Marshall MBAs win fourth C4C


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The Marshall School of Business won the Golden Briefcase on Sunday in its fourth straight Challenge for Charity competition.

C4C is a non-profit organization that focuses on developing a sense of social responsibility within future business leaders. This competition raised $186,500 for three charities: the Special Olympics, A Better L.A. and Junior Achievement.

The Golden Briefcase is awarded during the C4C Weekend’s final ceremony, which was held at Stanford University April 19-20 with more than 13,000 MBA students attending the event. Schools were judged based on the most hours volunteered on a per-student basis, the most funds raised on a per-student basis throughout the year and students’ athletic performance during team events.

Marshall C4C Co-Chair Rachael Stoddard, a second-year in the Master’s of business administration, said the experience of winning was more than a competition — the victory also brought the chapter closer together.

“The selflessness from being willing to give up your time shows what kind of a person you are and translates into conversations with employers, which I think is an important quality to a business,” Stoddard said.

The USC chapter of C4C is led by three co-chairs: Stoddard, Winton Ng and Britt McEachern, all of who are second-year MBA students.

Stoddard said USC outfundraised both Stanford and UCLA on a per-capita and per number basis. Stanford came in second place to USC by raising $130,000. When broken down, each member of the USC chapter raised $344.

The Marshall team competed against eight of the top MBA programs on the West Coast: Pepperdine, Stanford, UC Berkeley, UC Davis, UC Irvine, UCLA, University of San Francisco and University of Washington.

First-year students volunteered, fundraised and networked within Marshall, hosting events to raise money for their supported charities. The hours of these events were then recorded and used in the final tally of community-service hours, which were then used to determine the winner at the end of the year.

Stoddard said the chapter used both traditional fundraising methods and more social elements, such as hosting tailgates and dances, to draw in students outside of Marshall.

The chapter plans to make its presence stronger within Marshall, beginning with Marshall Dean James Ellis: Ellis will bring the briefcase to graduation, using it to carry his speech.