Public Policy & Administration 497A - ST-Social-Mission Enterprises

This course is designed for students who dream of starting their own enterprise (nonprofit, foundation, social-mission for-profit) to create social good. The course will begin with a history of philanthropy and the nonprofit sector in order to provide students with a framework for how their passions fit within a broader environment of giving and service. We will expose students to the governance structures available to social entrepreneurs so that they understand the trade-offs when choosing how to incorporate. We will also expose students to market research so that they can best assess whether to collaborate with an existing enterprise or to create a new one. Finally, we will expose students to strategic management concepts through guest lectures from Five College faculty and social entrepreneurs in the Pioneer Valley. The main goals for this course are for students to gain greater awareness of how their social innovation dreams connect with the broader context and to allow students to develop their analytical skills that will improve the management of enterprises that employ them or that they create.