Social Enterprise
Fellowship
36 outstanding University of Denver graduate students.
18 projects in partnership with Colorado-based social enterprises
For three years starting in 2017, the Barton Institute hosted the Social Enterprise Fellowship program through generous funding from CiviCO, a Denver-based community leadership program.
The Fellowship drew 12 students each year from diverse graduate programs throughout the University of Denver. The intent was to connect these young leaders with how their area of focus could contribute to social enterprises, and then put interdisciplinary teams to work solving real-world problems.
“The Barton Institute Social Enterprise Fellowship was one of the most insightful and educational components of my DU experience.”
-Social Enterprise Fellow
2020 Project Reports
Please visit our videos page to view reports on the projects accomplished by the Fellows this year, despite the challenge of the COVID-19 pandemic.
“We couldn’t be more impressed with the level of character and thoughtfulness that the Fellows demonstrated.””
-Social Enterprise partner
What We’ve Learned
With help from evaluators with the DU Morgridge College of Education’s PhD program in Research Methods and Statistics, we examined the work of the Fellowship in each of its three years of operations. You can view the report for 2019/20 here.
In addition to continually improving the program over time, here are some lessons learned that may be helpful to others seeking to implement a similar program:
Set up systems to foster clarity between the social enterprise and the Fellows who will work with them, including a focused RFP process and targeted scopes of work
Consider offering classes for credit that lead to field placements
Hold more networking events, particularly to connect Fellows across years
To accommodate the range of experiences, knowledge, and background of the Fellows, assign pre-reading prior to the Fellowship year
If you have an interest in creating a similar fellowship, please contact Rebecca Arno for more information. We are glad to share the details of our implementation and evaluations.
Meet the Fellows
2019-2020 Fellows
Deema Almoayyed, Josef Korbel School of International Studies
Elena Filatova, College of Arts, Humanities, and Social Sciences
Talia Halfon, Graduate School of Social Work
Katie Heideman, Sturm College of Law
Micaela Iveson, Josef Korbel School of International Studies
Rachel Kamnkhwani, Morgridge College of Education
Rebecca Macey, Daniels College of Business
Cherish Marquez, College of Arts, Humanities, and Social Sciences
Fatima Rezaie, Josef Korbel School of International Studies
Shubham Sapkota, Iliff School of Theology
William Watkins, Josef Korbel School of International Studies
Omotola Williams, Graduate School of Social Work
2018-2019 Fellows
Ellie Adelman, Graduate School of Social Work
Bryce Anderson-Gregson, Daniels College of Business
Wala’a Bunaiyan, Morgridge College of Education
Summer Downs, Josef Korbel School of International Studies
Gideon Irving, Sturm College of Law
Dustin Littleton, Daniels College of Business
Max Mershon, Daniels College of Business
Sofia Ponte, Daniels College of Business
Charlee Ottersberg, Daniels College of Business
Hieu Pham, University College
Tasia Poinsatte, Josef Korbel School of International Studies
Zach Thanasilangkul, College of Arts, Humanities, and Social Sciences
2017-2018 Fellows
Anna Bernhardt, Sturm College of Law
Sajjid Budwhani, Morgridge College of Education
Jayne Butler, College of Arts, Humanities, and Social Sciences
Jerry Ceja, University College
Emma Heffernan, Josef Korbel School of International Studies
Alex Lustig, Josef Korbel School of International Studies
Eric Shimono, Josef Korbel School of International Studies
Becky Stifter, Sturm College of Law
Jennifer Wilson, Graduate School of Social Work
Rachel Wolf, Josef Korbel School of International Studies
Social Enterprise Partners
From 2017 through 2020, the Social Enterprise Fellows worked with these 18 outstanding social enterprises from the public, private, and nonprofit sectors to improve their ability to accomplish their missions.
Access Gallery
Access Gallery is an inclusive nonprofit organization that engages the community by opening doors to creative, educational and economic opportunities for people with disabilities to access, experience and benefit from the arts.
Blue Star Recycling
Blue Star Recycling employs people on the autism spectrum to recycle electronics for Colorado residents and businesses.
