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Social Entrepreneur’s Cup Entrant Guidelines
Purpose of the Social Entrepreneur’s Competition
To seek out, support, and promote Minnesota's most innovative and effective social entrepreneurs and the organizations they lead.
What Are Social Entrepreneurs?
Bill Drayton, the founder of the Ashoka Foundation and a leading social entrepreneur himself, describes a social entrepreneur this way:
Social entrepreneurs are individuals with innovative solutions to society’s most pressing social problems. They are ambitious and persistent, tackling major social issues and offering new ideas for wide-scale change. Rather than leaving societal needs to the government or business sectors, social entrepreneurs find what is not working and solve the problem by changing the system, spreading the solution, and persuading entire societies to take new leaps. Over the past two decades, the citizen sector has discovered what the business sector learned long ago: There is nothing as powerful as a new idea in the hands of a first-class entrepreneur.
The social entrepreneur…
- Is inspired to change a social problem
- Thinks creatively and develops a new solution to the social problem
- Takes direct action by creating new organizations, services, or markets
- Demonstrates courage and bears the risks of innovation
- Possesses the fortitude to move from vision to reality
- Has social benefit as the value proposition they pursue.
The Competition Process
The Social Entrepreneurs Cup is a division of the Minnesota Cup with the opportunity for the winner of the Social Entrepreneur's Cup to advance and compete with other divisional winners for the Minnesota Cup Grand Prize.
Phase One: Social Entrepreneur's Cup
Between February and March 2010 social entrepreneurs interested in entering the competition may download an application. Applications are due by 5:00 PM CST on April 23, 2010.
A panel of judges will review applications submitted by the deadline and select four finalists. The four finalists will be invited to the June 17, 2010, Engaged Philanthropy Conference at the Graves 601 Hotel in Minneapolis where they will make a live presentation to a panel of judges made up of business entrepreneurs, philanthropists, and social entrepreneurs and to the attendees of the Engaged Philanthropy Conference. Finalists will receive presentation coaching to help them prepare their presentations.
The winner of the competition will receive $20,000 as a general operating grant and 40 hours of consulting services from the experienced entrepreneurs and managers who make up the Social Venture Partners membership.
The first runner up will receive $5,000 as a general operating grant and 20 hours of consulting services from Social Venture Partners.
The two honorable mention winners will each receive a $1,500 general operating grant.
Winners will be announced and awards distributed at a ceremony concluding the Engaged Philanthropy Conference on June 17, 2010.
Phase Two: Minnesota Cup Grand Prize
Because the Social Entrepreneur's Cup is a division of the Minnesota Cup, the winner of the 2010 Social Entrepreneur's Cup will then advance to compete against the winners of the five other Minnesota Cup divisions (BioSciences, Clean Tech & Renewable Energy, General, High Tech and Student) for the Minnesota Cup Grand Prize of $20,000. To be considered for the Grand Prize the winner of the 2010 Social Entrepreneur's Cup will submit a business plan to the Minnesota Cup review panel. Minnesota Cup will provide a coach to assist with the preparation of the business plan. On the afternoon of September 9, 2010 the winner of the 2010 Social Entrepreneur's Cup will make a presentation to the Minnesota Cup Review Board who then selects the Grand Prize winner. The awards will be announced and presented at a reception and awards ceremony the evening of September 9, 2010.
Selection Criteria
Final four applicants will be selected on the following criteria:
Social Value Proposition:
Judges are looking for a well-articulated social value proposition. Entrant’s application must make a compelling case for why society needs this social venture and the effectiveness of the solution the venture provides. The applicant must demonstrate their organization’s differentiation and how it stands out from other organizations doing similar work. The application should describe the innovation in how the entrant’s organization delivers its social value proposition. Ventures that show the greatest innovation will be viewed more favorably.
Social Return on Investment:
What results has the entrant produced so far and what results can it project? Why would social investors (philanthropists) want to fund this concept when they have so many other options? Judges will evaluate ventures on their potential to generate a social return on investment in both the near and long-term.
Quality of Presentation:
Judges will evaluate the live presentations on clarity of message and compelling call to action.
Who is Eligible?
We seek organizations led by social entrepreneurs that are creating innovative solutions to social problems. An organization is eligible for the competition if it:
- Is a registered corporation (nonprofit or for profit) and serves people in Minnesota whose primary purpose is a social mission, rather than generating a profit. Profit-generating businesses are eligible if their primary purpose is a social mission.
- Is having an impact on the critical challenges facing our society including education, environmental sustainability, health, and economic and social equity
- Offers a demonstrably unique and innovative social value proposition for the market it serves
- Is committed to growing the organization and has a clear, compelling plan for reaching scale
- Can demonstrate proof of concept with measurable outcomes
- Has a clear plan for long-term financial and operational sustainability
- Will, if selected as the Social Entrepreneur’s Cup 2010 winner, prepare and submit a business plan for the Minnesota Cup grand prize competition.
- Will commit to working with Social Venture Partners and the Minnesota Cup to share your story with the public and other organizations.
You are not eligible if you are an individual, government agency, public school or school district, sectarian program promoting religious or ideological doctrine, endowment or foundation.
