“Social enterprise” and “social entrepreneurship” refer to growing projects or ventures that generate social value in addition to economic value. “Social value” refers to outcomes that benefit people and society but are also formal and measurable.

DePaul University’s Social Enterprise Collaborative stimulates these activities in the DePaul and Chicago communities. An extracurricular initiative, the Collaborative connects DePaul University students interested in social enterprise with Chicago community members who have relevant expertise and experience.

This connection benefits DePaul students by providing (1) insights into the application of concepts, (2) internships and job opportunities, and (3) networking with professionals and potential venture partners. The Collaborative offers socially-purposeful entrepreneurs (1) influence over how social entrepreneurship is taught in our university, (2) opportunities to share experiences and expertise with university students, (3) entrée to a large population of university students eager to undertake socially purposeful ventures, and (4) networking with Chicago’s social enterprise community.

The Collaborative achieves its purpose through events that bring DePaul students and socially-purposeful entrepreneurs together. The events include social enterprise pitches, keynote addresses, panel discussions, class-based events, networking, and other activities intended to inspire and inform. Interest will span the university’s academic divisions (e.g., business, liberal arts, computer science, public service and more) as they relate to social enterprise activity. The Collaborative will serve as a source of information and knowledge for anyone in the DePaul or Chicago communities interested in social enterprise’s conceptual and practical elements.