BuCu West/Kitchen Network
Fellows will work with the Kitchen Network to analyze date about the entrepreneurs they serve, helping them to better focus their services on those most in need as they build successful businesses.
Center for Community Wealth Building
Fellows worked with an anchor institution that planned to shift to procuring key services through worker-owned cooperatives and local businesses.
Colorado Department of Local Affairs/Fort Lyon
Fellows helped DOLA to connect with the local community near its Fort Lyon facility housing people recovering from addictions, and developed numerous ideas for social enterprises to support the facility and its neighbors.
Colorado Nonprofit Loan Fund
Fellows examined how the field of nonprofits is evolving, and the scope and scale of their needs for capital. The goal is to determine how the Loan Fund can best serve a changing nonprofit sector.
Cornerstone Capital Group
Cornerstone Capital Group serves clients who want their investments to contribute to a more sustainable and inclusive world. They develop and manage custom investment strategies designed to achieve targeted environmental and social impact without sacrificing financial performance.
Emily Griffith Foundation
The focus at Emily Griffith Technical College (EGTC) is getting students from classroom to career as quickly and effectively as possible. In fact, most training programs can be completed in a year or less and EGTC graduates enjoy one of the highest job placement rates in the state.
Groundwork Denver
Groundwork Denver partners with lower-income communities to improve the physical environment and promote health and well-being.
Knotty Tie
Knotty Tie knows that refugees are not a burden; in fact, refugees have an abundance of skills that are in short supply in our country and their abilities have a positive impact on our lives, business, economy and community. Even more simply put; At Knotty Tie Co. they care about others and honor the dignity of humans.
Mental Health Center of Denver’s Dahlia Campus for Health and Well-Being
Fellows developed a business and sustainability plan for the Dahlia Farm and Gardens: a two-acre urban farm and greenhouse.
Mile High Workshop
The Mile High Workshop is an employment and job training program for those facing barriers to work. They assemble and manufacture products in partnership with their business partners to create work opportunities.
Social Venture Partners - Denver
SVP Denver partners are passionate about giving back to the community. They donate their time, talent and resources to help nonprofits in Denver thrive. The SVP partnership collectively empowers individuals to realize greater impact in their personal giving. They call their approach “engaged philanthropy.”
The Denver Foundation
The mission of The Denver Foundation is to inspire people and mobilize resources to strengthen our community. Since 1925, The Denver Foundation has helped generous people to be catalysts for good by building charitable legacies.
Uncharted
Fellows worked with Uncharted, a Denver-based social impact accelerator, to develop a new concept called “Collective Accelerator” meant to address complex problems in the community more effectively and systemically.
Village Exchange Center
The Village Exchange Center promotes a celebration of cultural and religious diversity with the greater goal of creating a bridge to the larger Denver community for a mutual encounter and exchange.
The Village Institute
Fellows worked with refugee womento identify the key measures of success for the Village Institute.
Women’s Bean Project
The Women’s Bean Project believes that all women have the power to transform their lives through employment. So they hire women who are chronically unemployed and teach them to work by making nourishing products. The women learn to stand tall, find their purpose and break the cycle of poverty. Because when you change a woman’s life, you change her family’s life.
Mentors
Each year, outstanding professionals agreed to serve as mentors to the Fellows. We’re grateful for their generous gifts of wisdom and time over the course of the Fellowship program.
Carly Abrahamson Matt Barry Luis Benitez Jeff Bontrager Adam Brock Debra Bustos O'Neill Crist Fulk Terrence Cummings Sue Dorsey Peter Ericson Bill Fulton Eddie Koen Adam Lerner Tony Lewis Pam Loebig Richard Male Louise Martorano Joe Mauro Rachael Miller Aaron Miripol Luisa Molano Jennifer Newcomer Mark Newhouse David Padrino Katherine Pease Lydia Prado Ashok Reddy Dave Ryan Kathy Underhill Gregg Vanourek Dace West
Faculty
The CiviCO Barton Institute Social Enterprise Fellowship would not have been possible without the leadership of Janney Carpenter, Faculty Director, and Jesse King, leadership consultant.
Janney Carpenter
Faculty Director
Barton Institute for Community Action
Jesse King
Leadership Consultant
Barton Institute for Community Action