Say, Dinner Party anyone?

I received this invitation from the San Francisco Chapter of Young Women Social Entrepreneurs today. Love it!

YWSE is working to strengthen the connect between new volunteers and Board Members in order to get a sharp, smart team together for 2011. We want to share opportunities to get more involved with YWSE and offer a sneak preview of our YWSE Dinner Party Series.

Our first Dinner Party will include individuals who have expressed an interest in being more involved through volunteering with YWSE.We envision our dinner party series to be gathering places for our members to discuss issues, challenges and contradictions found in social entrepreneurship and deepen our understanding of the movement, where it is going and how we can be more involved.

Confirmed attendees will be sent a selection of reading related to community and social entrepreneurship as a place to get started and we well see where great food, conversation and a share visition for our future take us. Please join us as the first group in this exciting new initiative at YWSE.

Sat March 26 in Menlo Park, CA
Hor d'Ovres 5:45p.m., Dinner 6:45 p.m.

Women in Leadership Conference :: Cal Campus, March 13

The Young Women Social Entrepreneurs San Francisco Chapter leaders say that this conference is fantastic. Wish I could go, but I'm committed to another conference taking place on the same day.


14th annual Women in Leadership Conference at Haas School of Business.
Saturday, March 13, 2010
Haas School of Business, University of California at Berkeley

The 2010 conference is dedicated to trailblazers -- women who have created their own paths, become pioneers in their fields, and achieved both professional and personal successes. It includes industry panels, issues panels, networking lunch, personal development workshops, networking reception, and 3 keynotes.

YWSE-SF community member Emily Arnold-Fernandez of Asylum Access is a panelist, speaking on the panel "A Growing Industry: Nonprofits in a Competitive World."

This panel also sounds really good - Empowering Women Around the Globe.

Did you know that 70% of the 1.3 billion people living in poverty are women? Or that women perform 66% of the world's work and produce 50% of the food, yet earn only 10% of the income and own just 1% of the property? Studies show that investing in women creates some of the highest economic impacts and largest returns on investment. There are many ways that women can empower and enable other women around the globe. This panel will take a cross-sectional approach to discuss educational, health-related, financial and social avenues of empowerment. During our time together, we will also hear about the inspirations that led our panelists to embark on their career paths and the impacts they have made. Learn about the joys, opportunities, and challenges of women helping other women.

Moderator: Kimberly Dasher Tripp, Program Officer, Skoll Foundation

Panelists:
Elizabeth Blase, Director of Business Development, Wokai
Molly Christiansen, Manager of Health Practices and Business Development, Living Goods
Maame Aba Yelbert-Obeng, Global Fund for Women

The Conference fee is $85, with significant discounts for students and non-profit professionals. EARLY BIRD REGISTRATION ENDS FEBRUARY 22!

Program & Funding Opportunity for Social Entrepreneurs

If you have a business idea to help improve the world, West Coast Venture Capital wants to hear about it.

West Coast Village Capital is seeking social entrepreneurs with bright ideas and sustainable business models. Inspired by the village bank model used in microfinance, Village Capital is an innovative investment model built on the hypothesis that entrepreneurs, working intimately together and providing peer support to one another, will be able to efficiently and wisely allocate investment to one another’s companies.

West Coast Village Capital is a 12-week program in which social entrepreneurs will work together to strengthen their businesses and identify those most ready for seed investments of $25,000+ from First Light Ventures. The program is based in the Bay Area (at the Hub Berkeley) and will run January 19 through April 14, 2010 (including several all-group sessions and a weekly small-group meeting).

Applicants sought will be developing businesses designed to have positive social impact, using sustainable business models. They may be at the idea or startup stage. First Light Ventures will make investments - not grants - to selected businesses. To receive funding, a business must be incorporated as a C-corporation or LLC by March 31, 2010.

Applications are due by January 7, 2010. More information is available here. Also check out this blog post from the Hub. And this blog post from one of my favorite blogs, Change.org's Social Entrepreneurship blog.

I found out about this opportunity from the very awesome group Young Women Social Entrepreneurs San Francisco. Their holiday party is this Sunday in the Mission District of San Francisco! Details here.