October 2025 Newsletter
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Register to Compete in the ESG Dilemma Design Challenge
The Alliance for Responsible Capitalism presents a competition focused on the interplay of ESG, climate risk, and public policy for the banking sector. Co-sponsored by the Erb Institute and Business+Impact, this event will be focused on designing a strategy for banks to accelerate a sustainable market transformation while effectively managing their legal, political, and reputational risks.
Fall 2025 ESG Workshop Series
How is ESG Information Used by the Capital Market and Beyond?
with Gwen Yu
Fri, Oct. 24 @ 10 am
ESG Reporting Frameworks
with Lindsey Gallo
Fri, Nov. 14 @ 10 am
The ESG (Environmental, Social, and Governance) Workshop Series is designed to educate and engage students on key sustainability and ethical considerations in business and investment practices. Through a series of interactive sessions, the workshops will cover a range of topics, including reporting and regulatory frameworks, data providers, and the impact of ESG factors on financial performance and risk management.
Announcing this Year’s Golub Capital Nonprofit Board Fellows
Welcome to our 2025-26 Golub Capital Board Fellowship participants! This year’s program brings together 44 partner organizations and 83 students from 10 U-M schools and disciplines. The Fellows will serve on the governing boards of impactful nonprofits for the academic year and complete a strategic project by April 2026.
Announcing this Year’s Impact Studio Founders and Fellows
A lot of great things are coming out of the Impact Studio this semester, and a number of posts on the program offer a unique glimpse into the exciting work being done here. First of all, the Impact Studio kicks off an exciting academic year and welcomes its newest cohort of Founders and Applebaum Impact Design Fellows! Hailing from seven different colleges and schools across campus, this dynamic group of social innovators comprises a highly diverse mix of undergraduate and graduate students!
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MBA2 Gordon Impact Scholarship Application Due Soon
Application due:
Mon, Oct. 27 @ 11:59 pm
Are you an MBA2 committed to impact? This year the Skip and Carrie Gordon Scholarship Fund will award four $7,500 scholarships to MBA2s who demonstrate a dedication to impact. Applications are open now, and winners will be announced in November.
Shailee Ghelani (MBA ’25), Ashraf Jaber (MBA ’25), Yashvi Patel (MBA ’25), and Alex Ricketts (MBA/MS ’25, Erb) were each chosen to receive Gordon Scholarships in 2024-25.
Golub Capital Nonprofit Board Fellows Lightning Talks Series
Assess Your Impact
Nov. 10 @ 5:15 pm
Trust-Based Philanthropy
Jan. 13 @ 5:30 pm
Financial Oversight: The Board’s Role
Feb. 13 @ Noon
Register for one or several of the Nonprofit Lightning Talks in the 2025-26 series, brought to you by the University of Michigan Golub Capital Nonprofit Board Fellows Program. This series is open to the campus community and aims to equip our community with concrete examples and actionable tools within each of the content areas of nonprofit governance covered. Additional details will be sent to registrants closer to the lightning talk dates.
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DNEP’s Community Tech Consulting program expands in Detroit
Live6 Alliance Community Tech Consultants Donovan Brown and Martina Hinton Jones, along with U-M faculty and staff, are training ten new University of Michigan students from the School of Information and the Marsal School of Education’s LEAPS program at Marygrove to be Community Tech Consultants. In this pilot program, students will provide local businesses with free 1:1 social media and website support. New student CTCs include Marie Nurdaulet, Avi Stotz-Ghosh, Camille Tai, Linda Ma, (Cindy) Li Xin Qi, Runtong (Bella) Shi, Angel Zhong, Isabella Wu, and (Coco) Yixuan Xu. This expansion is part of a larger partnership that also includes the U-M Center for Innovation in Detroit, Poverty Solutions, and Jefferson East, Inc.
Ross Events
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| Ross: HBCU and HSI Insights Tues, Oct. 14 @ 7 pm ET Online |
Ross: Diverse Abilities Insights Thurs, Nov. 6 @ 8 pm ET Online |
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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.
At the University:
NET IMPACT @ ROSS
Make an Impact with Your MBA
Join Net Impact @ Ross — our B-School’s chapter of the national nonprofit helping future leaders drive positive change in business + society. Highlights this year include the Climate Speaker Series, a Panel with the Pros, the Impact Internship Happy Hour and funding support for impact-related conferences
UM POVERTY SOLUTIONS
Poverty Solutions Speaker Series
Friday, Oct. 17 — The High Cost of Mass Deportation
Friday, Oct. 31 — Lessons from the Water Warrior on Community Coalition Building for Water Justice
Friday, Nov. 14 — The Privateers: How Billionaires Created a Culture War and Sold School Vouchers
The Real-World Perspectives on Poverty Solutions speaker series introduces key issues regarding the causes and consequences of poverty through an in-person and virtual lecture series featuring experts in policy and practice from across the nation. Our goal is to help build a broad community of learners to engage in these issues together.
