Ballard Center News 

Brigham Young University has been designated a Changemaker Campus by Ashoka U. Ashoka U, a subset of the international nonprofit organization Ashoka, is an initiative set forth to promote social entrepreneurship in universities. BYU was named for its ability to produce influential students who make a difference on a local and a global stage. Nineteen universities, including BYU, around the world are honored with this status.

The Ballard Center for Economic Self-Reliance has named Brigham Young University professors Chris Mattson and David Wiley as research fellows in the Peery Social Entrepreneurship program. As fellows, Mattson and Wiley will apply their expertise in research and innovations within the field of social entrepreneurship.

Solving global problems might seem daunting, but the Ballard Center for Economic Self-Reliance is stepping up to the challenge by providing a way to help experts create breakthroughs in specific fields.

This year's Social Venture Competition attracted students focused on improving lives through sustainable businesses around the world. Sponsored by the Ballard Center for Economic Self-Reliance, the eighth annual competition encouraged participants to enter ventures addressing social problems.

The Ballard Center for Economic Self-Reliance recently presented the Social Innovator of the Year award to David Bornstein, an author and New York Times journalist who reports on high impact solutions for social problems around the world.

The event that took Brigham Young University's campus by storm last year returned in 2012 just as strong. This year's TEDxBYU conference was jam-packed with inspiring speakers, a webcast and an energetic crowd.

Graduate students from across the country gathered at Brigham Young University to create solutions for problems facing social organizations in the second annual Innovation in Social Entrepreneurship Case Competition.

A group of Brigham Young University finance students are finding unique ways to use their investing skills while helping those in poverty worldwide.

Two international educators will continue to bring their innovative expertise to Brigham Young University as newly named fellows for the Ballard Center for Economic Self-Reliance.

Social innovators usually focus their attention on foreign countries. But for at least one Brigham Young University student participating in the Peery Film Festival, social innovation is just as important domestically.

The buzz around social innovation and entrepreneurship is growing as the Ballard Center for Economic Self-Reliance welcomes seven faculty members to its fellows program.

Inc. magazine recently featured three former Brigham Young University students and their composting company, EcoScraps, as part of a report on innovative social entrepreneurs.

According to finalists at the 2011 Social Venture Competition, solving a few of the world's problems is possible — use tutoring, technology and tilapia. The competition, hosted by the Ballard Center for Economic Self-Reliance, challenged students to create innovative solutions to social concerns, such as those in education, volunteering and agriculture, and honored finalists with more than $50,000.

Social entrepreneurship is cropping up on campuses everywhere. And Brigham Young University's Students for Social Entrepreneurship internship program is among the best in the field.

Candy apple red balloons floated overhead as hundreds crowded into the Pardoe Theater for the first TEDxBYU conference. Eight engaging speakers, one gifted violinist and an energetic audience of students, faculty and alumni gathered to celebrate social innovation.

Brigham Young University's Marriott School of Management announced the naming of the Peery Social Entrepreneurship Program, the flagship program of the Melvin J. Ballard Center for Economic Self Reliance, on Friday, Feb. 11. The naming honors Richard and Mimi Peery and their family's passion for social entrepreneurship.

An impoverished woman learns a trade to pay for her child's college education. An orphan receives therapy for his speech impediment. A homeless teen has daily meals and a bed of his own. As participants in the new Innovation in Social Entrepreneurship Case Competition at Brigham Young University can attest, the finer things in life often don't come with a dollar sign.

Nearly 2.5 billion people around the world live on less than $2 a day. In efforts to develop a solution, Lewis Hower helped create the University Impact Fund, a program that will provide income generating opportunities for the poor.

Lights. Camera. Make a difference. Four student-produced social entrepreneurship films were showcased at the first-ever Peery Film Festival sponsored by the Ballard Center for Economic Self-Reliance.

While conducting impact analyses with microcredit borrowers in East Africa, Jason Fairbourne realized there was a problem. The people he met didn't have the resources to become self-reliant. Microcredit loans, which were touted as an answer to poverty, helped but weren't always effectively used. So Fairbourne developed a new concept — one he calls "microfranchising."