The SET Social Venture Sandbox was an opportunity for students to collaborate with a local nonprofit organization to help effectuate a solution to alleviate a particular problem being addressed by the nonprofit partner.
Under the leadership of SET faculty and board members, the SET Social Venture Sandbox was intended to inspire the next generation of business leaders and social entrepreneurs.
Student participants in the Social Venture Sandbox accomplished the following:
- Learn the fundamental principles for solving problems, fostering innovation, and creating social change
- Develop a set of skills, tools, and practices to support their understanding of social entrepreneurship
- Evaluate and create business models for mission-driven social ventures
- Apply this knowledge in working with the nonprofit partner
The Social Venture Sandbox is highly interactive, experiential, and dynamic. Students were highly engaged in readings, case studies, self-reflection, critical analysis, research, and action. They examined topics from leadership, nurturing community, fostering creativity, and responding to market realities. They also learned how to use the Social Lean Canvas, a tool used by the University of Southern California, to map out the critical drivers for any project. They used the Social Lean Canvas to amplify and scale the outcomes for the nonprofit partner collaborating with the Social Venture Sandbox.
