Are you a Changemaker in the Northeast? :: Contest entries due April 21

Also saw this in today's Net Squared e-newsletter:


Believing that real change starts at home, Green Mountain Coffee and Ashoka's Changemakers have come together to find and help fund the most innovative ideas to inspire community action in the Northeastern US.

The competition is open to all types of individuals and organizations that are operating in Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, Connecticut, Rhode Island or New York. Individuals or organizations not from the region must have local operations or partners on the ground in these states.

Go here to share your creative solutions for motivating local citizens to strengthen communities across New England and New York.

Entries must demonstrate groundbreaking solutions that inspire others to help make their community a better place to live. They must also indicate growth beyond the stage of idea, concept, or research. At a minimum, entries should be at the demonstration stage and indicate success. While we support new ideas at every stage and encourage their entry, the judges are better able to evaluate programs that are beyond the conceptual stage, and have demonstrated a proof of impact, even at small scale.

The best innovations will be awarded prizes totaling USD $50,000.

Deadline is April 21, 2010.


Assessment Criteria
The winners of this Changemakers collaborative competition will be those entries that best meet the following criteria:

Innovation: This is the knock-out test. The entrant must describe a groundbreaking innovation in community action. The innovation should be a unique model of change, demonstrating a substantial difference from other initiatives in the field with the possibility for large-scale expansion.

Social Impact: It is important that the innovative idea provides a system-changing solution toward engaging and revitalizing communities. Some innovations will have proven success at a small level, while others will have potential to grow, engaging millions of people. Still others will achieve their impact quickly, while some will seed change for the long term. We look for breadth and depth, numbers and stories that make a substantive difference in local communities. Judges will consider the solution's potential for scale and replication, in addition to the entrant's ability to formulate a clear "road map" to reaching larger goals.

Sustainability: For a solution to be truly effective it must have a long-term plan for securing financial backing and community support. Entries should describe not only how they are currently financing their work, but also how they plan to finance their work in the future. The most successful entrants go beyond discussing whether or not they will charge for services and describe a business plan. They should also demonstrate that they have strong partnerships and support networks to address an ongoing need, and to aid in scalability and the maintenance of a clear financial strategy.