A&M Cafe (located at 1027 4th Ave. in Grinnell) announced on Thursday that they will be sponsoring a benefit breakfast to support SEG’s Emergency Loans Program. A&M will donate 50¢ to SEG for every person who eats breakfast at the local cafe. You can also check out the Facebook event.

See below for the eight teams (in alphabetical order) and their ideas!
1. Breakfast in Bob’s

Connor Schake ’14, Joe Harris ’14 and Meg Rudy ’14 are offering a scrumptious Sunday morning breakfast in Bob’s, ensuring that you won’t go hungry before the dining hall opens.

2. Bunt Cakes

Julie Bunt ’13 is selling delicious baked goods, including cupcakes, cookies and Oreo cheesecake, as well as organic dog treats for your canine friends. Buy them during meals or submit an order.

3. Feelin’ Stressed?

Mackenzie Shanahan ’14 is giving back massages outside of the dining hall as a much-needed way for students to de-stress during the day.

4. Fro-NaNas!

Glenda Lopez ’12, Emma Rellegert ’12, JoJo Ju ’12, David Cummings ’12 and Mary Rellegert ’13 are selling frozen bananas covered in chocolate with a variety of toppings as a great spring-time treat!

5. Hey You, Buy Our Stuff

Ellie Honan ’14, Eva Metz ’14 and Carissa Shoemaker ’14 are selling unique homemade snacks and beverages around campus including sweet sticky rice and dandelion tea.

6. Pins for Love

Max Mindock ’15 and Sinan Goral ’15 are making stylish ‘Self Gov’ pins out of poker chips, a favorite from last semester.

7. Shakin’ It Up

Stephanie Porter ’14 and Mariam Asaad ’14 are setting up a smoothie and milkshake stand, offering yummy drinks for warm spring days

8. Shots^5

Grace Philipp ’12 is selling ‘No Limits’ shot-glasses that are sure to become a classic Grinnell College souvenir.

Photo attributed to Pen Waggener's Flickr

Starting on Monday, April 2, the Social Entrepreneurs of Grinnell will be accepting applications for Round Two of the Grinnell College Gumball Challenge!

In this exciting opportunity, based on the original Gumball Challenge invented at Stanford University, Grinnell students create a business plan and are given a $50 loan to put their entrepreneurial ideas into practice. The students who make the most profit win prizes, and the money raised goes to the Social Entrepreneurs of Grinnell. Previous examples of student businesses include baking cookies, pies, and brownies to order; selling Falafel and baklava on the weekend; and giving manicures outside of the dining hall!

If you are a Grinnell student and  have an innovative idea that you would like to see in practice, please pick up an application in the Mail Room and mail to SEG by Monday, April 9! The Challenge will last all of April. All funds raised support SEG’s microfinance efforts in the local community and around the globe.

Blog post, Nicaragua, 3-23-2012
Kathy Andersen ‘13

Greetings from Nicaragua! Grace Philipp ’12 and I are in Nicaragua for ten days visiting our international loan partners and investigating new partnerships. It’s a great experience to get to see our partners in person and also to see first-hand the area and the people the loans are affecting.

San Ramón, the center of operations for international partner CPCPV, is our home base. It is a small town half an hour outside of Matagalpa and a little ways up into the mountains. Right now in the dry season it is a dusty place of dormant forest, paver streets, bright houses and pulparias. This town is doing well compared to most but the standard of living is still very poor. Everywhere, though, you’ll see people out talking, kids going to school, friends waving at each other from open doors, a very normal life.

We found that the Centro Promocional Cristiano Por La Paz y La Vida (CPCPV) is a really center of community for the people of San Ramón. We first talked to the General Director of the center, Margarita Sanchez, a spunky lady who told us about the origins of CPCPV. Beginning as the Centro por los Ninos in 1988, a collection of women formed to provide more nutritional food and health counseling to members of the community. Programming expanded from there and now it is a veritable hub and network of community enhancement operations.

Chayito, another community leader and staffer at CPCPV helped us set up our home stay and appointments with loan recipients in the area. Visiting these entrepreneurs with agricultural, sewing, jewelry-making, cooking, and retail ventures made possible by SEG loans reaffirmed for me the importance of what we are trying to accomplish with microfinance. The improvements in livelihood they were able to make for themselves was astounding. All were determined women who grabbed life by the horns and banded together to make these things happen in their lives.

Next, we traveled farther north and farther into the mountains to visit our loan partner Cecosprocaes (Central de Cooperativas de Productores de Cafés Especiales), a cooperative of coffee producers. We met the director, Deylieng Ballarads, who is himself a son of one of the producers in the cooperative. This cooperative, a very democratic decision-making body made up of the producers themselves, can offer much in the way of capacity and facilitation such as access to international markets and certification that give producers a better price for their product and benefit everyone involved. There I tasted coffee from one of the producers in the region of El Cua, a delicious medium roast with very warm tones.

