St. Kate’s students competing in social enterprise competition

CTI grinder being used in Mali - photo courtesy CTI

by John Hamerlinck

St. Catherine University students are engaging in a social enterprise competition in that is aimed at improving quality of life for people in Uganda.

The Acara Institute, together with 3M, has developed a program, called Sales for Social Impact. Working with the St. Paul, Minnesota non-profit Compatible Technology International (CTI), St. Kate’s students will develop a plan to sell CTI’s African-manufactured food grinders in Uganda. For more details see this story.

A team of students from the University of Minnesota and the Indian Institute of Technology, Roorkee recently won the Acara Challenge 2010, which focused on creating businesses that address clean water and clean energy for underserved populations in India. You can read about that challenge here.

FeelGood World – ending hunger one grilled cheese at a time

By John Hamerlinck

FeelGood World is a great example of students engaged in social enterprise on college campuses.

With the help of FeelGood, college students run non-profit Delis on their campuses, specializing in grilled cheese sandwiches. They develop practical business skills and “initiate substantive dialogue about the root causes of and solutions to poverty.” See a short video about how it works.

100% of the profits the students raise are invested in organizations with a proven track record of sustainably eradicating extreme global poverty and empowering self-reliance. There are currently delis on 27 college campuses across the country(none in MN!).

So far, FeelGood has invested over $850,000 in partner organizations dedicated to implementing “sustainable strategies for eradicating poverty and empowering self-reliance.” Visit www.feelgoodworld.org for more details.