:: OSEN :: About Our Partners [oregonsen.org]

OSEN :: About Our Partners
The Oregon Symposium for Entrepreneurial Nonprofits [OSEN] is a collaborative partnership between the St. Vincent de Paul Society of Lane County and the University of Oregon. The St. Vincent de Paul Society of Lane County, Inc. was founded in 1955 to serve the needs of low-income people in Lane County, Oregon. The agency has grow from less than 10 staff and one thrift store, to an organization with nearly 300 staff, six separate businesses, multiple social service programs, leader in the field of waste-based social enterprise development. The agency runs six such businesses, including the only commercially viable mattress recycling system in the world and the largest program to recycle/reclaim ozone-depleting refrigerants on the West Coast of the United States. Income from waste-based social enterprises and retail thrift stores account for nearly half of SVDP’s annual revenues. Profits benefit the more than 40,000 low-income people who utilize SVDP’s programs annually. The University of Oregon is a comprehensive research university that serves its students and the people of Oregon, the nation, and the world through the creation and transfer of knowledge in the liberal arts, the natural and social sciences, and the professions. It is the Association of American Universities’ flagship institution of the Oregon University System. The University of Oregon trains undergraduate, graduate, and law students to serve and lead nonprofit organizations by offering a broad and innovative curriculum specifically geared for service in the nonprofit and philanthropic sectors. Both faculty and students are active scholars, researchers, and policy advisors in nonprofit enterprise and philanthropy.