News & resources for social entrepreneurs
A brief note — January 7, 2013 is the application deadline for the 2013 Echoing Green Fellowship. Echoing Green provides seed funding for social entreprenuers to launch new organizations. Thusfar, Echoing Green has invested more than $31 million in seed funding to more than 500 social entrepreneurs and their organizations. You can learn more about applying for an Echoing Green Fellowship here.
Below are videos that provide some background on the Echoing Green Fellowship.
A brief note — the final application deadline for the 2013 Hult Prize, a start-up accelerator for social entrepreneurship that will award $1 million to the winning team, is December 16th. Complete information on the Hult Prize is available at http://www.hultprize.org/
Below is a video highlighting the 2012 Hult Prize awards.
March 22nd is the application deadline for the 2010 Yoshiyama Young Entrepreneurs Program. The Yoshiyama Program will provide a cash award of up to $50,000 over two years to as many as six entrepreneurs ages 18-29 who have developed financially viable businesses that create jobs, supply goods or services, or use internal management practices enabling low-wealth individuals the opportunity to achieve greater economic security.
The Yoshiyama Program is a program of The Hitachi Foundation and replaces the Yoshiyama Award for Exemplary Service to the Community, which the Foundation operated from 1987-2008.
Additional information on the Yoshiyama Program, including application materials, is available on the Yoshiyama Program website. A video is available below of Barbara Dyer, President and CEO of The Hitachi Foundation, in which she discusses the Yoshiyama Program.
March 5th is the nomination deadline for the 2010 Purpose Prize. The Purpose Prize provides five $100,000 and five $50,000 awards to social innovators over the age of 60 working in "encore careers" (defined as combining personal meaning and social impact with continued work in the second half of life).
The Purpose Prize is an annual program sponsored by Civic Ventures, wiith funding provided by The Atlantic Philanthropies and the John Templeton Foundation. In addition to the 10 Purpose Prize winners, an additional 40-50 individuals will be selected as Purpose Prize Fellows.
Additional information, including profiles of previous Purpose Prize winners, is available on the Purpose Prize website. Videos of 2009 winners are available here. A video highlighting one of the 2009 Purpose Prize winners (Timothy Will) is available below.
Update: Investors' Circle is holding a funding workshop on January 6, 2010.
Investors' Circle (IC) is an angel investor network that focuses on enterprises that address social and environmental challenges. According to IC, since 1992 it has facilitated the flow of more than $133 million into more than 200 private companies and small venture funds focusing on energy & environment, food & organics, health & wellness, media & education, and community development.
Each year IC holds two venture fairs that bring together investors and entrepreneurs - a Spring event in San Francisco and a Fall event in Boston. IC is currently accepting applications from entrepreneurs interested in presenting at its 2010 Spring Venture Fair, which will take place from April 18-20, 2010. The application deadline is January 13, 2010.
Complete application details are available in the Call for Applications section of the Investors' Circle website. You can also review summaries of IC's 2009 Fall conference as well as its prior events.
For more information:
The next Hanson Bridgett Sustainable Business Leadership Forum, a regular networking and educational program, will take place on October 1 and will be a Cleantech Investment Opportunity Mixer. This event will feature representatives from San Francisco-area investment funds that are focused on cleantech and infrastructure who will discuss their current activities and share their perspective on future opportunities. Speakers will include:
This event will take place from 5:30 – 8:00 PM at Hanson Bridgett, 425 Market Street, 26th Floor, San Francisco, CA 94105 (directions). The admission fee is $45 and pre-registration is required. Note: This event is limited to accredited investors and their advisors only (for the definition of an accredited investor please visit the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission).
For more information:
The Skoll Awards for Social Entrepreneurship is a program of the Skoll Foundation that provides a grant of approximately $750,000 over three years to social entrepreneurs whose work has the potential to make a significant impact on issues such as environmental sustainability, health, tolerance and human rights, institutional responsibility, economic and social equity, and peace and security. This award is intended to provide core support for organizations with a track record of at least than three years to help them expand their programs and capacity to deliver long-term, sustainable change. Awards are presented at the Skoll World Forum, which takes place annually in Oxford, England in March.
Applications for the Skoll Awards for Social Entrepreneurship are accepted and reviewed by the Skoll Foundation throughout the year. You can also learn more about the Skoll Award on the Skoll Foundation's YouTube channel.
For more information:
Investors' Circle (IC) is an angel investor network that focuses on enterprises that address social and environmental challenges. According to IC, since 1992 it has facilitated the flow of more than $130 million into more than 200 private companies and small venture funds focusing on energy & environment, food & organics, health & wellness, media & education, and community development.
Each year IC holds two venture fairs that bring together investors and entrepreneurs. IC is currently accepting applications from entrepreneurs interested in presenting at its 2009 Fall Venture Fair, which will take from November 15 – 17 in Washington, DC. The application deadline is July 31, 2009.
Complete application details are available in the Call for Applications section of the Investors' Circle website. You can also review summaries of IC's past conferences and companies that presented at these events.
For more information:
The Skoll Awards for Social Entrepreneurship is a program of the Skoll Foundation that provides a $1 million grant to social entrepreneurs whose work has the potential to make a significant impact on issues such as environmental sustainability, health, tolerance and human rights, institutional responsibility, economic and social equity, and peace and security. This award is intended to provide core support for organizations with a track record of at least than three years to help them expand their programs and capacity to deliver long-term, sustainable change. Awards are presented at the Skoll World Forum, which takes place annually in Oxford, England in March.
Applications for the Skoll Awards for Social Entrepreneurship are accepted and reviewed by the Skoll Foundation throughout the year. You can also learn more about the Skoll Award in the following video, which spotlights 2007 award winners.
For more information:
Venture Well, a new program of the National Collegiate Inventors & Innovators Alliance (NCIIA) designed to support entrepreneurs who are creating enterprises that address social and environmental challenges, has extended its application deadline to Friday, January 2, 2009.
Venture Well will select ten student start-up teams for its 2009 Venture Well Cohort. These teams will receive benefits including registration and transportation to the Venture Well Forum that will take place in Washington, DC on March 21, 2009 and participation in a four-day Advanced Invention to Venture workshop. Selected teams will also receive assistance from NCIIA/Venture Well staff in building their enterprises.
"Our goal with Venture Well is to build a strong community of early-stage ventures emerging from the collegiate environment," said Joseph Steig, Venture Development Manager of the NCIIA. "Not only will we help to advance these innovative solutions but we want our inaugural 2009 Venture Well Cohort to return to mentor future entrepreneurs."
"Student start-ups present some unique challenges and opportunities, and Venture Well is a great extension of NCIIA's commitment to education and business incubation. Venture Well provides the next stage of financing and support for these start-ups as they 'graduate' into the market," said Paul Hudnut, entrepreneur and professor at Colorado State University. B Corp Co-Founder, Bart Houlahan, also stated: "NCIIA is providing the leg up needed to support the corporate viability of student ventures."
Eligibility requirements and application materials are available on the Venture Well website.
For more information: