Through the CR Fellows program EY is building a better working world. - Deborah K. Holmes, EY Americas Director of Corporate Responsibility.
New York, NY (PRWEB) December 11, 2013
The EY Americas Corporate Responsibility (CR) Fellows program – which sends top-performing, mid-career professionals abroad to assist high-impact entrepreneurs from the Endeavor Network – has donated more than 30,000 volunteer hours since 2005 in an effort to create scalable, sustainable economic value in emerging markets.
The 2013 Fellows have just returned from their seven-week assignments in Brazil, Mexico, Argentina, Chile and Colombia. This year, the program expanded to include two new cities: Curitiba, Brazil, and Bogota, Colombia. Fellows leveraged their professional skills to meet the specific needs of entrepreneurs at no charge to the businesses. This year, this signature international corporate volunteering program provided more than 4,400 hours, or more than $500,000 worth of services, to promote entrepreneurship in Latin America.
“Through the CR Fellows program EY is building a better working world,” says Deborah K. Holmes, EY Americas Director of Corporate Responsibility. “The entrepreneurs we assist gain insights and methodologies to grow their business and catalyze economic growth in their communities. At the same time, high-performing EY member firm employees learn from a global immersion experience, develop their leadership skills and expand their network with potential clients and EY colleagues.”
In 2013, entrepreneurs in Brazil, Mexico, Argentina, Colombia and Chile benefited by engaging EY’s top-performing talent in projects that addressed business issues like business models, financial assessments, the development of growth strategies, and human resources processes. In turn, CR Fellows developed a more global mindset through this intensive immersion experience in an emerging market. According to EY’s annual Global People Survey of employees, CR Fellows return to the workplace with significantly higher engagement in their careers at EY and are more likely to recommend EY as a “great place to work” and commit to building a long-term career with the firm.
Since 2006, EY has collaborated with Endeavor, a not-for-profit organization that identifies and supports high-impact entrepreneurs in emerging economies, to match the CR Fellows with a host company. The CR Fellows program is one component of EY’s relationship with Endeavor, which includes a three-year, multi-million dollar sponsorship that supports the not-for-profit’s international selection panels, executive-level mentors and connections, global events sponsorship and the launch of a new financial course designed expressly for Endeavor entrepreneurs.
“Endeavor is focused on revolutionizing entrepreneurship in emerging and growth markets and the CR Fellows help us achieve this goal,” said Endeavor co-founder and CEO Linda Rottenberg. “Together, EY and Endeavor help unleash the tremendous social and economic value of high-impact entrepreneurs, particularly in creating jobs and generating significant revenues.”
EY champions entrepreneurship in a number of ways beyond the CR Fellows program. The organization supports the next generation of entrepreneurs through:
- The annual Strategic Growth Forum, an event that gathers top CEOs, entrepreneurs, advisors, investors and other senior business leaders to share their experience on innovation, transactions, growth and what’s shaping the future of the global economy.
- The EY Entrepreneur Of The Year® awards program, recognizing entrepreneurs for their vision, innovation, courage and leadership in building and growing successful businesses.
- The EY Entrepreneurial Winning Women program, a national competition and executive leadership program that identifies a select group of high-potential women entrepreneurs whose businesses show real potential to scale — and then helps them do it.
- The EY Entrepreneur of the Year Alumni-Youth Entrepreneurship Fund, created in collaboration with the Network for Teaching Entrepreneurship (NFTE), provides scholarships for NFTE students while supporting NFTE in its mission of helping underserved youth pursue educational opportunities, start their own businesses and succeed in life. In addition to the fund, EY professionals provide leadership on each of NFTE's Regional Advisory Boards across the US and demonstrate extensive volunteerism in NFTE programs.
To learn more about the EY Americas CR Fellows program, please click here.
About Endeavor
Hailed by The New York Times columnist Thomas Friedman as “the best anti-poverty program of all,” Endeavor is leading the global movement to catalyze long-term economic growth by selecting, mentoring, and accelerating the best high-impact entrepreneurs around the world. To date, Endeavor has screened more than 30,000 entrepreneurs and selected 844 individuals leading 538 high-impact companies.
With support from Endeavor’s worldwide mentor network, these high-impact entrepreneurs:
- Have created over 225,000 jobs
- Generated over $6 billion in revenues in 2012
- Inspire future generations to innovate and take risks
Headquartered in New York City, Endeavor currently operates in 19 countries throughout Latin America, Africa, the Middle East, Europe and Southeast Asia. The organization recently launched its first US-based affiliate in Miami. As the high-impact movement expands globally, Endeavor will continue to prove that anyone with a big idea can succeed, from Silicon Valley to Latin America, the Middle East, and beyond.
About EY
EY is a global leader in assurance, tax, transaction and advisory services. The insights and quality services we deliver help build trust and confidence in the capital markets and in economies the world over. We develop outstanding leaders who team to deliver on our promises to all of our stakeholders. In so doing, we play a critical role in building a better working world for our people, for our clients and for our communities.
EY refers to the global organization, and may refer to one or more, of the member firms of Ernst & Young Global Limited, each of which is a separate legal entity. Ernst & Young Global Limited, a UK company limited by guarantee, does not provide services to clients. For more information about our organization, please visit ey.com.
This news release has been issued by Ernst & Young LLP, a member firm of EY serving clients in the US.