USC Marshall Students Put Skills to Work for Small Businesses

"USC Students to Advise Small Businesses in L.A."
By Walter Hamilton, Times Staff Writer
The Los Angeles Times, March 14, 2006

USC's Marshall School of Business is expected to announce today the launch of a program in which students will give free financial and managerial advice to small businesses and nonprofit groups located near its Los Angeles campus.

The effort, which is being done in partnership with the William J. Clinton Foundation and the Orfalea Family Foundation, is modeled on a program begun by former President Clinton in the Harlem area of New York in which New York University students provide counseling services to neighborhood businesses.

As in New York, the USC students will offer advice on such topics as financial analysis, accounting, marketing and business development.

The undergraduate and graduate students will receive course credit.
The program will begin in the fall with Stephen Byars, a business school professor, as executive director....

Also see:

"USC Marshall, Others to Boost Small Firms"
Press release, USC Marshall School of Business - March 15, 2006

An alliance of the William J. Clinton Foundation, the Orfalea Family Foundation and the USC Marshall School of Business that is designed to offer technical and managerial assistance to small business owners and nonprofit organizations in Los Angeles has been announced.

The alliance – called USC ImpactLA: The Clinton Foundation-Orfalea Urban Enterprise Initiative – is funded by a $2 million contribution from the Santa Barbara-based Orfalea Family Foundation. It puts the outreach resources of the New York-based Clinton Foundation together with the academic resources of the USC Marshall School to help local small businesses compete in the changing urban marketplace....

Thomas W. Gilligan, dean of the USC Marshall School of Business, said the joint project marks a new milestone in the relationship between the business school and the surrounding community while also providing undergraduate and graduate students the opportunity to join experienced professionals in working side-by-side with the businesses and organizations.

“The University of Southern California and the Marshall School of Business have a long history of engaging with the Los Angeles community,” Gilligan said. “Thanks to the vision and generosity of President Clinton and Paul Orfalea, this relationship promises to be raised to a new and exciting level.”...

For information on the Harlem Small Business Program at NYU's Stern School, see this page from Stern's website.