FORD SCHOOL OF PUBLIC POLICY
Policy Speaker Events
The High Cost of Mass Deportation
Fri, Oct. 17 @ Noon – 1:30 pm
School of Social Work ECC 1840
The Economics of Medication Access
Fri, Oct. 24 @ Noon – 1:30 pm
School of Social Work ECC 1840
Lessons from the Water Warrior
Fri, Oct. 31 @ Noon – 1:30 pm
School of Social Work ECC 1840
The Ford School of Public Policy hosts a diverse array of timely, meaningful events that engage students, community, and public policy leaders.
CEW+
CEW+ Awards
The Carol Hollenshead Inspire Award for Excellence in Promoting Equity and Social Change honors faculty, staff, and students (either individuals or groups) whose sustained efforts have resulted in greater equity with regard to gender, race, class, age, disability, gender identity, or sexual orientation.
WALLENBERG LEGACY MEDAL & LECTURE
Vladimir Kara-Murza: Wallenberg Lecture
Tues, Nov. 4 @ 4:30 – 6 pm
Rackham Auditorium
Vladimir Kara-Murza, Russian politician, author, historian, and former political prisoner, will receive the 2025 Wallenberg Medal this year. The Wallenberg Medal and Lecture ceremony is free and open to the public. A close colleague of the slain opposition leader Boris Nemtsov, he served as deputy leader of the People’s Freedom Party and was a candidate for the Russian Parliament. Tickets are not required. Please direct any inquiries about the event and requests for event accommodations to wallenberglecture@umich.edu
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UM SCHOOL OF INFORMATION
A2 Data Dive
Saturday, November 8 @ 9 am – 5 pm
Leinweber Building, 1st Floor
Register for the annual Ann Arbor (A2) Data Dive, hosted by the University of Michigan School of Information (UMSI)! This one-day event invites students, data enthusiasts, and community members to work side-by-side and analyze real-world data for meaningful impact, no matter their experience level. This year, in partnership with the Michigan Department of State (MDOS), participants will dive into campaign finance disclosure data to uncover important trends and insights in Michigan politics.
In the Impact Community:
Rally Accelerator 2025
Apply Now
Serve Jan 19-May 12, 2026
Each year, Rally selects early-stage entrepreneurs who are tackling critical challenges in housing, health, education, the environment, and more. Our 16-week accelerator equips them with mentorship, customized curriculum, peer support, and pilot opportunities in Central Florida.
Bamboo in Detroit
Bamboo Detroit Community Coworking – Tues, Nov. 11 @ 9 am
Join us at our next event and expand your network. You are also welcome to host a meeting space or event in Detroit, Royal Oak, or Ann Arbor.
Participate in Toigo LIFE
Apply between Oct. 15 – Dec. 31
Powered by Toigo, Leaders Investing in Financial Excellence (LIFE) is a one-year program designed to develop and deliver a new cohort of finance industry leaders. LIFE provides candidates pursuing graduate degrees who are committed to careers in finance with a way to go further faster, based on their specific needs and career aspirations.
Community Innovation Challenge
Apply by:
Sun, Oct. 26 @ 11:59 pm PT
Net Impact’s Community Innovation Challenge is seeking innovative ideas that leverage Cisco’s portfolio of products and services to drive both positive impact and the bottom line. This challenge invites students to design a social impact program that solves a community need (or needs) and demonstrates how these initiatives can drive business outcomes for the company.
Independent Sector National Summit 2025
Independent Sector’s National Summit 2025 will bring together professionals from across the charitable sector — nonprofits, foundations, and corporate giving programs — to build capacity, enhance knowledge sharing, foster collaboration, expand networking, and support advocacy.
Michigan Pre-College & Youth Outreach Conference
Tues, Oct. 28
Michigan State University
We are planning a variety of presentation formats and workshops, along with some wonderful invited guests, including a free Thursday night networking dinner the evening before the conference.
Our Keynote Speaker will be Mark Talaga, Director and Owner of The Center for Identity Potential.
SOCAP25
SOCAP convenes the most engaged and diverse impact investing community in the world. For more than 15 years, the SOCAP conference has been the flagship event and leading convener in the impact economy, gathering more than 100,000 people since our first event. This is the largest, action-oriented gathering where investors, entrepreneurs, and social impact leaders come together to accelerate progress against the world’s toughest challenges through market-based solutions.
Pitch for TigerLaunch
The world’s largest student-run entrepreneurship competition invites you to pitch your startup on an international stage. Gain mentorship from top VCs. Win $60,000 prize, no strings attached. Student-founders, are you ready to launch?