Santa Clara University’s Eighth Annual Global Social Benefit Incubator Competition on Social Edge:
First deadline January 15, 2010.
Up to 20 participants to be selected to attend Summer 2010 session on a full scholarship.
 
SANTA CLARA, Calif., Dec. 8, 2009—Now in its eighth year, the Global Social Benefit Incubator (GSBIÔ) run by Santa Clara University’s Center for Science, Technology, and Society invites innovative social entrepreneurs to apply to take their social venture to the next level with the help of Silicon Valley start-up veterans and Santa Clara University faculty.
 
The GSBI is a year-long capacity-building program for leaders of social benefit enterprises.  The most visible part of the program is a motivating two-week in-residence session, but the benefits last well beyond that, as participating social entrepreneurs continue to collaborate with the network of educators, professionals, peers and mentors they develop while in Santa Clara.
 
The Global Social Benefit Incubator application process starts January 4 on Social Edge, the online community for social entrepreneurs and a program of the Skoll Foundation. Information on the online process is available now at www.socialedge.org <http://www.socialedge.org> . Up to 20 participants who best demonstrate a sustainable and scalable approach to addressing urgent human needs throughout the world will each receive a full scholarship valued at US$25,000 for the GSBI program, taking place August 14 – 28, 2010.
 
“Through the access to world-class resources, GSBI participants are able to accelerate their innovations. This is a transformational program for people with the power and vision to change the world,” says Jim Koch, professor of management at Santa Clara University and co-founder and director of GSBI. “The incubator brings together grass-roots innovators and Silicon Valley executive mentors with university faculty to support the scaling up of innovative solutions that serve the common good all over the world.”
 
In the past, GSBI participants have come from Costa Rica, India, Namibia, Mexico, Philippines, Rwanda, Argentina, Cambodia, Paraguay, Ecuador, Bangladesh, Jordan, Guatemala, Laos, Nepal, Bolivia, Nigeria, Kenya, South Africa, Canada, Haiti, Indonesia, Vanuatu, and the United States. In addition to intensive coursework and mentoring focused on venture planning, beneficiary analysis, business models, metrics and successful scaling strategies, attendees benefit from the cross-cultural community of support they get at GSBI.
 
Special Emphasis on Electricity Providers in 2010
This year, the GSBI will have a special emphasis on enterprises that aim to provide electricity to the under-served in developing countries. Up to one-third of the Incubator spaces are being targeted for social entrepreneurs bringing innovative solutions addressing the unmet needs of people and communities who are off the grid or suffer frequent disruptions in their energy supply.
 
“Access to reliable energy is the pivotal enabling factor for economic growth in many communities around the world.  Thus, our 2010 GSBI sector strategy seeks to discover and support the scaling-up of clean energy solutions--from devices to environmentally sustainable sources of energy —that can serve individuals, enterprises or communities,” says Koch. “ The lack of access to affordable energy limits prospects for livelihoods and stunts the aspirations of future generations by precluding the opportunity to learn and engage in productive pursuits.”
 
Benefits to All Applicants
All who apply to the GSBI participate in three Business Planning Exercises and benefit from mentoring and feedback on their application exercises. These exercises are designed to help them write and revise key sections of their business plans based on feedback from mentors at Santa Clara University and others in the Social Edge community. Many applicants have commented that they learned a tremendous amount through the process. “Applicants receive advice on their value proposition, target market and business model. This interaction helps them convey their story in a more compelling way and helps them clarify their impact and strategy for scaling their ventures,” says Victor d'Allant, Executive Director of Social Edge.
 
First Deadline is January 15, 2010
Beginning December 15, social entrepreneurs can visit http://www.socialedge.org/features/gsbi to preview the application exercises for GSBI 2010. Applicants can prepare the business planning exercises now and post them online starting January 4. There is no application fee and the deadline for the first exercise is January 15, 2010.
 
The scholarships for winning applicants will cover tuition, room, and board for the two-week intensive immersion program. Selected participants are responsible for their travel expenses. The winners will be announced no later than April 3, 2010.
 
More information can be found at:
Social Edge, a program of the Skoll Foundation http://www.socialedge.org/features/gsbi
Global Social Benefit Incubator at Santa Clara University: http://www.scu.edu/sts/gsbi/
 
Contact:                   Victor d’Allant, Social Edge
650.331.1036
vdallant@skollfoundation.org <mailto:vdallant@skollfoundation.org>
 
Sherrill Dale, GSBI
408.551.6027
gsbi2010@scu.edu <mailto:gsbi20098@scu.edu> 
 
 
About Social Edge
Headquartered in California's Silicon Valley, Social Edge, www.socialedge.org, is the global online community where social entrepreneurs and other practitioners of the social benefit sector connect to network, learn, inspire and share resources. It provides expert content for guidance, videos and podcasts for inspiration, and discussions and other resources written by those in the field of social entrepreneurship. Features include blogs by social entrepreneurs sharing how they are building their social ventures and discussions on vital topics led by experts in social entrepreneurship. Social Edge is a program of the Skoll Foundation, www.skollfoundation.org <http://www.skollfoundation.org/> , which was founded in 1999 by eBay's first president, Jeff Skoll, to advance systemic change to benefit communities around the world by investing in, connecting and celebrating social entrepreneurs.
 
About the Global Social Benefit Incubator
The Global Social Benefit Incubator (GSBIÔ), www.scu.edu/sts/gsbi/, combines 4 months of on-line preparation with an intensive two-week residential program at Santa Clara University and several months of remote mentoring and support using the Social Enterprise Innovation Network (SEIN).  The GSBI program enables successful social benefit entrepreneurs, who have demonstrated their commitment to applying technology to address urgent human needs throughout the world, to scale their endeavors and achieve sustainability. The GSBI combines classroom instruction, case studies, and best practices with carefully matched mentoring on the specific challenges of each participating organization. Presented by the University’s Center for Science, Technology, and Society and the Leavey School of Business, the GSBI offers the unique context of a Jesuit university dedicated to social justice combined with leading executive resources of Silicon Valley.