Five Great Programs for Social Entrepreneurs Currently Accepting Applicants

It’s that time of year again, when the leaves change, the air turns cold, and next year’s incubator and fellowship programs seem to all begin accepting applications at once. Not to worry: we’ve put together a short guide to a few of our favorites, complete with application links and deadlines. Just one more thing to be thankful for.

Echoing Green

Through our two-year Echoing Green Fellowship program, we provide start-up capital and technical assistance to help new leaders launch their organizations and build capacity of their social enterprise. We offer:
•    A stipend of $80,000 for individuals (or $90,000 for 2-person partnerships) paid in four equal installments over two years
•    A health insurance stipend
•    A yearly professional development stipend
•    Conferences led by organizational development experts
•    Access to technical support and pro bono partnerships to help grow your organization
•    A community of like-minded social entrepreneurs and public service leaders, including the Echoing Green network of nearly 500 alumni working all over the world

Deadline: application process opens in December.
Location: global.
Period: July 2013 through June 2015.
Application: http://www.echoinggreen.org/fellowship/application-guidance?

Fledge

Fledge is a “conscious company” incubator, addressing the enormous opportunity provided by the large and growing number of consumers who are increasingly environmentally conscious, energy conscious, health conscious, conscious of sustainability, of community, and even conscious of consumption itself. We invite 7-10 teams to join us for 10 weeks of instruction, mentorship, and publicity.  We pay teams for this privilege.  In exchange for the cash and training, we receive an equity stake in each company.

Deadline: December 15.
Location: Seattle.
Period: February through April, 2013.
Application: http://fledge.co/2012/10/open-applications/

Global Social Benefit Incubator

GSBI Silicon Valley focuses on organizations which have demonstrated the ability to create significant social impact and to conduct financially sustainable operations. For those 10-15 applicants selected to receive scholarships valued at $25,000 for GSBI 2013, the program will last from May through December and will consist of online, mentored exercises, and a 9-day in-residence program (August 15-23, 2013)  which are designed to create an investment-ready, fundable plan for scaling the organization.

Deadline: January 11.
Location: global.
Period: May through December, 2013.
Application: http://www.scu.edu/socialbenefit/entrepreneurship/gsbi/apply.cfm

Global Social Venture Competition

The Global Social Venture Competition (GSVC) provides aspiring entrepreneurs with mentoring, exposure, and $50,000 in prizes to transform their ideas into businesses that will have positive real world impact. Founded by MBA students at UC Berkeley’s Haas School of Business, the GSVC culminates each year with the Global Finals and Conference at Berkeley in April, gathering teams from around the world and Silicon Valley professionals for a day of learning and networking. GSVC has evolved into a global network supported by an international community of volunteer judges, mentors and student organizers and a partnership of premier business schools in the Americas, Europe, Asia, and Africa.

Deadline: January 30.
Application: http://www.gsvc.org/compete_in_GSVC/How_to_enter/Americas_entries/

Hub Ventures

Hub Ventures helps high caliber entrepreneurs build their world-changing startups better and faster. We operate 12-week cohort cycles at Hub Bay Area, during which participating companies receive up to $20,000 in seed funding and engage in best-in-class mentorship, purpose-drive community, and content tailored to impact startups. We also connect companies with our extensive network of investors during the program and at Investor Day, an opportunity to pitch to hundreds of investors. We generally work with “technology for good” companies including web-based, software, and mobile startups that are developing scalable solutions to domestic and global challenges ranging from poverty to climate change.

Deadline: December 10.
Location: San Francisco.
Period: March through June, 2013.
Application: http://hub-ventures.com/apply/

If you want to learn more about fellowships for individuals, or opportunities like Unreasonable Institute that are currently closed to applicants, check out these great lists provided by the William James Foundation and Innov8Social.