Newswise — Babson College has received a $10.8 million gift from the Lewis Charitable Foundation for the establishment of an institute to support teaching, research, and outreach in social entrepreneurship.
This is the 2nd largest gift from an individual in the history of the college.
The Lewis Institute at Babson College will develop leaders, create knowledge, and grow new enterprises to solve compelling global problems. Using the skills, knowledge, and attitudes of the entrepreneur, the Lewis Institute at Babson College will address opportunities to create societal value in the areas of education, healthcare, communications and infrastructure, poverty, economic development, security, sustainability, energy, the environment, and quality of life.
The gift will support the study of social entrepreneurship through the establishment and support of efforts and projects in the following areas.
Entrepreneurship
"¢ Lewis Social Venture Seed Fund and Lewis Social Venture Hatchery to provide venture capital and resources for social ventures
"¢ Green Collar Venture Competition to support ventures dedicated to environmentally sensitive undertakings
Academics and Research
"¢ Social Entrepreneurship Monitor (SEM), a research consortium that will examine social entrepreneurship across the globe. SEM will be based on Babson's Global Entrepreneurship Monitor (GEM), which examines entrepreneurship levels in more than 45 countries.
"¢ An annual conference bringing together entrepreneurs, business and non-profit enterprises, educational institutions, social ventures, and governmental and quasi-governmental organizations to focus on emerging social entrepreneurship issues.
"¢ The Alan and Harriet Lewis Endowed Chair in Social Entrepreneurship
"¢ Case studies and curricular materials in social entrepreneurship
Students
"¢ Lewis Institute Social Entrepreneurship Student Initiative Award to support student projects
"¢ Social entrepreneurship fellowships and internships
"I am proud to partner with Babson College to teach the next generation of entrepreneurs the importance of incorporating social responsibility into their future businesses," said Alan Lewis. "The corporations and entrepreneurs that have already established successful philanthropic programs owe it to their younger counterparts to share the lessons we have learned. Just as we help the deserving non-profit, so we must offer leadership and support to our future business owners seeking to incorporate philanthropic programs into their fledging businesses. Going beyond marketing to true philanthropy has only one pre-requisite, and that, beginning at the top and extending through all levels of the organization, is the willingness and the commitment to care."
"I want to thank Alan Lewis for his generous gift that enables us to create the Lewis Institute at Babson College," said Babson President Leonard Schlesinger. "The scale, enormity, and globalization of the problems before us today require entrepreneurial solutions. At Babson, we know more about entrepreneurship than any other educational institution. Through the Lewis Institute we can provide the right tools and talent to test out new thinking, new approaches, and new products and services—helping to tackle the toughest problems the world now faces."
Alan and Harriet Lewis
Alan E. LewisChairman & Chief Executive Officer
Over the past 20 years, Alan Lewis's vision has transformed Grand Circle Corporation from a $23-million-a-year travel company into a $700-million-a-year, fast-moving, global enterprise serving American travelers over 50.
Alan and his wife Harriet purchased Grand Circle Travel in 1985 with a vision to "help change people's lives." To do so, they established a unique, values-based corporate culture to foster personal and professional growth for associates, culturally rich international vacations for customers, and, in 1992, to benefit the communities where Grand Circle works and travels, the Grand Circle Foundation, a comprehensive philanthropic program that today is critical to the company's success and profitability.
Under Alan's leadership, Grand Circle has expanded from one office in Boston in 1987 to 45 offices with 3,000 employees on six continents today. Brands include Grand Circle Travel, Overseas Adventure Travel, and a fleet of 45 small ships that in the past two years have been cited by Conde Nast Traveler as among the best in the world.
A strong believer in experiential learning, Alan established Grand Circle's Pinnacle Leadership Center in Kensington, NH in 1992. The center hosts Grand Circle's annual outdoor retreat, during which associates engage in a series of hands-on, Outward Bound-style challenge activities. This retreat, as well as several year-round employee development programs, promote the values that Lewis has instituted to guide the company's business practice: open and courageous communications, risk taking, teamwork, speed, quality, and thriving in change.
Harriet R. LewisVice Chair, Board of Directors, Grand Circle CorporationChair, The Grand Circle Foundation
Grand Circle Corporation's Vice Chair Harriet Lewis has shared the vision to "help change people's lives" with her husband, Alan, since 1985, when they acquired Grand Circle Travel. Today, $700 million Grand Circle offers myriad programs in support of its global workforce, aged 50-plus travelers, and the communities in which it works and travels. In her role as chair of the Grand Circle Foundation, the company's nonprofit, charitable organization, Harriet extends that mission to the communities Grand Circle touches at home and abroad.
The company has expanded from its Boston headquarters to more than 45 regional offices and employs more than 3,000 people worldwide. Both Harriet and her husband Alan's commitment to creating a supportive work environment has led to one of the most generous and comprehensive benefits programs in the nation, highlighted by employee sabbaticals and tuition reimbursement for courses promoting both professional and personal growth. In 1995, she created the company's Women's Development Network, which has evolved into a leadership program for men and women at all levels of management. And she helped establish Grand Circle's Pinnacle Leadership Center, an outdoor facility in New Hampshire, which uses a hands-on, experiential learning model to train employees in teamwork, risk taking, and leadership building.
In 1992, Harriet and Alan set up the nonprofit Grand Circle Foundation to support the communities in which Grand Circle works and travels. The Foundation has donated more than $28 million to humanitarian, cultural, and environmental endeavors in Boston and around the world. In the last 11 years, the Foundation's Community Service Team, which is led by Grand Circle employees, donated more than 25,000 hours of service to local non-profit organizations. The Foundation has received several honors, among them the Hero of Philanthropy Award from the National Society of Fundraising Executives and designation as the first member of the UNESCO World Heritage Centre Partners in Conservation.
Babson College
Babson College in Wellesley, Mass., is recognized internationally as a leader in entrepreneurial management education. Babson grants BS degrees through its innovative undergraduate program, and grants MBA and custom MS and MBA degrees through the F.W. Olin Graduate School of Business at Babson College. Babson Executive Education offers executive development programs to experienced managers worldwide. For information, visit http://www.babson.edu.
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