their efforts to create employment for themselves in order to provide for their families and better their lives. The student intern will be involved in areas such as sales events, web development, public relations, research, marketing and business administration.

NEW SITE FOR

SUMMER 2013!

SITE DESCRIPTION

HORIZON AND SOUP OF SUCCESS

The Horizon Education Alliance, a county-wide group working to enhance education in Elkhart, aims to assist adults who have not completed high school to further their studies by completing their GED, preparing for college entrance exams, or learning English. Soup Of Success, also located in Elkhart, is a job and life skills training program for women who are dealing with difficult life situations, making positive changes and striving toward self-sufficiency. The program helps participants find their voices, discover their direction, establish their goals, and then figure out a way to overcome obstacles and achieve those goals. The student intern will assist with marketing for both programs.

2012 Interns:

Mara Stolee ’14

Casey Murdock ’13

SITE DESCRIPTION

NETWORK FOR BETTER FUTURES

The NETWORK FOR BETTER FUTURES is reducing the economic and social costs of high-risk adults, primarily African American men, with histories of incarceration, substance abuse, mental illness, chronic unemployment, and homelessness. This ambitious endeavor was established by a team of Minnesota’s leading healthcare, housing, workforce, community corrections, and human service practitioners. By setting high expectations and providing direct access to the resources needed to meet these expectations (housing, behavioral health and primary health care, short term employment, and community reengagement), participants in The NetWork are offered the opportunity to become contributing, productive, and positive members of society. An intern is needed to work with Better Futures Enterprises (BFE), which is a business unit within The NetWork designed to provide short term work for the organization’s high risk participants and, in the near future, generate profits for reinvestment in their mission.