Center on Democracy, Development, and the Rule of Law Program on Social Entrepreneurship Stanford University


Photo Credit: Linguistic International Success


How you can get involved with the Program on Social Entrepreneurship?

Join our Community Hosts Program

The purposes of the Community Hosts Program are twofold:

  1. Build connections between Stanford’s Program on Social Entrepreneurship and the broader community  
  2. Enhance the personal experiences of the Program’s visiting social entrepreneurs.

Hosts are members of the local community who:

  • are actively concerned with the social issues addressed by the Program on Social Entrepreneurship
  • are interested in supporting a new and growing educational venture
  • can provide social support to a visiting social activist throughout his/her 8-week   “sabbatical” residency at Stanford
  • will enjoy attending a few events with Program on Social Entrepreneurship participants and faculty  
  • will enjoy spreading the word about the Program on Social Entrepreneurship among colleagues and friends in the broader community.

Local host families (one assigned to each entrepreneur in residence) will provide warmth and comfort, a relaxing escape from campus duties, and sensitivity to personal concerns that may arise for our visitors. They will provide social access and exposure to the broader community and American culture, including; homes, families, food, religion, political interests and styles, and cultural highlights. During their stay in Palo Alto, community hosts will take entrepreneurs to local organizations, social programs of interest to visitors, and sightseeing in the Bay Area. 

Specifically, hosts will:

  • meet and welcome guest upon arrival at airport
  • invite guest home for a few home-cooked meals 
  • check in with guest by phone weekly, offer help with local errands
  • take guest to a movie, sports event or concert
  • see San Francisco (or arrange for guest to tour)
  • introduce guest and Program on Social Entrepreneurship to friends/colleagues in the area (as may be appropriate)
  • Celebrate and debrief at the end of term with other hosts

For more information and to get involved, please contact: 

Joan Polinsky: jpolinsky@family.stanford.edu