Certification in Corporate Social Responsibility
Elevate your CSR Expertise:
Apply for the Certification in Corporate Social Responsibility (CCSR) Program
Registration for Spring 2023 is now open!
B:CIVIC’s mission is to promote and advance business philanthropy and community involvement across Colorado. To further that goal, we are proud of our initiative to offer the CCSR program in partnership with the Center for Education on Social Responsibility (CESR) at the CU-Boulder Leeds School of Business.
Certification
The CU-Boulder Leeds School of Business Certification in Corporate Social Responsibility, in partnership with B:CIVIC, is designed to address the evolving needs of CSR practitioners, regardless of role or title. And, whether you are an experienced CSR professional, just starting out in your CSR career, or wanting to make a career change in this direction, this certification program provides an opportunity to further your knowledge, ideas, and network within the Colorado CSR community. The CCSR course is collaborative, interpersonal and experiential, with dialogue-based learning involving the instructors, class cohorts, and guest speaker/subject matter experts.
In this course you will:
- Learn practical applications and create a “toolbox” of resources
- Hear from local, regional and global experts that will spark ideas and insights
- Expand your community of peers, making valuable professional connections
- Study with CESR, the regional University leader in CSR education, programs, and research
Spring 2023 applications are now open.
The program offers three cohorts; Tuesday and Thursday are online and Wednesday is in-person (intended for Colorado-based professionals).
Cohort Options:
- Tuesday Cohort (online)
- Tuesdays, starting 1/16/2023 – 5/1/2023 at 6:00-8:15 p.m. (MST)
- Class held via Zoom
- Wednesday Cohort (in-person)
- Wednesdays, starting 1/17/2023 – 5/2/2023 at 6:00-8:30 p.m. (MST)
- The spring session is held on the CU Denver campus.
- Thursday Cohort (online)
- Thursdays, starting 1/18/2023 – 5/3/2023 at 5:00-7:15 p.m. (MST)
- Class held via Zoom
Applications are open.
To apply – Fill out the certification interest form.
B:CIVIC CCSR Scholarship
To advance the B:CIVIC mission of elevating business for good, B:CIVIC will offer at least one individual per in-person class a needs-based partial scholarship for participation in the Certification in Corporate Social Responsibility program. The purpose of the B:CIVIC scholarship is to increase the engagement of community leaders in the field of corporate social responsibility bringing direct experience to inform their social impact work. You do not have to be a B:CIVIC investor to qualify for this scholarship.
- Recipient must demonstrate financial need.
- Recipient must have 4 years of work experience in a business setting.
- Recipient shall be selected using the established procedures of the Leeds School of Business.
- Nonprofit leaders are eligible to participate in the program, however, this scholarship is targeted toward individuals with a financial need who are working to advance social responsibility in a business setting.
- Preference given to individuals who have demonstrated interest in the areas of business ethics, social responsibility and/or sustainability in their career to date.
- Preference given to individuals with experience working in community to advance social justice issues.
Scholarship application deadline: December 16, 2022 for the Spring 2023 Certification program or once class is full.
Instructors – The course has two instructors. Tuesday and Thursday cohorts are led by Pete Dignan, a 3-time CEO of Certified B Corps, and features guest speakers with deep expertise and practical experience in CSR. The Wednesday cohort is led by Jennifer Forman, former Director of Corporate Citizenship at PopSockets and an aluma of the program herself. The curriculum was developed by seasoned CSR professional Geri Mitchell-Brown.
Tuition – Tuition is $2,500. Tuition is due to the Division of Continuing Education no later than the day before the class starts. B:CIVIC members receive a $250.00 discount per individual accepted into the program. Please connect with a B:CIVIC staff member or the instructor to receive the discount.
Questions? Please contact Jess Welser at 303.620.8085 for more information.
Congratulations to the graduates from our first-ever CSR Certification program
Congratulations to all of the graduates from the first-ever CSR Certification program at the Leeds School of Business, CESR Center, presented in partnership with B:CIVIC.
The graduates gathered Dec 14, 2016, to celebrate the completion of their program.
Shown from left to right, front row: Geri Mitchell-Brown (instructor), Tricia Vincent, Lora Ledermann, Jessica Sibila, Heidi Box, Robin Fleishmann, David Payne (instructor). Back row: Marc Ross, Sarae Kurth, Lisa Konen, Karla Baise, Karen Spencer, Amy Rosenblum, Brian Lichtenheld. Not pictured is Denise Jendrusch.
Creating the Certification Program – Background and Thanks!
This program grew out of the initiative of B:CIVIC who, together with the CU Leeds Center for Education on Social Responsibility (CESR) and several passionate volunteer CSR professionals, collaborated during 2015 and 2016 to envision and map out the program. These efforts included defining the program focus to address core competencies in CSR, incorporating peer-learning, providing best practice examples from guest speakers, including B:CIVIC member companies, enhancing the CSR profession, and enabling those from B:CIVIC member companies first opportunity to enroll each session. The program was the first of its kind in the metro Denver region when it kicked off in the fall of 2016.
Special thanks to our collaborators and the creators of this program: (Listed alphabetically, and by title at the time.)
- Lori Call, Stakeholder Engagement, Kaiser Permanente and B:CIVIC 2017 Board Chair
- Su Hawk, President/CEO, B:CIVIC
- Dr. Mark Meaney, Executive Director, CESR, CU Leeds School of Business
- Geri Mitchell-Brown, Director, Rally for Impact Foundation
- David S. Payne, Instructor, CESR, CU LEEDS School of Business
- Sondra Smith, Senior Director, Corporate Social Responsibility; Director, Level 3 Communications Foundation
- Jessica Silba, Sr. Manager, Corporate Philanthropy, Community Affairs, and Events, The WhiteWave Foods Company