How It Works
The Social Venture Plan Competition (SVPC) asks teams of students from diverse disciplines to develop an entrepreneurial project that addresses dual bottom lines: social and financial. Participants tackle challenging social issues while proposing innovative ways to provide sustainable funding for their solutions through a business activity.
Businesspeople, entrepreneurs, and other community partners evaluate and score the plans, after which competitors pitch 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 from the two phases of the competition win cash prizes.
2024-25 Schedule
November 14, 2024, 11:30 a.m.
Kick-Off event, McKenna Hall 117
- Learn about the competition
- Hear from former competitors
- Free pizza!
January 6–March 5, 2025
Twice weekly resource sessions to help you develop and write your social venture business plan, every Monday and Wednesday afternoon at 2:30 p.m. in OMH 118. You may attend sessions on an à la carte basis or take the series for credit as BUS 3682: Social Venture Planning.
Due by February 11, 2025, 5 p.m.
Intent to Participate form due
Due by March 7, 2025, 5 p.m.
Submission Form and written plan due
Due by March 28, 2025, 5 p.m.
Team information for website (specific items TBD)
April 9, 2025, 6 p.m.
Coaching sessions for all competing teams, SPU Ames Library
Due by April 11, 2025, 5 p.m.
Pitch video and one-page executive summary due.
April 16, 2025, 2-6 p.m.
Social Venture Plan Competition Showcase, Upper Gwinn
Recap of Recent SVPC Showcase Winners
The results are in and the winners are . . .
2024, 2023, 2022, 2021, 2020, 2019, 2018, 2017, 2016, 2015, 2014