Social Venture Business Plan Competitions

In California Clean Tech Open, Clean Tech Open (CTO), Green Business Competitions and Awards, Green Entrepreneurs / Social Entrepreneurs: Resources, Green Funding Opportunities, Social Venture Business Plan Competitions

May 30th is the deadline for the 2009 Clean Tech Open, a business plan competition that will provide more than $1 million in prizes for early-stage clean technology startups. Over the past three years, the Clean Tech Open has helped more than one hundred start-ups raise more than $125 million in funding.

This year's competition includes two new regional competitions in addition to its previous California competition: the Rocky Mountain region (including Colorado, Montana, New Mexico, Utah and Wyoming) and the Pacific Northwest region (including Washington, Oregon and Idaho).

Startups can submit entries in these categories: Air/Water/Waste, Energy Efficiency, Green Building, Renewable Energy, Smart Power, and Transportation. Entrants will initially compete for regional prizes: $100,000 in cash and services to each of six winners in California; cash and services worth $50,000 to each of the three winners in both the Pacific Northwest and Rocky Mountain regions. These 12 regional winners will then be placed in a national competition, with a Grand Prize winner to receive $250,000 in cash and services.

For more information:

Clean Tech Open – Home page
Clean Tech Open – Previous coverage (Green VC)

List of Green and Social Venture Funding Sources Updated

By Staff

On December 16, 2008

In Green Business Competitions and Awards, Green Entrepreneurs / Social Entrepreneurs: Resources, Green Funding Opportunities, Green Venture Capital, Social Venture Business Plan Competitions, Social Venture Capital (VC)

Just a brief note — the list of funding sources on Green VC has been recently expanded and includes additional links to venture capital sources and to a number of competitions that are currently accepting entrants. Feel free to contact us with any feedback or suggestions on these funding resource pages. Thanks!

Global Social Venture Business Plan Competition (GSVC) 2008-2009: Key Deadline Coming in January

By Staff

On December 10, 2008

In Global Social Venture Competition (GSVC), Green Business Competitions and Awards, Green Entrepreneurs / Social Entrepreneurs: Resources, Green Funding Opportunities, Social Venture Business Plan Competitions

One potential source of funding for green and social entreprenuers is a business plan competition. These events are organized by business schools and other organizations and are generally geared to ventures that are at an early stage in their development. A number of these competitions are held annually and some focus exclusively on business plans from social entrepreneurs. These business plan competitions can provide cash awards, mentoring, and other business development benefits.

The Green and Social Venture Business Plan Competitions section of Green VC contains a listing of these competitions. This post focuses on the Global Social Venture Competition (GSVC), which is the oldest and largest student-led competition of its kind and has awarded more than $300,000 to early stage social ventures since it was launched at the Haas School of Business at UC Berkeley in 1999.

The GSVC is organized by the Haas School of Business at UC Berkeley in partnership with Columbia Business School, London Business School, the Indian School of Business and the Yale School of Management. The competition is also supported by outreach partners including the University of Geneva (Switzerland), Thammasat University (Thailand), ESSEC Business School (France), and a consortium of business schools in Korea (Social Venture Competition Korea).

For the 2008-2009 GSVC, executive summaries are due on January 21, 2009 for the Columbia Business School, Haas School of Business, London Business School and Yale School of Management (please check the Indian School of Business and Thammasat University for the Asia and SE Asia Regional competition schedules).

Among the prizes that will be awarded in the 2008-2009 GSVC is a $25,000 grand prize to the business plan that achieves the best blended value (high economic and social returns).

For more information:

Global Social Venture Competition: Home Page

List of Green and Social Venture Funding Sources Expanded

By Staff

On December 3, 2008

In Green Entrepreneurs / Social Entrepreneurs: Resources, Green Funding Opportunities, Green Venture Capital, Social Venture Business Plan Competitions, Social Venture Capital (VC)

Just a brief note — the list of funding sources on Green VC has been recently expanded and now provides information in the following areas:

These resource pages are being updated on a regular basis — contact us with any feedback or suggestions. Thanks!

MIT Clean Energy Entrepreneurship Prize to Award $200,000 Top Prize

By Staff

On December 18, 2007

In Green Funding Opportunities, Green Venture Capital, Greentech / Cleantech, MIT Clean Energy Entrepreneurship Prize, Social Venture Business Plan Competitions

The MIT Clean Energy Entrepreneurship Prize is a new social venture business plan competition to support clean energy entrepreneurs. It is sponsored by MIT, NSTAR Electric & Gas Corporation and the United States Department of Energy (US DOE). In addition, the MIT Energy Initiative (MITEI) has played a key role in the development of this competition. According to MIT President Susan Hockfield, "The ultimate goal of this contest is to find innovative solutions to transform today’s energy systems into tomorrow’s sustainable energy future."

The MIT Clean Energy Entrepreneurship Prize builds upon the foundation of two existing competitions — the MIT $100K Entrepreneurship Competition and the Ignite Clean Energy (ICE) Competition — and creates a new unified process for student and professional clean energy entrepreneurs. Applications can be submitted beginning on January 15, 2008 and may be submitted until February 15. Prizes that will be awarded in May, 2008 will be:

MIT Clean Energy Entrepreneurship Prize:
$200,000 in cash to the best overall team
MIT $100K Energy Award:
$20,000 in cash plus in-kind assistance to the best MIT Student Team
ICE Awards:
$20,000 in cash plus in-kind assistance to the best Student Team
$20,000 in cash plus in-kind assistance to the best Professional Team

For more information:

Global Social Venture Business Plan Competition (GSVC) 2007-2008: Key Deadlines Coming in January

By Staff

On December 14, 2007

In Global Social Venture Competition (GSVC), Green Funding Opportunities, Green Venture Capital, Greentech / Cleantech, Social Venture Business Plan Competitions

If you are in the early stages of developing a social / green venture, one funding avenue is a business plan competition. A number of these competitions are held annually at business schools and some focus exclusively on business plans from social entrepreneurs. These business plan competitions can provide cash awards, mentoring, and other business development benefits.

The Social Venture Business Plan Competitions section of Green VC contains a listing of these competitions. This post focuses on the Global Social Venture Competition (GSVC), which is the oldest and largest student-led competition of its kind and has awarded more than $300,000 to early stage social ventures since it was launched at the Haas School of Business at UC Berkeley in 1999.

The GSVC is organized by the Haas School of Business at UC Berkeley in partnership with Columbia Business School, London Business School, the Indian School of Business and the Yale School of Management. The competition is also supported by outreach partners including the University of Geneva (Switzerland), Thammasat University (Thailand), ESSEC Business School (France), and a consortium of business schools in Korea (Social Venture Competition Korea).

For the 2007-2008 GSVC, executive summaries are due on January 16, 2008 for the Columbia Business School, Haas School of Business, London Business School and Yale School of Management. Full business plans are due for the Indian School of Business on January 5, 2008 (please visit the ISB GSVC website for additional details). Among the prizes that will be awarded in the 2007-2008 GSVC is a $25,000 grand prize to the business plan that achieves the best blended value (high economic and social returns).

For more information:

Green VC

News & resources for social entrepreneurs

Category: Social Venture Business Plan Competitions

2009 Clean Tech Open Deadline is May 30

List of Green and Social Venture Funding Sources Updated

Global Social Venture Business Plan Competition (GSVC) 2008-2009: Key Deadline Coming in January

List of Green and Social Venture Funding Sources Expanded

MIT Clean Energy Entrepreneurship Prize to Award $200,000 Top Prize

Global Social Venture Business Plan Competition (GSVC) 2007-2008: Key Deadlines Coming in January

Featured Jobs