The Social Venture Plan Competition
Each spring, Seattle Pacific University’s School of Business and Economics/Center for Applied Learning sponsors the Social Venture Plan Competition – a unique event designed to encourage SPU students from all majors to develop entrepreneurial projects that can make a difference in the world.
How It Works
The Social Venture Plan Competition encourages teams of students from diverse disciplines to develop a written plan that addresses dual bottom lines: financial and social. Participants tackle a felt social need while proposing a way to provide sustainable funding through a business activity.
Businesspeople, entrepreneurs, and other community partners then evaluate and score the plans, after which competitors present their projects to faculty, staff, students, and judges at a live trade-show display event on the SPU campus. The teams with the highest cumulative scores win cash prizes.
Milestones
Actual dates for each year’s competition will vary, but here is a general schedule:
- November: Information session.
- January and February: Resource nights to help you develop and write your social venture business plan. These sessions may be attended on an a la carte basis or for credit as BUS 3682.
- February: Intent to Participate forms due.
- March: Final written plans and Submission Forms due.
- April: Coaching sessions for all competing teams.
- April: SVPC Showcase.
For More Information
See the competition’s FAQ, official rules, or the 2013 competition specifics. You can also contact the Center for Applied Learning at cal@spu.edu or 206-281-2942.
“We had extraordinary access to both business and academic experts. They helped guide us in the mechanics of starting a business — researching our market, creating a business plan, sharpening our purpose and definition, and engaging both the public and potential investors.”
SVPC competitor
Develop your plan
BUS 3682 is a non-technical, workshop-style course designed to help you develop an outstanding social venture plan and compete in the SVPC. Each session concentrates on a specific element of the SVPC planning template.