Social Impact Fellows

Through UB's Social Impact Fellows program, students from the School of Management, School of Social Work and College of Arts and Sciences spend the summer learning about and creating social innovation in Western New York. Presented in collaboration with the Blackstone LaunchPad powered by Techstars at UB, the program brings together MBA, MSW and College of Arts and Sciences graduate students for an internship at a mission-driven organization, where they collaborate to address pressing social issues and make an impact.

The program has received philanthropic support from the Charles D. and Mary A. Bauer Family Foundation, the School of Management Alumni Association, the UB President’s Circle and several generous alumni and friends of the university.

Be part of the 2019 Social Impact Fellows program. Applications for students and partner organizations are now open.

During the second year of the program, 22 fellows helped their partner organizations enhance business performance and address gaps to better serve and strengthen their communities. For the first time, three teams included a graduate student researcher from the UB College of Arts and Sciences, who provided additional context to help ensure their solution was sustainable. 

The Social Impact Fellows program prepares students to address societal issues using principles of entrepreneurship and sustainable social innovation.

• During the eight-week internship, an MBA and Master of Social Work student work with a mission-driven organization to address a systemic social issue. Select teams will also include a graduate-level research student from the College of Arts and Sciences.
• At each site, fellows learn about issues the organization tackles and meet with stakeholders who are working on or affected by these problems. Using this information and the entrepreneurial principles they learn, the fellows create a solution to address these issues.
  
• Fellows conduct their internship Monday through Thursday. On Fridays, they return to campus for sessions with management and social work faculty, who teach how to identify, define and generate solutions for social challenges.
• Students also attend forums with guest speakers on economic development and social justice issues, share their internship experiences with one another in facilitated group discussions, and visit social enterprises throughout Buffalo. 
  

Across the globe, social innovation is rapidly growing, as companies, nonprofits and governments partner to tackle sweeping challenges. That's the spirit that guides the Social Impact Fellows program — and provides great benefits for each stakeholder.

• Students gain skills and experience in strategic planning, creative problem-solving, entrepreneurship and intrapreneurship (the ability to innovate within an organization), making them more marketable and competitive in the job market. Additionally, students receive compensation for tuition and fees with a modest stipend.
• Through their internship and other experiences, fellows learn about and find creative ways to address such social issues as homelessness, gender equity, food waste and health care, thereby making an impact on the community.
• The program culminates with the Pitch for a Cause competition, during which fellows present their solutions and compete for funding to help their partner organizations continue to implement their ideas.
• By working closely with peers from another discipline, students gain an appreciation for the background and skills their peers bring to a team. Many told us the program inspired them to expand their career goals to include nonprofit management and social entrepreneurship.