In a ceremony and press conference being held on Veterans Day (Nov. 11), the Madden School of Business at Le Moyne will recognize the considerable progress being made in developing a
world-class high impact social entrepreneurship program and efforts to support student veterans on campus.
Sustainability for Scholarships, a student-run non-profit social enterprise launched at Le Moyne College, with startup seed financing provided from the Madden School of Business, operates community recycling initiatives and a scholarship fund for students who are military veterans. At Wednesday’s ceremony, after less than a year in operation, the organization will be repaying the loan to the Madden School and will award its first scholarship to a student veteran.
“This inspiring student-run non-profit embodies the type of service-oriented and high impact social enterprises that we are working to cultivate and support here at the Madden School of Business,” said Dean Jim Joseph ‘83. “The successful launch of this social enterprise also highlights the power and potential of providing seed financing on a larger scale as a means by which to empower more students to launch and grow their own ventures on campus that are working to have positive impact in the community.”
The
Global Social Enterprise Institute, founded at the Madden School of Business by Le Moyne’s social entrepreneur in residence, will also highlight at Wednesday’s ceremony the
launch of the world’s first financing platform for high impact and social entrepreneurs. The Institute's Chief of Staff Joseph Erskine, a retired veteran of the U.S. Navy, will help lead Wednesday’s ceremony.
The financing platform, known as Source Funding™, will streamline the small business loan application process and match high impact social entrepreneurs of all backgrounds with the qualified community banks and loan programs that are most likely to provide financing. The platform will be working to empower veterans in particular.
What differentiates
Source Funding™ from existing online financing platforms, viewed by many to be "predatory lenders," is that it utilizes an innovative process tapping into the national network of roughly 7,000 community banks in the U.S., which typically offer lower and more competitive interest rates that save applicants money. Additional benefits of Source Funding™ include pursuing multiple financing opportunities simultaneously and saving considerable time, while also protecting the credit scores of entrepreneur applicants. Entrepreneurs and organizations throughout New York State who are also members of the Institute will have exclusive access to the Source Funding™ process and a dedicated Institute representative to assist with the loan application process during the platform’s regional pilot phase.
Wednesday’s ceremony free, open to the general public and will be followed by light refreshments and networking.