Social Entrepreneurship Awards

Each year the Mason Center recognizes exceptional community leaders, faculty, and students who make valuable contributions through social enterprise. Nominations for the 2011 awards will be open beginning May 1, 2011.

Issuing the Call

Greg Werkheiser's challenge to recent graduates

The Center's Managing Director, Greg Werkheiser, urges a graduation audience of 7,500 to become social entrepreneurs. Center staff and faculty carry the social innovation banner nationwide through our speaker's bureau.

New Report: Building a Better Pipeline

Be sure to to check out our recently released report on the sixth year of the Social Innovation Program: Building a Better Pipeline.

ASE IV - Social Innovation in the Age of Austerity took place Nov. 10, 2011

Accelerating Social Entrepreneurship conference series

The Accelerating Social Entrepreneurship conference series convenes hundreds of leaders from every sector in the shadow of the nation's Capital for conversations designed to accelerate the field of social entrepreneurship.

University-Community Partnerships

Center staff have developed a new approach to helping colleges and economically distressed communities strengthen their partnerships around social entrepreneurship. Over five years our university partners have delivered more than $5 million in pro bono services to struggling communities.

Award Winning Programs

Governor's Award for Community Service

Graduates of the Social Innovation Program accept the Governor's Award for National and Community Service from then-Virginia Governor Kaine on behalf of the Phoenix Project. Explore the Center's award winning programs and join us in our efforts.

Visit Our New Headquarters

In Fairfax, VA

The Center's offices are housed in the new Research 1 building on the George Mason University Fairfax Campus, in the midst of the vibrant social innovation community that surrounds the nation's Capital. If you are an innovator or aspire to be one, please consider the Center your second home.

The Social Innovation Program

College and graduate students from universities nationwide attend the Social Innovation Program. The 6-week academic and experiential program is the nation's premier model for identifying, educating and engaging our next generation of social entrepreneurs.

The AVAIL Service-Learning Platform

AVAIL yourself or your college of the innovation-focused service-learning platform designed with Learn and Serve America, TRUiST, and Craigslist Foundation. Deployed to 80 colleges in Virginia in 2010, AVAIL is now...AVAIL-able for replication nationwide.

Social Innovation Professionals

The Center offers fee-based and pro bono consulting to universities, not-for-profits, governments and private companies. Contact us if you aspire to bring strategic innovation to your efforts.

Invest in Innovation

Awards the Social Innovation Program a $75k grant

We invite you to invest in the Center's exciting efforts to be a catalyst for social innovation by sparking entrepreneurial solutions to society's most pressing challenges.