Sponsors of Campus Entrepreneurship

Foundations and other nonprofit groups have helped finance the growth of undergraduate entrepreneurship programs. Here are some of the key efforts:

The Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation

An early, and seminal, supporter of entrepreneurship in higher education, the Missouri-based foundation in 2003 identified eight colleges — a diverse group that included Florida International, Howard, and Wake Forest Universities — where it would support campuswide educational programming in entrepreneurship. The project reflected the foundation’s longstanding view that entrepreneurship is an important part of American society’s economic health. The number of colleges increased to 18 in 2006. That program ended in 2013, but Kauffman continues to finance the study of entrepreneurship and education, underwriting research, conferences, and reports to better understand the legal, social, and economic drivers of entrepreneurship. It has dedicated more than $300 million to interdisciplinary entrepreneurship education to date.

Ashoka U

The Virginia-based nonprofit network, created in 2008, collaborates with 30 institutions in the United States and elsewhere to foster social entrepreneurship. Through mentoring, fellowships, awards, and other resources, it encourages student interest in ventures that create social change. One of its backers is the Moxie Foundation, which also supports a handful of campus entrepreneurship centers.

The Blackstone Charitable Foundation

The foundation, based in New York, has spent $14 million so far on Blackstone LaunchPad, a network of 15 colleges in six states. Through three-year grants, campuses develop space, staffing, programming, and ties to local businesses that encourage student entrepreneurship.

VentureWell

Established by the Lemelson Foundation in 1995 as the National Collegiate Inventors and Innovators Alliance, VentureWell supports student entrepreneurship, particularly in science, technology,, and business. The Massachusetts-based nonprofit group, renamed last year, operates through a network of nearly 200 colleges, finances the creation of coursework, provides seed grants to student teams to help launch their ventures, and offers fellowships and conferences. These efforts have led to more than 600 new courses and support for more than 500 student teams, half of which are still running ventures today.