What is Social Entrepreneurship?

Social entrepreneurship creates solutions to immediate social problems and also mobilizes the ideas, capacities, resources, and social arrangements required for social transformations. The focus here is on solutions that are effective, sustainable, and ideally, replicable in a variety of contexts around the world. Although social entrepreneurs share some characteristics and techniques with traditional business entrepreneurs—for example, an emphasis on innovation and the utilization of time-tested business theories and practices—their work and impact span the private, nonprofit, and governmental sectors.

What is the Catherine B. Reynolds Foundation?

The mission of the Catherine B. Reynolds Foundation is to help educate young people, inspire them to believe in their power to make a difference as individuals, and motivate them to reach their greatest potential as citizens and productive members of society.

Catherine B. Reynolds brings to the world of philanthropy the same energy and entrepreneurial spirit that ensured her success in the realm of commerce. As the leader of two businesses, Mrs. Reynolds created a new and affordable way for Americans to finance a college education. An innovative thinker, she developed a privately funded alternative to government student loan programs. Through her vision and perseverance, hundreds of thousands of Americans have been able to attend the college of their choice. In only one decade, this creative approach to private educational financing revolutionized student lending and spawned a multibillion-dollar industry of 65 lenders offering more than 200 financial products.

Who is eligible to apply for a Reynolds Foundation Fellowship?

Candidates for the Reynolds Foundation Fellowship are individuals who have a demonstrated interest in social entrepreneurship and wish to pursue a master's degree from the Harvard Graduate School of Education, the Harvard School of Public Health, or the Harvard Kennedy School. 

The two key qualifications are:

• a demonstrated track record of success in creatively mobilizing constituencies to address social problems,and
• facility with using at least some of the following management tools in the service of building sustainable and scalable solutions to social problems: strategic planning, business modeling, market segmentation, financial analysis, and human resources management.

In order to receive a fellowship, a candidate must be chosen by the Reynolds Selection Committee and be admitted to a master's degree program at one of these three schools.

Are foreign students eligible to apply for the Catherine B. Reynolds Fellowship?

Foreign students who are applying for admission to a master's degree program at the Harvard Graduate School of Education, the Harvard School of Public Health, or the Harvard Kennedy School are eligible to apply for the fellowship.

What is required of the fellows?

Fellows are required to be in full-time residence at the Graduate School of Education, the Harvard Kennedy School, or the School of Public Health during their Fellowship year.

Fellows are expected to participate fully in the cocurricular program organized by the Center for Public Leadership at the Harvard Kennedy School during their Fellowship year. Fellows are also expected to take at least one course on social entrepreneurship or social enterprise per academic year.

What is the cocurricular program?

The cocurrciular program is designed to enrich and augment the fellows' classroom work, as well as to build a sense of community among the fellows which will last a lifetime. It is not part of any degree program requirements and is not for credit towards a degree.

How do I obtain an application?

Please go to the How to Apply section to download an application form for 2009–2010.

Whom should I contact for more information?

For questions about the fellowship application, guidelines, or eligibility requirements of the Reynolds Foundation Fellowship, please contact the office of the Committee on General Scholarships at 617-496-5051 or This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .

For questions about the academic programs at Harvard graduate or professional schools, or the admissions procedures or guidelines, please contact the admissions office of the school of your interest. (Site links are provided below.)

For questions about the cocurricular program, please contact please contact the Center for Public Leadership at 617-496-4764 or jennifer_firneno at harvard.edu.

Harvard Links

• Harvard Graduate School of Education
• Harvard Kennedy School
• Harvard School of Public Health
• Center for Public Leadership
• Committee on General Scholarship
• Harvard Home

Links

• Academy of Achievement
  A non-profit entity that provides students and teachers with access to some of the greatest thinkers and achievers of our age