One of the great benefits of an Interdisciplinary Institute, especially one housed in one of the nation’s leading universities, is that we are able to form valuable partnerships with many organizations and companies that we share our values with. Our goal is to build long-lasting and mutually beneficial partnerships with our outside partners in an effort to further Georgia Tech’s mission “to provide the state of Georgia with the scientific and technological base, innovation, and workforce it needs to shape a prosperous and sustainable future and quality of life for its citizens.” We are currently collaborating with many different groups on various levels and are looking forward to expanding our network both deeper in the Atlanta community and further out across the globe.

The Arthur M. Blank Family Foundation's mission is to promote positive change in people's lives and to build and enhance the communities in which they live. The Blank Foundation has an especially strong interest in supporting innovative endeavors leading to better circumstances for low-income youth and their families. The Foundation connects to the Institute for Leadership and Entrepreneurship on many levels. John Bare, Vice-President for Sports Philanthropy and Affiliated Funds at The Arthur M. Blank Family Foundation, is a former IMPACT speaker and volunteers his time as an ILE fellow. In collaboration with AMBFO's own speaker series the ILE is able to bring high profile social entrepreneurs to campus to share their experiences and advice with the Georgia Tech community. The Arthur M. Blank Family Foundation is also involved with the 2010 Ideas to SERVE (Socially & Environmentally Responsible Value Enhancement) Competition as the prize sponsor for the idea with the most impact for low-income Georgians.

Ferst Foundation for Childhood Literacy

The Ferst Foundation strives to improve early childhood learning for every child regardless of income, race, religion, or gender as it believes that any child who cannot read is at-risk. Children registered for the Ferst Foundation for Childhood Literacy program receive a book at their home every month via U.S. mail until their fifth birthday.  If they are registered as soon as they are born, each child will receive up to 60 free books for his/her own personal library. Terry Blum, Director of the ILE, serves on the Board for the Ferst Foundation for Childhood Literacy and the Ferst Foundation’s founder Robin Ferst will be an IMPACT Speaker this fall on October 28, 2009. They are also a participant member organization in ILE’s Board Fellows Program, where Georgia Tech’s MBA students serve on the Board of various non-profits for a year.

MedShare International

MedShare is a nonprofit organization dedicated to improving the environment and healthcare through the efficient recovery and redistribution of surplus medical supplies and equipment to underserved healthcare facilities in developing countries. MedShare collaborates with Georgia Tech’s chapter of Engineers Without Borders. These Tech students volunteer their time and skills and work with MedShare engineers to refurbish used medical equipment donated by local hospitals to prepare them for a second life in developing countries where such devices are a rare commodity. MedShare partnered with the ILE in 2008 as the case study for the Intersections Case Competition. This competition brought in MBA teams from top US Schools and asked them to define and present viable solutions to real-life business challenges non-profits are faced with. The winning team was Strategy from the Kellogg School. MedShare’s Founder and CEO A.B. Short  visited the College of Management as a Fall06 IMPACT speaker, and Nell Diallo, Executive Director for Corporate and International Relations, lectured during our Spring 2008 series.