Harvard Business School » Social Enterprise

Social Enterprise Initiative

We educate, support, and inspire leaders across all sectors to tackle society's toughest challenges and make a difference in the world.

Faculty & Research

Engage with faculty creating groundbreaking research that links theory and practice to shape the future of social enterprise.

Rockefeller Philanthropy Advisors: Bringing Systematic Investment to Philanthropy

July 2024 By: Lauren Cohen, Hao Gao, Alexander Bischoff and Sophia Pan Melissa Berman, CEO of Rockefeller Philanthropy Advisors (RPA), evaluated her client’s philanthropy project and its mediocre performance. RPA was a segment of the Rockefeller Family Office’s Philanthropy Department, becoming an independent charity in 2002. Consistently met with high-net-worth individuals, Berman recognized that philanthropy was not taken as seriously as it should be. If it was ...

One Way to Help Employees Build Emergency Savings

May 14, 2024 By: Timothy Flacke and Peter Tufano Intentional cooperation between two organizations — BlackRock, a major asset management firm, and national non-profit, Commonwealth — created the conditions for the nation’s largest payroll processor, multiple U.S. employers, retirement record keepers, and others to work together to help address systemic U.S. household financial insecurity through a workplace-based savings plans. This was not t...

Together for Sustainability

May 2024 (Revised June 2024) By: Ranjay Gulati, David Shin and Emily Tedards This case documents the origin and development of Together for Sustainability (TfS), a chemical industry initiative dedicated to raising sustainability standards throughout the industry’s supply chains. In 2011, six Chief Procurement Officers (CPOs) from some of the world’s biggest chemical companies collaborated on a solution that would enable their companies to jointly advance supply chain su...
2024
Nov

18 Nov-21 Nov

Upswell Forum

The mission of Upswell is to accelerate the impact of social entrepreneurs moving their organizations from start-up to growth phase.

2025
Mar

20 Mar-28 Mar

Executive Education: Driving Nonprofit Performance and Innovation–Virtual

For nonprofit leaders, this live, online Executive Education program explores how to align mission and strategy through performance measurement.

2025
Jul

27 Jul-02 Aug

Executive Education: Strategic Perspectives in Nonprofit Management

This week-long on-campus program for nonprofit leaders explores how to create social sector organizations that can thrive in the midst of change.