Social Impact Investing – Global Entrepreneurship….at SU

Alejandro Amezcua, Maxwell MPA/PhD, and Assistant Professor of Entrepreneurship

As a school of public policy and international affairs, an emerging trend over this past decade is an increased awareness of and interest in global and social entrepreneurship. Alejandro Amezcua ( MPA 2005) who came to Maxwell as a Snow Fellow in Nonprofit Management, stayed on to earn his PhD in Public Administration with an expanded focus in social entrepreneurship and business incubation. Luckily for us, he fell in love with the local area, and remained at Syracuse University and teaches in SU’s Whitman School of Management as an Assistant Professor of Entrepreneurship. Alejandro’s research foci include: entrepreneurship public policy, business incubation, new venture strategy, econometrics, social entrepreneurship and of course, nonprofit management.

Each year, we have students in our MPA and MA IR programs whose interests bridge this public-private divide in the area of social impact investment as well as social/global entrepreneurship. In fact, several Maxwell PA and IR students will enroll in Alejandro’s course on Social Entrepreneurship during their time at Syracuse – as well as take advantage of the other offerings and public events sponsored through SU’s Whitman School of Management.

While business schools have taken a strong lead in this area, as a leading school of public policy, administration and international affairs, it is also incumbent on us to do our part as well. And even as we strengthen our connections in these amazing areas, it is important to know that Maxwell students are fortunate to have access to the full resources of the greater university – and the work and events offered through all eight schools and colleges at SU, including the Whitman School of Management. One such upcoming event will no doubt be well attended by our students …

(the following story is reprinted from SU News 11/14/16, written by Pamela Whiteley McLaughlin)

Social Impact Investing is the topic of a featured panel at Global Entrepreneurship Week, Wednesday, Nov. 16, from 10-11 a.m. in the Peter Graham Scholarly Commons, Bird Library.

The event features Peter Dunn, president and CEO, Central New York Community Foundation; Dennis M. DeLeo, president and director, Venture Jobs Foundation, and co-founder, Trillium Group LLC, a Rochester-based venture capital and private equity firm; and Christine Woodcock Dettor, Bousquet Holstein PLLC, and director and legal advisor, Venture Jobs Foundation.

The event is targeted at aspiring entrepreneurs and civic leaders who want to make social change and are interested in exploring creative new financing models. This is an opportunity to learn from Upstate experts about this emerging trend.

Global and local change can often come from mission-related investments made into ventures and organizations to generate social impact and financial return.  Learn how impact investing can help provide capital to address pressing social and civic challenges, and explore some core characteristics of impact investing. Speakers are Upstate NY thought leaders in the impact investing field.

The Central New York Community Foundation encourages local philanthropy by supporting the growth of permanent charitable endowments for the betterment of the region. The Community Foundation serves as the steward of charitable legacies for individuals, families and businesses and serves as a civic leader, convener and sponsor of special initiatives designed to strengthen local nonprofits and address the region’s most pressing challenges.  The Community Foundation is the largest charitable foundation in the region, with assets of nearly $200 million. Since its inception, it has invested more than $150 million in the community.

The Venture Jobs Foundation makes impact investments in support of its charitable purpose, funding small businesses that will use social impact capital to create jobs in higher poverty neighborhoods. Micro and early growth lending programs create new job opportunities tied to investments, with emphasis on lower and mid skill level employment. Small businesses are the prime driver of new job creation, which is directly correlated with alleviating poverty.

For more information about all events during Global Entrepreneurship Week at Syracuse, visit:  http://launchpad.syr.edu/ or e-mail:  LaunchPad@syr.edu