From there we traveled to the other side of Matagalpa and met with Nereyda, a recipient who worked in San Ramon and heard about SEG from a group member interning at the same place. She had noticed a healthy potential for demand from the crowds waiting at the bus stop and used the loan to open a restaurant called Cafétin Ninas Moses. Now her restaurant is filled with people after work and on weekends, and she detailed for us her plans for expansion. I was so happy to get to meet and talk with Nereyda face to face, definitely a woman with great entrepreneurial spirit and business savvy.

Besides our standing loan partners, new opportunities have arisen. When we got to Nicaragua we heard about a prospective loan recipient with whom we met and then whose operations we visited in Laguana. They have already begun work on a tourist location offering many amenities and with a good business plan; I hope we will be able to make another partnership here. Needless to say, it’s been a very informative trip. I’m so glad I get to meet all of these people, hear their stories, and make these personal connections.

On Thursday, 6 SEG members visited the White House to be recognized as Champions of Change, and were surprised when the President himself arrived to address the gathered young innovators.

SEG member Grace Philipp has a blog post on the White House’s website! Philipp participated in a panel discussion at the White House about social entrepreneurship on college campuses on Thursday, as part of the recognition of with fellow SEG members Kyle Walters, Kathy Andersen, Caitlin Deutsch, Noah Most, and Rebecca Mandt in the audience. SEG was one of five finalists in the White House Campus Champions of Change Challenge, along with four other incredibly impressive programs: UMASS Amherst Permaculture Initiative, Full Circle Food Pantry, Swipes for the Homeless, and Moneythink.

Back Row: Kathy Andersen, Kyle Walters, Noah Most; Middle: Grace Philipp, Caitlin Deutsch; Front: Rebecca Mandt Photo Credit: Julie Bunt

March 13, 2012

The Social Entrepreneurs of Grinnell (SEG), a student-run nonprofit microfinance lending organization at Grinnell College, was named by the White House this week as one of the top five winners of  the Campus Champions of Change Challenge.

The White House gave particular recognition to SEG’s innovative Emergency Loans Project, which provides emergency, zero-interest microloans to pay for things like medical expenses, automobile repairs, education, and repayment of high-interest loans from payday loan sharks.

“The work of the Social Entrepreneurs is an excellent example of creative collaboration and compassion in a global context,” said Grinnell College President Raynard S. Kington, M.D., Ph.D. “Current Grinnell students, recent alumni and community partners have reached out locally and globally to improve the lives of others.”

In its five years of operation, SEG has expanded from providing international loans for small projects in remote communities to also assisting individuals in the local community. The microfinance organization has loaned more than $37,000 in 44 countries, with $13,000 going to 25 individuals in the Grinnell area. A coalition of volunteers comprised of students, alumni and local residents manages the lending and fundraising.

Six SEG members—Grace Philipp, Kyle Walters, Noah Most, Katherine Andersen, Rebecca Mandt, and Caitlin Deutsch—will attend an event at the White House on Mar. 15, which will be featured live on the White House’s webpage at 1:50pm CDT. The organization will also co-host an upcoming episode of the “Dean’s List” on mtvU. SEG would like to thank its supporters for this opportunity.

Falafel (pita sandwich with lettuce & tomato) – $3.00

Baklava – $1.00

Tea – $1.00

We will be selling from about 9pm to 1am, come join us to support SEG and eat some delicious food!

March 1, 2012

 MICRO-LENDER PROJECT DRAWS ATTENTION OF THE WHITE HOUSE

Grinnell nonprofit is national finalist; needs internet votes by March 3 to win

Front row, left to right: Monty Roper, Board Member, Pastor Kirsten Klepfer, Treasurer, Kyle Walters. Back Row: Grace Philipp, Doug Caulkins, Board President; Noah Most (co-facilitator), Kathy Andersen (co-facilitator). Not shown, Jeff Raderstrong (Secretary) and Emily Kugisaki (board member)

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The White House Office of Public Engagement has selected the Social Entrepreneurs of Grinnell (SEG), a nonprofit microfinance lending organization, as one of 15 finalists in its “Campus Champions of Change Challenge.” Founded by Grinnell College students in 2007, SEG now has two microfinance lending programs and is about to launch a third. Five winners in the White House Challenge are being chosen by internet voting which closes a minute before midnight this Saturday, March 3.

SEG was chosen as one of 15 finalists from among more than 1,400 submissions in response to the White House Challenge. SEG is the only organization from Iowa and the only organization based at a small college among the finalists. The Campus Champions of Change initiative highlights innovative ideas on college campuses across the country and aims to inspire others to get involved in their communities.

“This selection is a testament to the hard work and determination of Grinnell students to make our country a better place,” said Grinnell College President Raynard Kington. “What began as a small group of students collecting quarters and dimes in dorm rooms has become a nationally-recognized model for community change.”

