Recent 2019 Fordham alumna Olivia Greenspan is one of four national recipients of Clif Bar’s inaugural Business With Purpose Scholarship 

Source: Clif Bar on August 17, 2019.

Recent 2019 Fordham Alumna OLIVIA GREENSPAN is one of four national recipients of Clif Bar’s inaugural BUSINESS WITH PURPOSE SCHOLARSHIP. 

Clif Bar tells the story of their game-changing award:

In Fall of 2018, Clif Bar launched the Business with Purpose Scholarship to inspire and enable tomorrow’s business leaders to become a positive force for change. The scholarship was specifically designed to address the financial roadblock of student loans for graduating college seniors, after results from a CLIF Bar & Company survey found that nearly 60 percent of young adults ages 18–34 believe that debt from their education limits their ability to pursue a job or career they care about. The survey also found that student loan debt is their #1 financial burden.

The goal of the one-year scholarship is to create opportunities for college graduates to pursue meaningful experiences they may not be able to afford due to pressure to take the first high-paying job offer that comes their way.The scholarship is uniquely designed to not only address financial concerns but also offer mentoring from CLIF Bar & Company employees for up to 12 months.

“AT CLIF, THE FREEDOM TO PRIORITIZE OUR VALUES OVER SHORT-TERM GAINS HAS BEEN KEY TO OUR SUCCESS FOR MORE THAN 25 YEARS,” said Gary Erickson, founder, owner, and co-chief executive of CLIF Bar & Company. “With this scholarship, we hope to inspire the next generation to prioritize purpose at a pivotal moment in their lives, rather than letting conventional wisdom or financial realities determine which path they take after college.”

Selected from a highly competitive group of applicants, the four CLIF Bar & Company Business with Purpose Scholarship recipients will receive up to $37,172 — the average student loan debt — and a $3,000 monthly stipend, in addition to ongoing mentoring. 

Clif is pleased to announce our four scholarship recipients — Aldo Jansel, Mac Dvorak, Maria Rose Belding, and Olivia Greenspan —and are thrilled to support them in their year of purpose.

Olivia’s year of purpose will be to continue as co-founder of TILL (Today’s Industrial Living Landscapes) a Connecticut-based organization whose mission is to heal contaminated brownfields for use as sustainable mixed-use property. Olivia’s year will also be spent expanding TILL: bioFASHIONtech, a company offering ecological options for the clothing industry. This includes work on Connecticut’s first and only ecological fashion incubator located at Stamford Town Center.

Read more about Clif Bar Business with Purpose Scholarships here.