If you run a social entreprise or a sustainable/green business, check out this great list. Business plan competitions are a tried-and-true way for a start-up to get visibility, invaluable advice, and that all important seed funding.
Ian Fisk runs The William James Foundation competitions in Washington DC. He recently shared this list with this year’s judges (including myself) and I am happy to pass it on.
Each listing includes what Ian knows about deadlines, eligibility, and prizes, and contains a URL to the competition site.
If you know of other competitions, please add them in the comments to make this a great list, and I will pass those back to Ian.
Global Social Entrepreneurship/Sustainable Business Plan Competitions
Ashoka Citizen Base Awards http://www.citizenbase.org/bp_competitions
Ongoing; Winners receive funding and are linked to Ashoka’s network of social entrepreneurs.
Baruch College & Merrill Lynch IPO Challenge Entrepreneurship Competition http://zicklin.baruch.cuny.edu/bcec/college
First round in November. Half the team must be Baruch students. $100,000 in cash prizes.
BiD Challenge http://www.bidnetwork.org/set-44007-en.html
Ongoing. Competitions in Argentina, Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, Philippines, Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda, and Jordon.
Brigham Young University Business Plan Competition Social Entrepreneurship Category http://socialventure.byu.edu
January 14th 2009
Applicants must be currently enrolled at Brigham Young (Provo, Hawaii, or Idado). $50,000 in cash and prizes.
Business Environmental Awards http://www.acterra.org/bea/index.html
January 30, 2009 For existing companies in the San Francisco Bay area. Some Non-profit organizations are eligible.
California Clean Tech Open www.cacleantech.org
June 17, 2009; Prize Packages Totaling $600,000
Connecticut Venture Group www.cvg.org/contest.html
April; A team member must be at a Connecticut University.
Duke Start Up Challenge (Social Entrepreneurship) http://www.dukestartupchallenge.org/about
February 19, 2009 At least one full-time Duke student.
Echoing Green http://www.echoinggreen.org/fellowship
September; Two year fellowships for emerging social innovators.
Eileen Fisher http://www.eileenfisher.com
June 1, 2009
Five grants of $10,000 for socially conscious, woman-owned businesses.
Tufts Social Entrepreneurship Business Plan Competitions
http://gordon.tufts.edu/leadCompetitions.htm (Application is via YouNoodle)
January 16, 2009; One member of each team must be a Tufts student.
Florida International University Entrepreneur Challenge http://fiuchallenge.com
January 30, 2009 Open to all Southeast Florida Area Residents and all FIU Students & Alumni.
Foster School of Business CIE Business Plan Competition http://bschool.washington.edu/cie/bpc/
April 2, 2009; Entrants must be full- or part-time college students enrolled in Washington state.
Global Social Entrepreneurship Competition http://bschool.washington.edu/gsec
November 12, 2008; At least one team member must be a current student.
Global Social Venture Competition www.gsvc.org
January 21, 2009; One team member must be a current graduate business student anywhere in the world, or have graduated with the past two years. Prizes worth $50,000.
Gonzaga University Hogan Entrepreneurial Leadership Program Business Plan Competition http://tr.im/htpI
February 26, 2009; Undergraduate and graduate students from Gonzaga, EWU, Whitworth and Washington State University. Prizes totaling $42,500.
Harvard Business School Business Plan Contest http://www.hbs.edu/socialenterprise/businessplan/
February 9, 2009; All teams must include at least one HBS second year student. Prizes totaling over $60,000.
Ignite Clean Energy Competition http://www.ignitecleanenergy.com/competition
March 2, 2009 A year-long training and competitive forum for entrepreneurs in the clean energy industry.
Investor’s Circle Call for Applicants
http://www.investorscircle.net/for_entrepreneurs/call-for-applicants
January 15, 2009
J.P. Morgan Good Venture Case Competition http://goodventure.org/home.cfm
February 12, 2009; For philanthropic non-profit organizations.
