Past Levi Strauss Small Grants

2007-2008 Levi Strauss Small Grants

2005-2006 Levi Strauss Small Grants

2004 Levi Strauss Small Grants

2007-2008 Levi Strauss Small Grant Recipients

The Center reviews small grant applications on an ongoing basis. Thus far, we have awarded the following small grants for the 2007-2008:

Sponsorship of MBA team at the 2008 Skoll World Forum on Social Entrepreneurship (Haas MBA Students). Grant to support participation of three MBA students, who were chosen to be official bloggers for the Forum. (March 25-28, 2008)

Link to Blog: Berkeley Bottom Line: Haas MBAs Blog from the Skoll World Forum
Full Story: First-Year MBAs Blog from the Skoll World Forum

Sponsorship of MBA student team at the 2008 Sustainable Venture Capital Investment Competition (SVCIC) (Haas MBA Students). Grant to support participation of Haas student team (five MBA students) at annual business school case competition that integrates conventional venture capital with the unique financing needs of social entrepreneurs. The Haas team won the 2008 Entrepreneur’s Choice Award at the event. (2008)

Full Story: Haas Teams Wins Entrepreneur's Choice Award at 2008 Sustainable Venture Capital Investment Competition (SVCIC)

Sponsorship of two MBA student teams at the 2008 Leeds-Net Impact Annual CSR Case Competition (Haas MBA Students). Grant to support participation of two MBA student teams (four Haas MBA students each) who advanced to the final round of the only CSR-focused case competition. (2008)

Research support for Ph.D. study on how CEO personality and decision-making styles influence corporate responsibility (CSR) (Haas Ph.D. Candidate). (2007)

Research support for Ph.D. dissertation on the effects of value conflict and emotions on potential whistle-blowers, which explores the extent that whistle-blowers create positive social change (Haas Ph.D. Candidate). (2007)

Research support for Ph.D. student project with social enterprise in Tanzania (Haas Ph.D. Candidate): "Linking Lands: Creating Global Classrooms with Information and Communication Technology". (2007)

Research support for student-led project on "Social Entrepreneurship in Academic Centers: A Feasibility Study for the University of California, Berkeley" (Haas MBA Students) . Grant to support research activities for study led by three MBA students to conduct an initial phase of research and analysis into the feasibility of an enhanced program or set of activities related to the study and practice of social entrepreneurship / social enterprise at the University of California, Berkeley. This was a matching grant with the UC Berkeley's Bears Breaking Boundaries Partnership for Social Innovation. (2007)

Sponsorship of MBA team at the 2007 Skoll World Forum on Social Entrepreneurship (Haas MBA Students). Grant to support participation of three MBA students, who were chosen to be official bloggers for the Forum. (March 27-29, 2007)

Full Story: The Berkeley Bottom-Line: Haas MBAs Blog from the Skoll World Forum

Sponsorship of two MBA student teams at the 2007 Leeds-Net Impact Annual CSR Case Competition (Haas MBA Students). Grant to support participation of two MBA student teams (four Haas MBA students each) who advanced to the final round of the only CSR-focused case competition. One of the Haas teams won the event. (2007)

Full story: Haas MBA Students Take First in Net Impact Case Competition
Full story: Center Sponsors Second Haas Team at Net Impact Case Competition

Sponsorship of MBA team at the annual Race & Case Ethics Competition (Haas MBA Students). Grant to support participation of six Haas MBA students at this annual competition. (2007)

Full story: Haas Students Place Fourth in Annual Ethics Case Competition

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2005-2006 Levi Strauss Small Grant Recipients

In 2005 and 2006, research activities received the highest level of funding under the program (78%), which was followed by experiential learning (22%).

