Publications

September 2021 (Revised February 2023)
Case

Harambe: Mobilizing Capital in Africa

By: Anywhere (Siko) Sikochi, Dilyana Karadzhova Botha and Francesco Tronci

Harambe was a non-profit organization whose mission was to build an ecosystem to identify promising young African entrepreneurs and provide them access to training, markets, capital, and support networks. From 2007 to 2021, Harambe had grown to a network of 367... View Details

Keywords: Entrepreneurship; Nonprofit Organizations; Business Model; Strategy; Organizational Structure; Business Startups; Capital; Venture Capital; Social and Collaborative Networks; Networks; Developing Countries and Economies; Emerging Markets; Africa; South Africa

September 2020 (Revised September 2021)
Case

Student Success at Georgia State University (A)

By: Michael W. Toffel, Robin Mendelson and Julia Kelley

Georgia State University had developed a reputation for driving student success by nearly doubling its graduation rate for students of all racial, ethnic, and socioeconomic backgrounds. It did so while growing its student body and the proportion of Black/African... View Details

Archie Jones is a Senior Lecturer in the Entrepreneurial Management Unit at the Harvard Business School, where he currently teaches Venture Capital and Private Equity, Field... View Details

July 2011
Case

Teach Plus: Mobilizing a New Generation of Teacher Leaders

By: David A. Thomas and Stephanie J. Creary

This case profiles the evolution of Teach Plus, a non-profit organization founded on the premise that in order for public schools to continuously improve urban student achievement, teaching must become a career that motivates and retains effective early career... View Details

Keywords: Leadership; Decision Making; Strategy; Nonprofit Organizations; Social Entrepreneurship; Teaching; Cambridge; Boston

19 Dec 2023
Research & Ideas

$15 Billion in Five Years: What Data Tells Us About MacKenzie Scott’s Philanthropy

campaign rare in its scale and unprecedented in its pace. Sizing up the nonprofit world To build a data-driven portrait of Scott’s giving, we began with a list of 1,964 recipients listed on the Yield Giving... View Details

Keywords: by Matthew Lee, Brian Trelstad, and Ethan Tran

September 2009 (Revised November 2010)
Case

Endeavor: Creating a Global Movement for High-Impact Entrepreneurship

By: William A. Sahlman

This case describes a critical inflection point in the growth of an international development "mentor capitalist" nonprofit, Endeavor. As Endeavor aims to scale its high-impact entrepreneurship model globally, founder Linda Rottenberg must determine what success looks... View Details

Keywords: Developing Countries and Economies; Social Entrepreneurship; Global Strategy; Corporate Social Responsibility and Impact; Nonprofit Organizations; Jordan

May 2024 (Revised June 2024)
Case

Together for Sustainability

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... View Details

Keywords: Environmental Sustainability; Standards; Supply Chain Management; Corporate Social Responsibility and Impact; Partners and Partnerships; Nonprofit Organizations; Corporate Accountability; Chemical Industry

Web

Faculty & Advisors | MBA

builder, GTM strategist, and policy nerd turned investor, she partners with founders at the earliest stages of their discovery, building, and scaling journeys. She’s excited to reimagine how we develop, deliver, & pay for healthcare today... View Details

September 2024
Case

Open Door Legal: Universal Legal Access

By: Brian Trelstad, Taylor Greenthal and Sarah Mehta

This case is about Open Door Legal (ODL), a San Francisco-based civil legal aid nonprofit. CEO Adrian Tirtanadi founded the organization in 2012 with a mission to achieve universal access to legal representation for all city residents. By 2024, ODL had opened four... View Details

Keywords: Social Entrepreneurship; Law; Growth Management; Nonprofit Organizations; Civil Society or Community; Business Model; Expansion; Legal Services Industry; United States; California; Los Angeles; San Francisco

09 Dec 2014
First Look

First Look: December 9

https://cb.hbsp.harvard.edu/cbmp/product/115009-PDF-ENG Harvard Business School Case 415-034 Micromax: Scaling the Largest Indian Mobile Handset Company It is January 2014 and Rahul Sharma, cofounder of Micromax Informatics (Micromax),... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

05 Feb 2007
Research & Ideas

Business and the Global Poor

challenges, few BOP ventures can be expected to reach scale at the pace seen in their mainstream counterparts. Indeed, those BOP ventures that do quickly reach scale often credit some of their success to... View Details

Keywords: by Sean Silverthorne

September 2023
Case

FoodCloud: Tackling Food Insecurity and Climate Change in One Bite

By: Brian Trelstad and Emer Moloney

In 2013, Aoibheann O’Brien and Iseult Ward founded FoodCloud, a non-profit social enterprise that aimed to address food waste and food insecurity issues. Through its technology platform, Foodiverse, FoodCloud connected surplus food from retailers with community groups... View Details

Keywords: Nonprofit Organizations; Expansion; Technological Innovation; Environmental Sustainability; Social Issues; Growth and Development Strategy; Green Technology Industry; Agriculture and Agribusiness Industry; Food and Beverage Industry; Republic of Ireland; Europe

Web

Podcast - Business & Environment

last 15 years scaling a national logistics and digital infrastructure platform for resale. In this episode James describes why the company decided to handle physical goods rather than act as a pure marketplace, how ThredUp helps brands... View Details

Web

About | Social Enterprise | Harvard Business School

Community Action Partners, a pro-bono business consulting organization of Harvard Business School and Kennedy School alumni working with Boston-area nonprofits and social enterprises. She has an MBA from Harvard Business School and prior... View Details

03 Aug 2009
Research & Ideas

Corporate Social Responsibility in a Downturn

reputation and brand. In general these activities create a win-win for the company and its larger group of stakeholders. Q: Many nonprofits from museums to food banks are worried about the dwindling number of donors and their future in... View Details

Keywords: by Martha Lagace

Web

Impact Investing | Social Enterprise | Harvard Business School

Wellington Asset Management. Publications IQanat: Empowering Rural Youth in Kazakhstan By: Boris Groysberg and Maxim Pike Harrell May 2025 | Faculty Research In June 2025, IQanat CEO Aliya Salikova considered scaling opportunities for the... View Details

January 2024 (Revised June 2024)
Case

Equal Justice Initiative: Mercy, Truth and Dignity

By: V. Kasturi Rangan, Gerald Chertavian and Brittany Logan

In 1989, the Equal Justice Initiative was established as a non-profit, public interest law firm by Harvard Law School graduate, Bryan Stevenson.

EJI provides legal assistance to condemned prisoners, people wrongly convicted or unfairly sentenced, children in... View Details

Keywords: Equality and Inequality; Nonprofit Organizations; Mission and Purpose; Growth and Development Strategy; Social Issues; Race