Social entrepreneurship students have organized a launch party to support their campaigns for select charities and school teachers. The student-led event, “Greensgiving”, will take place at the UNT Union in the Jade Ballroom (Room 333) on Nov. 17 from 2-5 p.m.; it will feature a live DJ, silent auction, cash bar, snacks and individualized campaign promotions from over a dozen groups supporting causes including public school teachers, disabled military veterans, women’s shelters, cancer research and more.

This fall, students in Dr. Jeremy Short’s Social Entrepreneurship course curated campaigns on crowdfunding platforms, GoFundMe or DonorsChoose, for their chosen nonprofit or teacher, respectively. Students had the option to monetarily support a nonprofit organization they felt passionate about, or help a public school teacher raise funds for their classroom. The “Greensgiving” launch party is an opportunity for Dr. Short’s students to showcase their work and share their progress with fellow students, friends/family, UNT faculty, charity representatives, school teachers, donors and other visitors who may wish to attend.“Greensgiving” will take place on Social Enterprise Day, which also falls within Global Entrepreneurship Week.

Amanda Lewis, executive director of the Genesis Center women’s shelter, expressed her excitement about the work Dr. Short’s students are doing. She stated that, "The transformation of the women [at the shelter] is beautiful,” and the funds raised will be able to help the shelter expand their efforts in aiding these women in need. Most nonprofits and many public school teachers are still being affected by repercussions from COVID-19, and are struggling to maintain their status in helping others. This project/event will allow for a wide audience of donors to be reached in order to benefit the students’ campaigns for the teachers and organizations chosen. The following link is the official Facebook event page for the launch party: https://fb.me/e/2Rw0spBp8 

About Dr. Jeremy Short’s Social Entrepreneurship Course
Dr. Jeremy Short’s research focuses on crowdfunding and social entrepreneurship. While he has taught this course in the past in virtual and partially in-person formats, this is the first time students have been able to plan an event as a class to whole-heartedly apply themselves to promote their campaigns in support of each other’s efforts. Before the end of the semester, each group must raise $500 for their campaign, and the class must reach a total sum of $10,000.