Corporate Social Responsibility Press Release
provided by 
11.18.2008 - 11:59pm ET
News from:
Foundation for a Sustainable Future
Socially Responsible Business Plan Competition to provide $60,000 in prizes
(CSRwire) WASHINGTON, DC. – November 19, 2008 - The William James Foundation is
teaming up with the Foundation for a Sustainable Future and The Affinity
Lab to offer more then $60,000 in cash and in-kind prizes to socially
responsible and sustainable entrepreneurs.
For the past six years, the William James Foundation has managed business
plan competitions for visionaries who want to support and invest in
entrepreneurs who have a social and/or environmental mission in addition
to their goals of financial success. This year's prizes include:
The
William James Foundation Social Responsibility prizes are business
plans that integrate measurable social value into a new for-profit
business. In addition to the prizes described below, The William James
Foundation works with more than 150 judges who provided detailed feedback
at every level of the competition, allowing us to read each plan five to
ten times and providing each qualified entrant will receive an average of
10 pages of constructive criticism per round. The judges are experts in
both social ventures and traditional business plans, and include community
activists, Wall Street professionals, academics, and CEOs of national
for-profit and not-for-profit organizations. The William James Foundation
is pleased to announce that the Prosperity League of America will be
sponsoring our 1st place prize.
The
Richard Heinberg Sustainability prizes are for the best business
plans that measurably increase global sustainability while making money,
to harness the power of business to build sustainability on the planet.
The prize is sponsored by the Foundation for a Sustainable Future (FSF).
FSF sponsors projects around the world, including sustainable and clean
tech business plan competitions, public policy innovation, education,
technology transfer, expansion of economic theory to include
sustainability concepts like resource constraints and externalities, etc.
FSF founder Sarosh Kumana says, “We seek projects that will catalyze the
process of transitioning to a sustainable world, not just for humans, but
for all life forms.”
The
Affinity Lab DC prizes are for the best new business that serves
and supports the Washington, DC Community. This prize is sponsored by the
Affinity Lab, one of the oldest and most effective collaborative start-up
and co-working spaces in the world. It is a home, platform and nexus for
growing entrepreneurial ventures. By providing scalable opportunities,
office infrastructure, business tools and a collaborative community the
Lab creates the space for individuals and organizations to succeed.
Competition entrants can qualify for one, two, or all three sets of prizes
depending on the focus of their business idea. Past winners of William
James Foundation competitions include: environmentally sustainable
manufactured housing developers; an Afghanistan company that is helping
locals return to a more stable life; low-cost medical technology designed
for use in rural Africa, and hand-made organic clothing and accessories
using closed-loop resource cycling.
The competition is open to for-profit businesses (or business ideas) from
anywhere in the world, and entrants can be of any age. If you are
interested in submitting an entry, see www.williamjamesfoundation.org/criteria
for details and entry qualifications or contact the foundation at competition@williamjamesfoundation.org.
The prizes include cash and professional services from other socially
responsible businesses who are helping the Foundation to grow the next
generation of multiple bottom line businesses. In-kind donors include
CitySoft, Affinity Labs, Community IT Innovators, Acumen Financial,
Strategic Sustainability Consulting, HIP Investor, Joint Concepts, Social
Enterprise Associates, Better World Telecom, Stargazer Consulting, Net
Impact, The Sustainable Business Network of Washington, M&T Bank,
ThinkHost, AmeriPrise Financial Services, Wall Street Without Walls,
Vivavi, EcoPrint, ITF Consulting, Honest Tea, and others. Winners choose
the prizes most valuable to them in order of finish.
Ian Fisk, Executive Director of the William James Foundation, says "Most
of what people think of as environmental and social activism in business
is simply long-term thinking about energy costs and human resources. There
are thousands of good ideas out there. The Foundation wants to find those
that are attached to solid business plans and help them succeed. We have
built a solid back-end system and have relationships with hundreds of
judges and funders to help identify and support the best of those
businesses. And we're not looking to just pick the winners -- we want to
help everyone who enters with professional feedback."
Executive summaries for the 2008-09 competition are due Friday, December
12th. On Friday, January 15th, the Foundation will announce which teams
will be invited to submit full plans in the next round. Out of those,
three finalists will compete in a public presentation on March 20th in
Washington, DC.
For more information please contact:
Ian Fisk
The William James Foundation
202 462 2943
www.williamjamesfoundation.org
www.sustainable-future.org
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