Leadership Initiatives Receives $15,000 Starbucks Social Entrepreneurs Fund Grant from International Youth Foundation

Washington DC, November 1, 2009 - Leadership Initiatives is among 25 programs in 17 countries recently selected by Starbucks and the International Youth Foundation (IYF) to receive grants through the Starbucks Social Entrepreneurs Fund, a key component of the StarbucksT Shared PlanetT commitment to communities.

Leadership Initiatives will use the $15,000 grant to establish five community development projects, ranging from computer literacy programs to employment creation, in Bauchi, Nigeria in collaboration with Abubakar Tafawa Balewa University. These projects will serve children, resource-poor farmers, handicapped persons, and unemployed out-of-school youth in the city and surrounding villages.

"Leadership Initiatives would like to thank the International Youth Foundation and the Starbucks Social Entrepreneurs Fund for their support," said Marshall J. Bailly II, Executive Director and Co-Founder of Leadership Initiatives. "With these funds, Leadership Initiatives will be able to ensure that the communities and people it serves are equipped with the capabilities and skill set to transform their lives."

The grantees were chosen through a competition that was established in early 2008 by IYF and the Starbucks Foundation in order to makes grants available to young leaders who have completed IYF's YouthActionNetR Global Fellowship. The Fellowship is a program that seeks to develop a new generation of socially conscious global citizens who create positive change in their communities, their countries, and the world.
The size of grants awarded through the Fund range from US$5,000-$15,000. A committee comprised of IYF staff and Starbucks employees selected the final grant recipients.

ABOUT LEADERSHIP INITIATIVES-

Leadership Initiatives is an international non-profit with programs in the Greater DC Metro Area and Nigeria. Understanding youth's integral role in a nation's development, Leadership Initiatives provides entrepreneurial, leadership and management training for university students worldwide by turning their ideas for community change into sustainable development projects.

Students participate in a leadership development program for a month. In the program, students explore different styles of leadership and models of development and work together to design their own community development project. With the assistance of Leadership Initiatives staff and partners in the community, students implement projects that positively and substantively improve the surrounding communities while developing and sharpening their entrepreneurial, leadership and management skills. For more information, visit: www.leadershipinitiatives.org.