There is money and support available from a wide variety of sources for aspiring social entrepreneurs and changemakers, but it’s not always easy to find these resources. Following is a round-up of grants, prizes, and fellowships that Patricelli Center team members Luciana Contreras ’16 and Jennifer Roach‘14 have been reading about recently. Some are available only to current undergraduates, some are available only to Wesleyan students, and all focus on social entrepreneurship or civic engagement work. A more extensive list of funding sources is available in the PCSE Resource Center. If you know of any others, please tell us.
Ashoka’s Venture and Fellowship Program
Venture is the mechanism through which Ashoka finds and supports the world’s leading social entrepreneurs with project grants and mentorship. Nominate a fellow by following this link.
Deadline: TBA
Stipend/Prize/Compensation: Living stipend for 3 years
Awesome Foundation Grant for Projects
An “ever-growing, worldwide network of people devoted to forwarding the interest of awesomeness in the universe.” The Foundation distributes a series of monthly $1,000 grants.
Deadline: rolling application
Stipend/Prize/Compensation: $1,000
Ben and Jerry’s Foundation Grassroots Organizing for Social Change Program
Supports non-profit, grassroots, constituent-led organizations across the country that are using direct action, community-organizing strategies to accomplish their goals. They consider proposals that are aligned with the Foundation’s broad interests in social justice, environmental justice and sustainable food systems.
Deadline: October 15, 2015 for Cycle A and April 15, 2016 for Cycle B
Stipend/Prize/Compensation: up to $20,000
Provide up to $5 million in funding to scale successful entrepreneurial projects in their 2015-2016 grant cycle. Organizations must be at least 3 years old and ready to scale.
Deadline: October 12, 2015
Stipend/Prize/Compensation: $250,000-500,000
Cartier Women’s Initiative Awards
An international business plan competition created in 2006 by Cartier, the Women’s Forum, McKinsey & Company and INSEAD business school to identify, support and encourage projects by women entrepreneurs.
Deadline: March, 2016
Stipend/Prize/Compensation: $20,000 and 1 year of coaching
CartoDB Start-Up Grants fund emerging companies and working citizens who build digital tools for social good. We are looking for projects that develop mobile or web-applications, data visualizations, and data collection methods that address community positive topics from promoting awareness to tracking action.
Deadline: Rolling Applications
Stipend/Prize/Compensation: $50-3,500
Christopher Brodigan Award
Students from any discipline are encouraged to submit applications proposing a public service or research project. Service projects should be carefully designed to provide some form of valuable assistance to people in Africa.
Deadline: Return Spring 2016 for deadline information
Stipend/Prize/Compensation: up to $3,000
Collegiate Inventors Competition (Focused on technology and science)
Since 1990, the Collegiate Inventors Competition has recognized and rewarded undergraduate and graduate students who are committed to research, discovery, invention and innovation. Entries from all fields of sudy are encouraged.
Deadline: TBA
Stipend/Prize/Compensation: up to $100,000
D-Prize Grant
D-Prize is for anyone who can start a new social enterprise in the developing world and solve one of the D-Prize distribution problems. You must be committed, highly skilled, and ready to scale for the long term.
Deadline: September 7, 2015
Stipend/Prize/Compensation: up to $20,000 to launch a pilot in India, Africa, or another developing region.
Draper Richards Kaplan Foundation
The funds are specifically and solely for entrepreneurs starting new non-profit organizations. The idea must be sustainable and scalable. The founder must have the skills to manage a national or global organization.
Deadline: rolling application
Stipend/Prize/Compensation: Multi-year funding
Echoing Green Fellowships
A two-year fellowship program providing start-up capital and technical assistance to help new leaders launch their organizations and build capacity of their social enterprise. Echoing Green offers a Black Male Achievement Fellowship, a Global Fellowship, and a Climate Fellowship.
Deadline: Applications open October 5, 2015
Stipend/Prize/Compensation: $90,000 plus mentoring and more
Ella T Grasso Leadership in Action Grant
Grants for young women enrolled at Connecticut colleges to fund community action or public service projects.