Research on business strategies and public policies (Haas Ph.D. Candidate). Grant to support purchase of a critical data set to test the extent to which organizational characteristics influence self-policing behavior. Study explored the possibilities and limitations of government "self-policing" programs that encourage companies to monitor their own regulatory compliance and voluntarily report violations.
Research on the brand value of corporate CSR efforts (Haas Faculty). First studies to prove whether or not knowledge of a company’s CSR efforts has an impact on the company’s bottom line.
Research on the environmental threat of electronic waste (Haas Undergraduate Students). Grant to purchase data set to research e-waste and assess geographical comparisons.
Sponsorship of student participation at Natural Food Expo (Haas MBA Student). Grant to support participation for research study on the natural food space and if these firms CSR practices drive consumer behavior.
Sponsorship of Ph.D. student at the annual Academy of Management Conference (Haas Ph.D. Candidate). Grant to support attendance at conference to present paper related to research project for the Center.
Research on CSR and diversity (Haas Faculty). Grant to purchase data set for reserch exploring the correlation between CSR and diversity, specifically gender , and in terms of CSR and females as employees, as consumers, as investors.

Sponsorship of MBA student team at the 2006 Leeds-Net Impact Annual CSR Case Competition (Haas MBA Students). Grant to support participation of four Haas MBA students in the only CSR-focused case competition, representing Haas and the Center.

Sponsorship of Ph.D. student at the annual International Sustainable Development Research Conference (Haas Ph.D. Candidate). Grant to support attendance at conference to present paper on Sustainable Performance Measurement.

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2004 Levi Strauss Small Grant Recipients

In 2004, research activities received the highest level of funding under the program (44%), followed by outreach (31%), experiential learning (11%), and teaching (6%).

Research on corporate behavior (Haas Ph.D. Candidate & Haas Faculty). Grant to support research to shed light on the corporate decision-making and falsifying information about profits. The research not only measured and described this unethical practice, but sought to provide possible solutions.
Sponsorship of MBA student team at the Leeds / Net Impact Annual CSR Case Competition (Haas MBA Students). Grant to support participation of four Haas MBA students in the only CSR-focused case competition, representing Haas and the Center for the first time.
Research on decision-making (Haas Ph.D. Candidate & Haas Faculty). Grant to purchase of a research data set to examine the effects of an MBA education on individuals' propensity to base decisions largely on criteria of profit maximization.
Benchmarking study on social performance metrics (Haas MBA Student). Grant to support participation in the annual BSR conference to support metrics research study.
Independent research study on renewable energy (Haas MBA Student). Grant to support independent study, which focused on opportunities for wind energy. The project focused on quantifying the amount of renewable energy that will be installed in each US market if legislation in various states are passed.
Independent research study on Bottom of the Pyramid strategies (Haas MBA Student).Grant to support participation at the "Eradicating Poverty through Profit" conference. The grant also helped to support the development of a methodology for creating Bottom of the Pyramid (BOP) strategies for companies in different sectors.
Research on environmental management system standards (Haas Ph.D. Candidate & Haas Faculty). Grant to purchase data set to determine whether adopting the ISO 14001 Environmental Management System standard leads manufacturing plants to reduce pollution and improve compliance with environmental regulations.
Sponsorship of MBA student team at the 7th Annual Micro Enterprise Conference (Haas MBA Students). Grant to support participation of two Haas MBA students in the annual competition, representing the Center and the Haas School for the first time.
Orientation Leadership Workshop for All Incoming MBA Students (Haas MBA Students). Grant to support Haas Orientation Week “Pathfinder Strategic Inquiry” Leaderhip Workshop by Ron Nasher.
Social enterprise marketing curriculum for Young Entrepreneurs at Haas (YEAH) program (Haas Staff). Grant to develop marketing guide for Haas-based conference attended by sixty youth from public housing sites throughout the country in August 2004. The guide is now available on the web to all youth social enterprise programs.
Sponsorship of Haas Faculty participation in the Skoll World Forum on Social Entrepreneurship in Oxford, UK (Haas Faculty). Grant to support participation at the Forum, representing the Center and presenting research on CSR.

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