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March 2025 Newsletter

Nonprofit Board Forum: Diversifying Funding Streams to Build Organizational Resilience

Tues, Mar. 11 @ 5:30-7 pm
Tauber Colloquium, Ross School of Business

The University of Michigan Nonprofit Board Fellowship program invites you to an engaging panel discussion with local nonprofit experts exploring innovative strategies for enhancing financial sustainability in today’s dynamic landscape. Attendees will learn practical approaches to broaden their nonprofit’s financial base, reduce dependency on single revenue streams, and build a more adaptable and robust organization. Dinner provided. Free parking available.

REGISTER HERE


FROM THE IMPACT STUDIO:

Workshop: Leveraging AI to Accelerate Venture Growth

Mon, Mar. 17 @ 5-6:30 pm
The Impact Studio
Kresge Hall, 3rd Floor Maker Space

Want to learn how to scale and grow a business? AI can help you get there. Join us for an exclusive workshop with Kelli Williams, founder and CEO of Actually Clean, and learn how she has used AI to build a cleaning company that is revolutionizing the cleaning industry through its cutting edge technology and unique apprenticeship model.

Join us to learn how to leverage AI for:

  • Business automation and scalable growth
  • Marketing and customer acquisition strategies
  • Identifying funding opportunities
  • Implement AI frameworks for strategic decision-making

REGISTER HERE

————–

UM Impact Venture Demo Day

Fri, Apr. 4 @ 11 am – 1 pm
Winter Garden
Ross School of Business

At this major event, discover 25+ visionary UM student ventures from across the UM campus tackling global issues in areas such as tech, health and well-being, education and climate:

  • 25+ innovative UM student ventures
  • Interactive demonstrations of live prototypes
  • Connect with visionary student founders
  • Provide feedback to early-stage solutions to global issues
  • Light refreshments will be provided

RSVP HERE

———-

To do or not to do: Should I pursue my venture full-time?

Newly bitten by the entrepreneurial bug, many founders in the Impact Studio are now considering continuing their venture past April, whether it’s for the summer or as a full-time job after graduation. Such a leap would mean leaving behind traditional paths like internships or recruitment, and their decision is not only risky but an incredibly difficult and personal one. Several weeks ago, these founders sat down with Impact Studio experts Julia Maddox and Nikki Gusz to discuss how to make this choice.

READ MORE


Summer Impact Internship Funding Application

Applications due
Wed. April 16

Each summer, Business+Impact awards competitive grants for summer internships in the nonprofit or public sectors to MBAs and BBAs in the Ross School of Business as well as MPP students in the Ford School of Public Policy.

The application for these monetary awards has a first deadline of Wed, Mar. 12, and a final deadline of Wed, Apr. 16. Award decisions will be based on the level of need (taking into account other funding being received), consideration of the position, the organization’s impact, and the quality of the application.

APPLY NOW

Here are further internship funding sources amongst our friends across campus:

Ross Events

Women Who Win
Thurs, Mar. 13 @ 5-8 pm
Robertson Auditorium
Ross: Ross Climate Week
Mar. 27 – Apr. 3
Michigan Ross

Impact News and Notes:

​CEW+ Stories: Solangel Troncoso

AI and impact investing: a powerful partnership or risky bet?

More Than a Club: How Michigan Business Women is Leading the Way

UMich study finds Detroit financial institutions open and close locations in racialized pattern

What is it like to be homeless in Detroit?

“Weathering” and its effect on poor health and life expectancy – featuring Arline Geronimus

Use of greener anesthesia protects patients and the environment

U-M researchers develop cheaper, easier method to make seawater safe to drink

A new computer model suggests that the process of evolution can get better at evolving in the face of environmental change

U-M Fulbright students, faculty scholars leading global impact

The Greening of Detroit with Fai Foen (MLA ’11)

Consumers are boycotting major retailers. Here’s what they plan for ‘blackout’ on Feb. 28 – featuring Jerry Davis

Historian Jamon Jordan shares the legacy of Black Detroit: “I’m just telling their story”


Map Your U-M Journey with the Impact Roadmap

The Business+Impact Impact Roadmap (UMImpactRoadmap.com) provides you with a single location for all social impact on the U-M campus. Here you’ll find all of the events, courses, people, and key partners working to use their learning to make a real impact in the world.

Start Here


At the University:

DETROIT INITIATIVE AT ROSS

Detroit Impact Conference 2025

Fri, Mar. 14 @ 9:30 am – 6 pm
Various Locations

We invite you to the 15th Annual Detroit Impact Conference on Friday, March 14th, hosted by students from the Ross School of Business! This year’s theme, “Fueling Detroit: Innovation and Capital for Social Change,” explores the positive impact of innovations in business, tech, and capital across sectors in Detroit. Join us for a day filled with inspiring speakers, engaging conversations, and networking opportunities

Register Here


FORD SCHOOL OF PUBLIC POLICY

Policy Talks

“Beyond the Bridge: A Solution to Homelessness” – Mar. 11

Eviction Policy and Design Workshop – Mar. 18

Smart from the Start: Closing Early Opportunity Gaps with Strategic Early Learning Investments – Apr. 9

The Ford School of Public Policy hosts a diverse array of timely, meaningful events that engage students, community, and public policy leaders.

See All Ford Events


SCHOOL OF SOCIAL WORK

Social Work Events

“Beyond the Bridge: A Solution to Homelessness” Documentary Screening and Panel – Mar 11

Competent Social Work Practice in the Context of Anti-Trans Policy, Legislation, and Rhetoric – Mar 20

“What’s My Role? Social Change in Crisis and Beyond”, featuring Deepa Iyer – Apr. 3

The School of Social Work hosts a wide range of important social impact events that engage students, community, and Social Work leaders.

