Bainbridge Graduate Institute (BGI) in Washington, known for its pioneering MBA in Sustainable Business, announced on Wednesday April 7th that they have been approved to participate in the Federal Title IV program. BGI is now able to disburse federal student loans to all of its eligible MBA students.

BGI was founded as an independent, non-profit graduate school in 2002 and has grown from 10 students in the first class to 200 today. In 2009, BGI received accreditation from the Accrediting Council of Independent Colleges and Schools (ACICS) and today received the ability to grant loans federal loans to students. Federal Financial Aid allows more students to access funds at favorable interest rates and thereby to attend BGI where they will acquire the capacity to transform business in the direction of social responsibility, environmental restoration and sustainable profitability.

BGI was notified in January that it would need to provide a $1.8M letter of credit to back the federal loans. In very short order, BGI was able to secure the letter of credit from supporters of the school to ensure BGI’s ability to offer Federal Financial Aid. This generous outpouring of support is an indication of BGI’s leadership in the sustainable business education movement.

President, co-founder and former Fortune 100 consultant, Gifford Pinchot, III, commented: “In the early days BGI had to compete for students with one hand tied behind our backs. As a result we were only able to increase our size 20 fold. Now with Federal Financial Aid and accreditation, it will be easier for those who want to bring their values to work to attend the best environmentally and socially conscious MBA program.”