May 2009


Practitioner Spotlight: Cause for Hope

Cause for Hope helps people in Central America break the poverty cycle and achieve self-reliance by providing vocational and business training, English and computer classes, and micro-credit loans.  more

Small Fortunes Success Stories

Thousands of people have changed their interests and views of the world as a result of seeing the ESR Center's Small Fortunes PBS Documentary. The following three stories illustrate the types of efforts that have resulted as individuals let microcredit inspire them.  more

Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year Nomination

Steve and Bette Gibson were selected along with 37 others in Utah to be in the running for the 2009 Ernst and Young Entrepreneur of the Year award.  more

Tipping Bucket Wins 2009 Social Venture Competition

The 2009 Social Venture Competition wrapped up on April 9 and 10 and the winners were announced: The Tipping Bucket took first place, Sain Terre second, and StartUp Third. The Tipping Bucket, a Facebook application that allows users to make $1 donations to social venture projects, was awarded $10,000 to put their idea into action.   more

ESR Center Social Venture Consulting Projects

Every year the Economic Self-Reliance Center sponsors several Social Venture Consulting projects for master of business and master of public administration students to help with economic development efforts throughout the world. The center partners with organizations that provide the opportunity for students to work with clients by training, mentoring, researching and implementing.  more

SMI Prepares for Longitudinal Study

The ESR Center's Single Mom Initiative (in partnership with the Single Mom Foundation of Salt Lake City) received a grant to continue interviews of single mothers in Utah. The research hopes to affect public policy and discover the most effective ways to help single mothers achieve economic self-reliance.  more

Students Use Summer Break to Research Microfranchising

Most students think the month after finals is a time for a well-deserved break from school and studies, but five BYU students hopped on planes to either Ghana or Guatemala soon after their last tests to spend May researching for the BYU Center for Economic Self Reliance (CESR).  more

Fulbright Scholar to Research Microfranchising in Tajikstan

Brigham Young University student Ryan Bastian, a senior majoring in Russian from Idaho Falls, Idaho, was recently selected as a Fulbright Scholar recipient to study microfranchising in Tajikistan.   more