See All Social Work Events


NATIONAL CENTER FOR INSTITUTIONAL DIVERSITY

Anti-Racism Graduate Research Grants

Applications Due
Fri, Mar. 14

In support of the provost’s anti-racism initiative, the National Center for Institutional Diversity’s (NCID) Anti-Racism Collaborative offers research grants that aim to support engagement in research projects focused on racism, racial equity, and racial justice while advancing graduate and professional student progress toward a degree.

Learn More and Apply


LSA

Semester in Detroit

Apply between now and Fri, Mar 31

Semester in Detroit accepts undergraduate students from all schools and departments at the University of Michigan-Ann Arbor, UM-Dearborn, UM-Flint and Grand Valley State University. All students, from First years to Seniors or Super Seniors are eligible to apply. Applicants should have a strong interest in the city of Detroit and in questioning dominant narratives; engaging with challenging new perspectives on contemporary issues; and building community with one another, SiD faculty and staff, and community members at internship sites and beyond.

Apply Now


CEW+

Twink Frey Visiting Social Activist Program

Apply by
Fri, Mar. 31

Each year the Twink Frey Visiting Social Activist (TFVSA) Program brings to CEW+ a social justice activist whose work affects women and recognizes gender equity issues. One goal of the program is to build the capacity and effectiveness of social activists by giving the TFVSA time, space, and support to work on a project that would not be possible under the activist’s usual working circumstances.

Info and Application


PLANET BLUE

SSC Grants

Apply by
Tues, Apr. 1 @ 11:59 pm

SSC offers two different grant options in support of student-driven sustainability projects, the Planet Blue Student Innovation Fund (PBSIF) and the Social and Environmental grant (SES). Read more about each option below, and please do not hesitate to reach out if you are unsure about which grant is the right fit for your idea/project or with any other questions. Grant Office Hours: come chat with us about your grant and strengthen your application before you apply!

More Information


TEDxUofM

TEDxUofM 2025 “Rooted”

Thu, Apr. 3 @ 6-9:30 pm
Power Center
121 Fletcher St., Ann Arbor

Join TEDxUofM for a captivating evening at TEDxUofM 2025: “Rooted.” Hosted at the Power Center for the Performing Arts, the event features TED Talks, performances, and hands-on activities! All seven speakers are UofM alumni, faculty, or students, and will be sharing unique insights inspired by the powerful influence of our roots. Secure your tickets now before they sell out.

Info and Tickets


UM SUSTAINABILITY

Excellence in Sustainability Honors Cords

Apply by Fri, Apr. 5

The Excellence in Sustainability Honors Cord Program is designed to honor students who went the extra mile to further their knowledge and application of sustainability principles while studying at the University of Michigan – Ann Arbor. To fulfill our goal of encouraging both depth and breadth, students must accumulate 10 points or more to earn a cord.

Apply Here


GINSBERG CENTER

Student Grants Showcase

Thurs, Apr. 10 @ 4:30-6 pm
Pendleton Room, Michigan Union

Are you curious about student-led community-engaged work happening at the University of Michigan? Interested in learning about ways to engage with communities more equitably? Join us as we celebrate and showcase the amazing work of our student grant recipients with community partners and introduce several community organizations looking for student volunteers. Light snacks will be provided.

Info and Registration


GINSBERG CENTER

Community Interns and Fellows

Apply Now for Community-Based Internship Fund

Apply Now for Community Leadership Fellows

Ginsberg Center is excited to announce the launch of our Community-Based Internship Fund! Made possible by the generous support of University of Michigan’s Democracy, and the Civic Empowerment & Global Engagement Initiative. The Ginsberg Center for Community Service and Learning offers a year-long fellowship for undergraduate juniors and seniors to provide students an opportunity to apply their existing leadership experience, community-based work, and classroom learning to a real-world internship experience that directly addresses community needs and priorities.


In the Impact Community:

Centering Justice

Centering Justice
Wed, Mar. 19 @ Noon-1:30 ET
Online

Black women have always been the blueprint—visionaries, strategists, and architects of democracy. But after yet another election where our leadership was dismissed and our labor taken for granted, we are left with a question: How do we hold both the betrayal and the responsibility at the same time?

Info and Registration


Workforce Mapping Internship

Apply Now

The Detroit Regional Workforce Partnership and the New Economy Initiative are seeking research partners to help create a workforce development ecosystem map for the Southeast Michigan region, including supports for both employers and employees. Interested candidates please contact Brianna Brazell at bbrazell@cfsem.org with a copy of your resume and a brief statement of interest to schedule a conversation with the DRWP team.

Learn More and Apply


Circular Plastics Challenge

Application Deadline
Fri, Apr. 11 @ 11:59 pm PT

Net Impact’s Circular Plastics Challenge needs innovative leaders like you to imagine how we can craft a truly circular economy! Industry-leading companies are eager for fresh, out-of-the-box thinking to push the plastics industry to become more circular, at scale.  Net Impact’s Circular Plastics Challenge calls upon innovators, systems-thinkers, and practitioners from all walks of life and levels of study to consider, “How might we develop a business concept that leverages artificial intelligence at any point within the plastics value chain (whether pre-consumer, during consumer use, or post-consumer) in order to maximize circularity throughout the plastic value chain? ”

Submit Here


Rally Winter Showcase

Tues, Apr. 29 @ 11:30 am – 1 pm
Virtual

Join us for the Rally W’25 Social Venture Virtual Showcase, a dynamic event spotlighting the innovative projects and ventures created by our talented Winter 2025 Cohort. Whether you’re an entrepreneur, a social impact advocate, or someone seeking inspiration, this hour-long event will feature groundbreaking ideas and transformative projects that are making a positive impact in our communities.

Learn more and Register