November 2014

SANTA CLARA, Calif., Nov. 10, 2014 — Santa Clara University’s (SCU) Leavey School of Business today announced the generous gift of Phil and Peggy Holland's popular, free, online small business course content and business-training website (www.myownbusiness.org) together with $10 million for Santa Clara University to expand and improve the course, and to create the My Own Business Institute (MOBI) and a related fellows program. 

“This is a wonderful gift for Santa Clara and our dreams for expanding entrepreneurship education here and around the world.” said Michael Engh, S.J., president of Santa Clara University. “I am grateful to the Hollands because their generosity will help us build on the entrepreneurial spirit of students, startups, and small business owners near and far. The expanded reach of Santa Clara's entrepreneurship education will help provide creative and sustainable economic opportunities for individuals and their communities.”

The gift will boost Santa Clara University’s drive to develop entrepreneurship, and achieve the Hollands’ goal of supporting the vital social and economic contributions of small businesses worldwide.

“We initially sought to help people start businesses and create jobs in economically disadvantaged areas so families and communities would flourish. We are gratified that Santa Clara will continue our mission to help those who need it most by leveraging the global network of Jesuit universities to expand our reach and to keep the online course accessible and free to all who might benefit from it,” said Phil Holland.

Santa Clara will immediately take over website operations, which receives more than 500,000 monthly views from people around the globe.

The Hollands set out to nurture entrepreneurship and help individuals start and build their own businesses following the 1992 riots in Los Angeles, and have been the principal funders of MOBI since inception. Mr. Holland, a successful entrepreneur and founder of the Yum Yum Donut Shops, and Mrs. Holland, an accomplished school administrator, principal, and teacher, developed the original course to teach people how to start their own businesses and to support the return of a vibrant, healthy community. The course curriculum was based on two books written by Mr. Holland, How to Start a Business and The Entrepreneur’s Guide. Over time, the course was expanded to include expert advice from a diverse array of successful business people and translated into Spanish.

“Much of what motivated the Hollands to create MOBI 22 years ago is what motivates Santa Clara’s business school,” said S. Andrew Starbird, dean of the Leavey School of Business. “We both seek to build stronger communities by creating economic opportunity for everyone in our society.”

Since 2000, when MOBI became the first organization in the world to offer a free, comprehensive, and graded online course on starting a business, more than 40 million people have accessed the website. The course is available in more than 50 countries and 14 languages through partnerships with the World Bank/International Finance Organization and a license to Cisco Systems’ Entrepreneurship Institute.

SCU will use the MOBI platform to help teach entrepreneurs through two existing Santa Clara programs: the California Program for Entrepreneurship, which provides MBA-level courses and mentoring to 25 to 35 California entrepreneurs a year, and the Neighborhood Prosperity Initiative, which provides support for small businesses in economically disadvantaged neighborhoods.

A video describing the history of MOBI is available at www.scu.edu/business/mobi.

About the Hollands

Mr. Holland is a lifelong entrepreneur. His businesses have included building "spec" houses, the manufacture of automatic doughnut machinery, designing and building apartments, restaurant franchising, doughnut retailing, and the development and management of shopping centers. He founded Yum Yum Donut Shops in 1970 with $5,000 and guided it from a one-shop operation to become the largest chain of privately owned donut shops in the United States. Many of the lesson topics in the MOBI courses are based on his experiences in building the Yum Yum chain of stores. Following its sale in 1989, Yum Yum went on to purchase the Winchell chain of donut shops. Mr. Holland received his B.S. in mechanical engineering from the University of Southern California.

Mrs. Holland was with the Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD) for more than twenty years as a teacher, administrator, and principal. She earned her B.A. in education at Mankato State College and received her M.A. in administration and supervision from California State University, Northridge.

About the Leavey School of Business
The Leavey School of Business at Santa Clara University began in 1923, and was one of the first business schools in the country to receive national accreditation. Its undergraduate business, MBA, and Executive MBA programs are consistently ranked among the top in the nation by BusinessWeek, U.S. News, Princeton Review, and others. The curriculum at all levels emphasizes the leadership role of business creation in fostering prosperity within an ethical framework, as well as business responsibilities for social justice and sustainability in the global marketplace. The School opened its $49 million building for undergraduate, graduate, and professional business education in Fall 2008, housing several interdisciplinary centers, including the Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurship, where the My Own Business Institute (MOBI) will be located. For more information, see www.scu.edu/business/

About Santa Clara University
Santa Clara University is a comprehensive Jesuit, Catholic university located 40 miles south of San Francisco in California's Silicon Valley. Santa Clara offers its more than 8,800 students rigorous undergraduate programs in the arts and sciences, business, and engineering, plus master's degrees in a number of professional fields, law degrees, and engineering and theology doctorates. Distinguished by one of the highest graduation rates among all U.S. master's universities, Santa Clara educates citizens and leaders to build a more just, humane, and sustainable world. Founded in 1851, Santa Clara is California's oldest operating institution of higher education. For more information, visit www.scu.edu.

Media Contact
Deborah Lohse | SCU Media Relations | dlohse@scu.edu | 408-554-5121