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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

Projects are due Friday, March 14th by 5:00 p.m.

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

Here is the 2014 schedule.  Actual dates for each year’s competition will vary.

  • 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 à la carte basis or for credit as BUS 3682.
  • February 11, 2014: Intent to Participate forms due.
  • March 14, 2014: Final written plans and Submission Forms due.
  • April 8, 2014: Coaching sessions for all competing teams.
  • April 16, 2014: SVPC Showcase.

NEW! Rainier Valley Track

NEW THIS YEAR: Through a partnership with Urban Impact, the SVPC will be offering a $500 prize for the best project that focuses on needs in the Rainier Valley neighborhood of Seattle.  Teams who choose to compete on the Rainier Valley track in the SVPC will also be eligible to compete in Sharks at the Beach, a “Shark Tank” style follow-up event.  Sharks at the Beach will be held Wednesday, April 23rd from 6:30 to 9:00 p.m. at the Emerald City Commons, 7700 Rainier Ave S, Seattle, WA 98118.  For more details, contact the Center for Applied Learning (cal@spu.edu or 206.281.2942).

For More Information

See the competition’s FAQs, official rules, 2014 workshop schedule, or the 2014 competition specifics. You can also contact the Center for Applied Learning at cal@spu.edu or 206-281-2942.

SVPC Sponsors

“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 nontechnical, 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.

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