JMU Sustainable Business Plan Competition www.jmu.edu/cob/cfe/business_plan.shtml
March 2, 2009; JMU students, faculty, alumni and local residents compete for up to $100,000.
LES (Licensing Executives Society) Foundation Graduate School Competition http://www.lesfoundation.org/graduate_student
March 4 2009; For licensing techologies. $10K in cash plus $45K in services.
MIT IDEAS Competition http://web.mit.edu/ideas/www/index.htm
April 15, 2009; One third of each team must be full-time MIT students. $50,000 in prizes.
McGinnis Venture Competition http://mcginnisventurecompetition.com
February 23, 2009; At least one graduate student must be a member of the management team.
NESsT Social Enterprise Competition http://www.nesst.org/competition/
No 2009 dates listed Civil society organizations from Argentina, Brasil, Ecuador and Peru.
NYU – Leonard Stern School of Business http://w4.stern.nyu.edu/berkley/bpc.cfm?doc_id=6306
October 27, 2008; All teams must include a Stern representative to compete. Cash prizes $100,000.
Oxford University 21st Century Challenge http://www.sbs.ox.ac.uk/21challenge/competition/
No 2009 dates listed. Must be a for-profit
Private Sector Development Research Competition http://www.ifc.org/competition
No 2009 dates listed. This is an essay contest. Applicants must not be an employee of the World Bank.
Rice University Business Plan Competition
http://www.alliance.rice.edu/alliance/RBPC.asp?SnID=1616311824
International – Jan 16, 2009. USA – Feb 13, 2009 The management team must consist of at least one graduate student. $700,000 in prizes.
RGK Center for Philanthropy and Community Service Social Innovation Competition www.utexas.edu/lbj/rgk/competition/index.php
February 20, 2009 Undergraduate and graduate level students from any 4-year university or college in the world are eligible to enter. $50,000 in prizes.
Seattle Pacific University Social Venture Plan Competition http://www.spu.edu/depts/sbe/svpc.asp
February 24th, 2009 Must include SPU student.$7,500 in prizes.
Skoll Awards for Social Entrepreneurship www.skollfoundation.org/skollawards/index.asp
Several deadlines throughout the year: March, August, November. Programs submitted for consideration should have a track record of no less than three years.
Social Enterprise Club Pitch for Change Competition http://www.pitchforchange.org/
January 30th, 2009; Participants do NOT need to have a completed business plan. They simply need to have a great idea that will have a significant social impact
Social Innovation Forum http://www.socialinnovationforum.org
Already chosen for 2009 Organizations and programs in the Greater Boston area.
Stanford Social E-Challenge http://bases.stanford.edu/social-e-challenge/competition/ (Submit via YouNoodle.com)
February 17, 2009; Team must be at least half full-time Stanford students. $50,000 in prizes.
Students for the Advancement of Global Entrepreneurship (SAGE) World Cup http://www.sageglobal.org For High School Students
Tulane Business Plan Competition http://www.tulanebusinessplancompetition.com/
February 8, 2009 Plans can be either for profit or non-profit ventures. $20,000 in prizes.
University of San Francisco International Business Plan Competition http://www.usfca.edu/sobam/nvc/bpc/
January 7, 2009 $25,000 in prizes.
William James Foundation 2008-09 Socially Responsible Business Plan Competition www.williamjamesfoundation.org; www.williamjamesfoundation.org/sustainability;
www.williamjamesfoundation.org/dcprize
First round Deadline December 12th, 2008; One team member must be or have been a student anywhere in the world in the past ten years. $60,000 in prizes, including special prizes for environmental sustainability and support of the Washington, DC community.
Yale Entrepreneurial Society (YES) http://www.yesatyale.org/y50k.php
January 19, 2009 $50K in prizes.
Youth Social Enterprise Initiative http://www.ysei.org
Below 30 years old from Bangladesh, India, Malaysia, Philippines or Sri Lanka
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