Leave Your Mark is a long-term initiative connecting POLIMI Graduate School of Management’s academic community with the nonprofit sector. Established in 2022 in partnership with Associazione Gianluca Spina, the initiative enables students, alumni, faculty, and staff to offer their professional expertise on a pro bono basis to social impact organizations.

Each year, selected participants support nonprofit partners for a six-month period. Their contributions span business model development, marketing, fundraising, and operational strategy. Through this work, both the individuals and organizations benefit: nonprofits receive tailored professional support, while participants develop applied problem-solving experience and new insights into social impact work.

Over the first four editions, more than 80 alumni and 10 faculty members have collaborated with 30 nonprofit organizations, operating at both local and international levels. The growing number of participants and partnerships reflects the initiative’s capacity to foster reciprocal learning and long-term engagement between the School and civil society.

The project is designed to build bridges between academic knowledge and community needs, encouraging participants to contribute meaningfully beyond the classroom. It also strengthens the school’s civic mission by embedding public engagement into the broader educational experience.

By facilitating sustained, skills-based collaboration with nonprofit partners, Leave Your Mark serves as a replicable model for integrating community engagement into business education. It demonstrates how structured volunteering initiatives can help embed social responsibility in both institutional practice and professional identity.