Deadline: TBD
Stipend/Prize/Compensation: $2,500
Provides grants for universities, nonprofits, other organizations, individuals and groups working to move the field of evaluation forward into the new millennium – a small sum for start-up costs, a mid-project payment for demonstrated results at that point, and a final payment for final results.
Deadline: September, 15 2015
Generous U
A national contest to increase awareness and involvement of students on college campuses about the importance and impact of philanthropy and philanthropic values.
Deadline: TBD
Stipend/Prize/Compensation: $10,000 and the Generous U title for the winner, and $2,500 for the runner-up
A funding competition for innovative ideas and business ventures that have a social or environmental impact.
Deadline: September 15, 2015
Stipend/Prize/Compensation: $25,000
Haymarket Sustaining and Urgent Response Grant
Grants for grassroots, social change organizations. Funding both start-up groups and groups that are more established.
Deadline: December, 2015
Stipend/Prize/Compensation: up to $10,000
$1,000 Urgent Response Grants are available to support organizations facing unforeseen and urgent financial crisis.
Hult Prize
The Hult Prize Foundation is a start-up accelerator for budding young social entrepreneurs emerging from the world’s universities. Winners receive USD 1 million in seed capital, as well as mentorship and advice from the international business community.
Deadline: Applications open October, 2015
Stipend/Prize/Compensation: $1,000,000
A grant program of Third Sector New England that encourages nonprofits to accelerate their commitments to solving the persistent and systemic problems that perpetuate poverty and inequality in our region through collaboration.
Deadline: Apply by December 12, 2015
Stipend/Prize/Compensation: TBD
JW Saxe Memorial Fund
For students involved in public service who want to gain practical experience by taking a no-pay or low-pay job or internship.
Deadline: rolling application
Stipend/Prize/Compensation: $2,000
Patricelli Center for Social Entrepreneurship Seed Grant Challenge
For Wesleyan students looking to launch, scale, or build capacity for a social impact venture, enterprise, program, or project of any kind.
Deadline: TBD
Stipend/Prize/Compensation: $5,000
Patricelli Center for Social Entrepreneurship Student Enrichment Grant
Small stipends to subsidize experiences for motivated students who seek to build their own skills, experience, and aptitude for social change by attending off-campus workshops, conferences, or other personal development opportunities.
Deadline: rolling application
Stipend/Prize/Compensation: average $250
Kathryn W. Davis Projects for Peace Grants
Davis Projects for Peace is an initiative for all students at the Davis United World College Scholars Program schools (including Wesleyan) to design their own grassroots projects to promote peace or conflict resolution in the broadest sense.
Deadline: TBD
Stipend/Prize/Compensation: $10,000
Samuel Huntington Public Service Award
The Samuel Huntington Public Service Award provides a $10,000 stipend for a graduating college senior to pursue one year of public service anywhere in the world. The award allows recipients to engage in a meaningful public service activity for one year before proceeding on to graduate school or a career.
Deadline: January 19, 2016
Stipend/Prize/Compensation: $15,000
SEED Awards for Entrepreneurship and Sustainable Development
The SEED Awards supports “locally-led, innovative, entrepreneurial partnerships in developing countries, which have the potential to make real improvements in poverty eradication and environmental sustainability.”
Deadline: TBA
Stipend/Prize/Compensation: $40,000
This student-led fund at the University of Michigan invests in and supports innovative companies that place social and environmental impact at the heart of their business model.
Deadline: October 25, 2015
Stipend/Prize/Compensation: $50,000-100,000
The Sparkplug Foundation offers funding for start-up organization and new projects of existing organizations in music, education, and community organizing.
Deadline: Apply by 10/25
Stipend/Prize/Compensation: $3,000-15,000
Wesleyan Summer Experience Grant
For Wesleyan sophomores and juniors currently receiving need-based financial aid who plan to do socially innovative or socially responsible work during summer break.
Deadline: TBD
Stipend/Prize/Compensation: $4,000
Young Activist Award: Mario Savio Memorial Lecture Fund
This award, which carries a cash prize of $6000, is presented each year to a young person (or persons) with a deep commitment to human rights and social justice and a proven ability to transform this commitment into effective action.
Deadline: July 1, 2016
Stipend/Prize/Compensation: $6,000