Alumni Senior Award

Sometimes the next big thing is smaller than you think. Through his remarkable work with microloans and social entrepreneurship, Jeffrey G. Raderstrong ’09 is helping alleviate global poverty, one entrepreneur at a time.

In 2007, Raderstrong founded the Social Entrepreneurs of Grinnell. The group was created to help reduce some of the problems of global poverty by offering small loans to entrepreneurs in developing countries. The loans allow these men and women to expand and streamline their small businesses, from tiny fruit stands to furniture-making. Since its inception, the organization has raised more than $8,000, which has been distributed to more than 50 entrepreneurs in 26 countries. Professors and fellow students praise his commitment to doing real-world work that reflects the values and mission of the college.

Raderstrong is also an enterprising reporter and researcher. He has served as a writer and editor for Grinnell’s Scarlet & Black. He also spent a summer working as a staff reporter at The Seattle Times, where he wrote two front-page stories and collaborated with an award-winning investigative team to research Congressional earmarks.

In his spare time, he has traveled to Chicago to tutor underprivileged children, worked with orphans in Botswana, and helped renovate houses destroyed by Hurricane Katrina.

For his commitment to make concrete changes wherever he is, Grinnell is pleased to recognize Jeffrey G. Raderstrong ’09.