Summer 2024 Newsletter
Board Fellowship Nonprofit Recruiting
We invite nonprofits serving Southeast Michigan to apply for our Nonprofit Board Fellowship Program. Eligible nonprofits must be registered with the IRS as a 501(c)(3), have an operating history of at least 2 years, a minimum of 5 board members, and a minimum of 2 board meetings between October 2024 and April 2025. Please email boardfellows@umich.edu with any questions.
2024 Summer Impact Interns
This year, Business+Impact is supporting 21 students through its Summer Fund, and 36 U-M students overall in a variety of summer internship experiences. Each summer, Business+Impact awards competitive grants for summer impact internships to MBAs and BBAs in the Ross School of Business as well as MPP students in the Ford School of Public Policy. Additionally, B+I’s Detroit Neighborhood Entrepreneurs Project (DNEP) hosts several undergraduate students in its Impact Studio for Local Business (ISLB). This year, DNEP ISLB is hosting 12 students.
NEWS FROM THE IMPACT STUDIO
Podcast: ESG — At Home in Europe and Soon, the World
In this episode of Social Impact Design for Business, Jerry Davis of Michigan Ross’ +Impact Studio interviews Kim Dabbs, Global VP of ESG and Social Innovation at Steelcase and best-selling author of “You Belong Here.” In this episode, Kim discusses her path from nonprofit work into her current job at Steelcase, and why she moved to Munich for it.
Revitalizing Roots: A Detroit Native’s Experience From Family Legacy to Community Impact
The Impact Studio is a proud partner of Detroit Neighborhood Entrepreneurs Project (DNEP) Impact Studio for Local Business. This summer, undergraduate students are implementing technology and new marketing strategies for Detroit businesses, and the program has been meeting in the Impact Studio. In this post, Ross BBA Sam Ibri talks about his roots in Detroit and reports on what he’s learned so far about entrepreneurs’ insights, class concepts, and working comfortably with ambiguity.
SPOTLIGHT
Gabriela Alvarez (MBA ’23)
It’s only been a year since Gabriela Alvarez (MBA ’23) graduated from Michigan Ross, but already she is making social impact waves as a Senior Strategy Consultant at Accenture in Chicago. While at Ross, she not only got a certificate in Diversity, Equity & Inclusion and took social impact courses, but also took part in our Nonprofit Board Fellows Program. We caught up with her soon after she joined the Board of Directors of Grupo Guayacán, a nonprofit dedicated to education and entrepreneurship activities in Puerto Rico, and a pivotal player in her career and life story.
Future Now 017 Podcast — Reimagining Food with Mark Bittman
B+I’s faculty director Jerry Davis joins IFTF executive director Marina Gorbis in a conversation with award-winning food journalist Mark Bittman about The Bittman Project, which seeks to create community kitchens serving affordable, sustainable food. Also in the discussion are Kenneth Bailey of the Design Studio for Social Intervention; Douglas Rushkoff, writer and media theorist; and IFTF’s Rebecca Shamash, a sociologist studying equitable enterprises. Together, they discuss the challenges of operating outside profit-driven systems, the importance of education around food, and the need for economic and political support to transform inequitable food and economic systems, and insights into building more equitable enterprises and food practices.
AT UM OR IN INDIA, ROSS STUDENTS ARE CREATING COMMUNITY AND OPPORTUNITY FOR PEOPLE WITH DISABILITIES
In 2023, Ross recognized the Business Leaders for Diverse Abilities Club as the Michigan Ross Club of the Year, plus the club won DEI in Action awards. Furthermore, just this past month, BBA Kayla Rothstein received a Ross DEI Award for her thesis on the hiring and keys to success for workers with intellectual and developmental disabilities, specifically in India.
MBA PEER INTERNSHIP FUND
Michigan Ross’s culture of collaboration and paying it forward has for 12 years fundraised for the Give-A-Day Fund (GADF) — an award winning, first-of-its-kind, student led peer-to-peer initiative to support MBA students engaging in lower or un-paid social impact internships for the summer. The funds go directly to Business+Impact’s internship fund, which helps support anywhere between 10-20 MBA students each year. The Give-A-Day Fund has historically collected pledges to donate, but is instead shifting to focus on a direct donation model. Enter your information below to be the first to know when the donation page goes live!
