2010 Sparkseed Social Innovation Competition :: Another Opportunity for Students with ideas for new Social Ventures

If you are an undergraduate at a U.S. university who is ready to make a difference, then you are eligible to apply for $11,000 funding, $20,000 pro-bono consulting, and mentoring from entrepreneurs & executives.

Sparkseed is looking for extraordinary students who will lead their own for profit or nonprofit social venture.

To apply, go here and follow the instructions. You will need to answer these 3 questions: (100 words max each)
1. What issue will your venture address?
2. Why are YOU pursuing this specific issue?
3. How will your venture solve this problem?


KEY DATES:
* February 7, 2010 – 1st round deadline. Create your startup profile and elevator pitch video.
* March 7, 2010 – 2nd round deadline. Submit your business plans (semi-finalists only)
* April 1, 2010 – New Sparkseed Innovators announced!


Each year Sparkseed selects up to ten student-led social ventures. The social innovators who lead these for profit and nonprofit ventures receive six months of high-impact support from Sparkseed. After six months, the top three ventures are selected to receive on-going support.

Sparkseed is a 501c3 nonprofit organization based in San Francisco, CA dedicated to fostering creative, college-level social entrepreneurs.

Since its beginning, the Sparkseed Social Innovation Competition has benefited over 50 social entrepreneurs. Learn about the Sparkseed Class of 2009 here.

This one is my favorite - Social Business Consulting Group, Cornell University.



Jenny Gottstein, the Venture Advisor and Marketing Consultant at Sparkseed, said “At Sparkseed, our mission is to create a sense of urgency around the idea of social entrepeneurship. We aren’t training the leaders of ‘tomorrow’, as in ‘one day, that student will be in the U.S. Senate!’, but rather these are the leaders of today. There are students who are literally dreaming up the next Kiva in their dormroom, and our goal is to make sure they have the tools they need to make an impact right now.”

“By uploading their elevator pitch videos and creating public profiles, students are putting their ideas on display. The purpose of this competition is not only to find the next round entrepreneurs to invest in, but also to connect student leaders across the nation and facilitate a cross- germination of ideas.”


For more info about social venture mentoring at the university level, check out this great Next Billion blog post about the course "Social Venture Creation", offered through the Center for Entrepreneurship at the University of Michigan.

About the course:



From the course website: In this course "Social Venture Creation", students form multidisciplinary teams and take steps to launch a social venture. By the end of this course, student teams submit an implementation plan and make a presentation on a social venture idea to a panel of industry experts and potential funders.

The hope is that some of these multidisciplinary student teams will be able to launch a social venture upon completing the course – and make real, long-lasting impact.

Open to undergrads and graduate students.

Class Time: Tuesday/Thursday 3:30pm – 5:00pm
Term: Winter 2010
Credits: 3
Course Number: ENGR 490.009