The opportunity to kickstart entrepreneurial ideas is no further from DePauw University than the Prindle Institute.
The Prindle Social Entrepreneurship Fund seeks to support, through funds and training, students with non-profit or for-profit business ideas that have a social or ethical focus.
As part of a partnership with the McDermond Center, The Prindle Institute will first be offering monetary support in the form of either planning grants or seed loans to students with demonstrated entrepreneurial interest.
A planning grant offered to a student would give them the funding necessary to do further research on a potential project.
“The idea is rather than work a summer job, you’d be able to get paid just to sit around and do research, market research on your idea, product development research, whatever kind of research needs to be done, to even figure out if this is worth pursuing further,” said Andrew Cullison, the director of the Prindle Institute.
Cullison is excited about the ability to fund student’s ideas, but interested students do need to put in work upfront that demonstrates a strong plan in order to receive a grant from the Prindle Institute.
“If students have an exciting and well-developed idea that looks viable, then we want to be in a position to try and get them a seed loan, to actually really kickstart the venture,” Cullison said.
Aside from offering financial support, Prindle is also providing ethics training and coaching to help with the challenges of entrepreneurship.
The Prindle Institute already has many resources both within and outside of the school curriculum to help students foster a commitment to ethics, such as the opportunity to become involved as a Prindle Intern or with the Prindle Post, or to take ethics courses.
To provide coaching within the business aspect of student entrepreneurial ventures, the Prindle Institute is partnering with the McDermond Center. Cullison also hopes for the involvement of the Hubbard Center.
Michele Villinski, director of the McDermond Center, was eager to join forces with Prindle after Cullison approached her this past summer about becoming involved with the program.
“The role that we’ll play is if a student or group of students have an idea for a social entrepreneurship venture, and they want access to resources or mentoring from alums, or examples of other entrepreneurial ideas that have gotten a foothold while those students have been at DePauw, they can come to the McDermond Center and we will give them support and access to information and try to help them make connections with people who can help them get going with their ideas,” Villinski said.
Senior Erin Tolar is grateful for this program.
“I think this is a really great opportunity for DePauw students to actually apply the education they’re getting from DePauw into a business opportunity in the real world," she said. "I think this is something that’s been missing, and this is an exciting addition to DePauw’s offerings."
Cullison believes that this new funding of social entrepreneurship reflects the vision of the Prindle Institute’s founder, Janet Prindle. Prindle, while working as an investment banker, experienced the unethical behavior of the business world and sought to invest in socially responsible businesses.
“A program that encourages socially conscious students to think about starting their own ventures, either a non-profit or for-profit venture, putting that money in the hands of people who have demonstrated a commitment to ethical reflection, just seems like exactly the kind of thing that Janet Prindle would love and I think we need more of in this world,” Cullison said.
Students interested in becoming involved or learning more about the program can contact Andrew Cullison.