SEG began by providing international loans in remote communities. Two years ago it added a program aimed at improving conditions in the local community. It has loaned out over $37,000 to 44 countries, with $13,000 going to 25 individuals in the Grinnell area. It is about to launch a third loan program focused on local entrepreneurs.

SEG began its lending by finding projects on the Kiva web site, known for putting entrepreneurs around the world together with microfinancing. That set a basic principle, explains current SEG President and Grinnell College Professor Emeritus of Anthropology Doug Caulkins. SEG finds and partners with other organizations familiar with possible borrowers to locate people or organizations for its low-interest micro-loans.

SEG has formed relationships with several organizations in Nicaragua which started as borrowers and have since hosted interns and visitors from the U.S. One is a soy garden, founded to fight local malnutrition and now a model non-governmental organization for others aspiring to feed the hungry. SEG’s first loan to the soy garden was $630, and it has since loaned another $2,630. Another Nicaraguan borrower is a food cooperative, selling farmers supplies and buying vegetables, which has created a market for the farmers’ produce and a supply of local food for residents.

Two years ago SEG partnered with Mid-Iowa Community Action (MICA) to offer emergency no-interest loans to local residents to pay for things like medical expenses, automobile repairs, education and repayment of high-interest loans from payday loan sharks. MICA provides the first filter, referring people in need.

SEG has recruited community liaisons who then pair off with a student to sit down with the potential borrower and work out terms. The community liaison remains available to assist the borrower and can re-schedule payments if that becomes necessary. Serving as community liaisons are Emily Moore, Kevin Lilly, Doug Caulkins, Kirsten Klepfer, Ray Obermiller, Amy Graves, Stan Greenwald, Kent McClelland and Betty Moffett.

SEG is about to launch a micro-loan program for local entrepreneurs in partnership with the Grinnell Area Chamber of Commerce which will provide referrals. Caulkins points to another emphasis of SEG, getting current students and alumni working together on a project.

Alumna Amelia Lobo of Iowa City is experienced in the micro-loan field and taught a short course last year on local entrepreneurial loans. Two other alums and Grinnell business people, Jeff Phelps in retail and Jeff Dickey-Chasins in web-based projects, will serve as community advisers. SEG also plans to draw on the expertise of other alumni working in the specific areas from which applications for loans come.

“We’re trying to recruit our alums because this is one way of engaging our students and allowing them to learn from our alumni,” Caulkins explains.

SEG has three student committees which deal with applications from the three areas in which it conducts lending. In addition to Caulkins, the board includes Grinnellian Kirsten Klepfer as treasurer; Monty Roper, Grinnell College associate professor of anthropology; and two alumni and co-founders of SEG who no longer live here, Jeff Raderstrong, a communications associate in Washington, D.C., and Emily Kugisaki, a middle school teacher in Seattle. Two student coordinators serve in SEG’s leadership this semester, Kathy Andersen and Noah Most.

“It is an honor to be included on this list of inspiring campus change-makers,” said Grace Philipp, a Grinnell College student who along with fellow student Kyle Walters spearheaded entry into the White House Challenge. “Our members have worked hard over the last five years to make this a reality, and whether or not we win, we will continue working to empower individuals with access to credit in our community and around the world.”

“This is a very compassionate organization,” adds Caulkins. “Everyone involved with it is driven by a sense of making a difference in the world. We’re tremendously proud of the students who have been so passionate and determined in building this program. It’s already been successful. Being selected for this prestigious award by the White House, it’s going to be even more successful in the future

“This has been a tremendous help to us in terms of publicity,” Caulkins continues. “Previously we were under-publicized in the town of Grinnell. Being finalists in this challenge by the White House means we’re getting a lot of attention.”

SEG has created a way for visitors to its web site to donate to the organization. Caulkins adds that members of the college’s Board of Trustees were so generous recently with their contributions that the organization will add over $4,000 to its funds available for lending. SEG’s web site is segrinnell.org.

Voting for the challenge continues until Saturday, March 3, at 11:59 p.m. Voters can cast up to three votes and can cast all three for a single organization. The top five finalists will be invited to an event at the White House, will be featured on mtvU and MTV Act, and the overall winner will host an episode of mtvU’s signature program, “The Dean’s List.”

To vote for SEG in the White House’s Campus Champions of Change Challenge, visit: http://bit.ly/vote4seg.

The five winners of the public vote were as follows:

Vote:

59,841   UMASS Amherst Permaculture Initiative – Ryan Harb, University of Massachusetts at Amherst

57,118   Full Circle Food Pantry – Julia Lyon, Volunteer Action Center, University of Arkansas

28,783   Local Loans Project – Grace Philipp, The Social Entrepreneurs of Grinnell, Grinnell College

25,379   Swipes for the Homeless – Thach Tak Nguyen, UCLA

22,799   Moneythink – Ted Gonder, University of Chicago