Guide
SOCIAL ENTREPRENEURSHIP CERTIFICATE
From the Community, For the Community
Community Frontline, in partnership with Suzanne Smith, is launching a community led leadership cohort to strengthen Tarrant County’s social sector, using a proven social entrepreneurship program.
What is it?
An 11-session program (January – September) designed to equip up to 40 local leaders with the skills, strategies, and network needed to drive lasting social change.
Participants will:
- Build Strong Teams and Craft Powerful Strategies
- Balance Mission and Money while Scaling Responsibly
- Strengthen Marketing, Operations, and Financial Tools
- Collaborate in Small Groups on Real Community-Driven Projects
Who it’s for….
We are intentionally seeking a diverse mix of voices from across Tarrant County:
- Non-profit, For-profit, and public/government leaders
- Executives, practitioners, and community members with lived experience
- Changemakers ready to innovate and collaborate for impact
Why it matters….
This program follows a proven model from SMU and UT Austin – now rooted locally through Community Frontline. With UT Arlington- Fort Worth Campus as our host site, participants will gain both real-world practice and a Social Entrepreneurship Certification.
Together we will move from theory to action-developing business plans, launching initiatives, and co-creating solutions shaped by and for our community.
The impact…..
By connecting leaders across sectors, this cohort will:
- Build Stronger Relationships
- Spark Innovation
- Create a Collaborative Path Forward Toward change in Tarrant Count
Guide
TESTIMONIALS FROM PAST PARTICIPANTS:
PROGRAM AT A GLANCE
The Social Entrepreneurship Certificate is an opportunity to transform your approach to social impact from the inside out, providing you with the knowledge and tools necessary to think like a social entrepreneur. Over the course of 8 months, gain insights from experts, practitioners, and peers on enhancing social impact within your organization and career.
The Social Entrepreneurship Certificate offers a comprehensive curriculum designed to equip you with essential skills for driving social impact. Participants will develop a toolkit of best practices and skills in:
- Strategy Development
- Storytelling Techniques
- Methods for Measuring Social Impact
- Financial Models for Social Impact
- Ways to Scale
MEET THE INSTRUCTOR
Suzanne Smith
Founder & CEO of Social Impact Architects
Suzanne Smith has a deep belief that everyone is a change-maker. As a serial social entrepreneur, she strives to harness the powerful force of organizations, including nonprofits, foundations and socially responsible businesses, and individuals, especially students and young entrepreneurs, to maximize the potential of the social sector to create real, scalable impact.
In 2009, Suzanne founded Social Impact Architects, a registered Benefit Corporation, to reshape the business of social change. For her outstanding work as a leading thinker, she was recognized with the Next Generation Social Entrepreneur Award by the Social Enterprise Alliance. Since 2015, Social Impact Architects was recognized as one of the “Best for the World” small businesses by B Corp. Suzanne holds an MBA from Duke University’s Fuqua School of Business, where she was selected as the CASE (Center for the Advancement of Social Entrepreneurship) Scholar. Nationally, she was selected as a member of Peter Senge’s Society of Organizational Learning and has served on the national board of the Social Enterprise Alliance. She has advised many federal agencies on their efforts on social entrepreneurship and system change. Read more about Suzanne.
COURSE DETAILS
When: 11 sessions between January and September | Time to be determined
Where: University of Texas-Arlington Fort Worth Campus
Cost: The Course has no cost for participants of the program
COURSE DESCRIPTION
Class topics subject to change. Instructor details to be announced.
- Session 1: Kick-off & Entrepreneurial Culture
- Session 2: Strategy
- Session 3: Storytelling
- Session 4: Design Thinking
- Session 5: Social Innovation
- Session 6: Social Marketing
- Session 7: Social Impact
- Session 8: Social Enterprise
- Session 9: Legal, Operations, & Finance
- Session 10: Scaling
- Session 11: Corporate Social Responsibility
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
This program seeks to represent a wide array of experience in the social impact sector. We expect the program will have content that resonates to participants from multiple sectors and stages of their career.
You can miss up to two class dates and still receive the certificate. If you miss more than two sessions, you’ll receive recognition for participating but not certification.
- 11 sessions of instruction (33 total contact hours)
- Complimentary on-campus parking pass for each class day
- Printed copies of all class materials
- Physical certificate upon graduation
- Faculty office hours
- Supported networking opportunities, including: a private LinkedIn group for the cohort; outside-the-classroom meetups and educational support
Yes! Please see the buttons below for the handouts related to the prior Community Frontline gatherings.
Other Questions? Contact us at changemakers@communityfrontline.com