A VISIT BY SKIP AND CARRIE GORDON
On Friday April 12th, Skip and Carrie Gordon visited us and met the three scholars their scholarship fund supported this academic year: Robin F. Baker (MBA ’24), Jill Dannis (MBA/MS ’24, Erb), and Elijah Forrester (MBA/MS ’24, Erb). Each received $7,500 to encourage their work in social impact.
Ross Events:
Ross Women in Business
June Coffee Connect
Fri, June 21 @ Noon-1 pm ET
Online
Map Your U-M Journey: A Platform for Impact Across Campus
The Business+Impact Map Your U-M Journey (rossimpact.com) provides you with a single location for all things impact at Ross and across campus. Here you’ll find all of the activities, people, and key partners working to use their learning to make a real impact in the world.
At the University:
OFFICE OF ACADEMIC MULTICULTURAL INITIATIVES
Juneteenth Symposium
Thurs-Fri, June 20-21
Michigan League
The Juneteenth Organizing Committee invites you to two dynamic and thought-provoking days of visual art, performances, conversation, and celebration as we present the fifth-annual Juneteenth Symposium. You’re encouraged to come in person and join the community for these events. However, events will be livestreamed at the link below.
In the Impact Community:
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Centering Justice
Centering Justice (CJ) is a virtual space to find and share inspiration for racial justice and liberation. Here, we celebrate people, stories, and ideas to spur community-centered action. We uplift BIPOC leaders who are already dreaming, healing, reflecting, and moving us forward. CJ is a space to hear, learn, practice, play. It’s a space to explore ourselves, our work in nonprofits and social change. And a place to rediscover the skills and wisdom we need to transform into the future we want, together.
Bamboo Start-up Pitch Night
Apply to Pitch on
June 25 @ Royal Oak
Sept 12 @ Detroit
Are you a founder or creator with a product, idea, or technology company? At each pitch night, we welcome 3-5 founders from the Michigan startup community to present for 5 minutes and take questions from the audience. Applications close 2 weeks before each pitch night date for review and selection. All Michigan-based companies are eligible to apply to any of the pitch nights– you don’t have to be located in the city of the event!
Growing the B Corp Movement: The Impacts of Business as a Force for Good
Thurs, June 27 @ 11 am – 1:30 pm
3929 Woodward Ave, Detroit
Featuring the esteemed Jorge Fontanez, CEO of B Lab U.S. & Canada, this exclusive luncheon will delve into the essence of B Corps, discussing their measurable impacts both nationally and globally in community with 200+ business and community leaders. Mr. Fontanez will explore how these values-driven businesses are crucial for sustainable business growth and why civic engagement and interdependence are vital for the prosperity of the Economy.
D-Prize Startup Grant
Can you design a new business or NGO that delivers a proven poverty intervention at scale? Submit your design for a new organization that solves one of our Distribution Challenges below. We will award the most promising teams with up to $20,000 USD to launch their new organization wherever extreme poverty exists. Subject areas include Health, Water, Education, Agriculture, Livelihoods, and Public Services.
Detroit Concert of Colors
July 16-21
Detroit Institute of Arts
The Concert of Colors is metro Detroit’s free annual diversity-themed music festival. Global music at its finest at this colorful, festive, upbeat coveted summer event. Housed in Culture Source a coalition of 152 arts organizations in Southeast Michigan, the Concert of Colors has become the Midwest’s biggest diversity and arts festival. It is produced by tThe Detroit Institute of Arts, Charles H. Wright Museum of African American History, University of Michigan – Detroit Center, and many more!
Responsible Investment Forum West 2024
Join 200+ institutional investors, fund managers, expert advisors, and highly recognized thought leaders in the heart of Silicon Valley for unrivalled networking opportunities on 4-5 September. Discover how to leverage sustainable investment strategies that enhance returns. Gain a comprehensive overview of the current regulations and policies in place that are driving positive change and supporting the state of California’s commitment to a more sustainable future.
Ele’s Place Healing Hearts 5K
Sun, Sept 15 @ 11 am
6300 Interfirst Dr., Ann Arbor
Help raise awareness of and support for grieving children, teens, and their families who are grieving in Ann Arbor, and the surrounding southeast Michigan area. Ele’s Place Ann Arbor families and the community are invited to participate in this family-friendly event to honor, celebrate and remember a special person who has died. This event is an opportunity to put “one foot in front of the other” to help fund our peer grief support programs and ensure they remain FREE OF CHARGE to all who are in need of our services today, tomorrow and always. So, grab your walking/running shoes AND join us for the Ele’s Place Ann Arbor Healing Hearts Family 5K Walk/Run