Social Entrepreneurship and Innovation Competition

- sponsoring partners, Washington University and the YouthBridge Community Foundation; read more about the partnership-

In June, 2005, YouthBridge pledged $500,000 in funding over five years to help Washington University create the YouthBridge Award and the St. Louis Social Entrepreneurship and Innovation Competition (SEIC). Other foundations, including the Incarnate Word Foundation, Deaconess Foundation, and the Lutheran Foundation of St. Louis have also sponsored past competitions. The purpose of the competition is to stimulate activity that leads to innovative approaches to the area’s social problems.

Our definition of social entrepreneurship is "using entrepreneurial skills to craft innovative processes, approaches, and solutions to help resolve social issues." The SEIC concentrates on its more focused application of social enterprise, and the development of innovative approaches to enhance sustainability and increase capacity of mission-based social organizations. This moves the participants in the competition beyond their traditional dependence on philanthropy and government subsidy.

The St. Louis Social Entrepreneurship and Innovation Competition -- the first of its kind in the region – was launched in the fall of 2005. Since then, the competition has awarded over $300,000 in cash and in-kind services. Participants are eligible for a minimum $65,000 in funding, but more may be available depending on other foundation sponsors for the annual competition. Participants receive feedback from a panel of social investors and judges who are experts in social entrepreneurship and innovation. Both existing and new nonprofit organizations may participate. The YouthBridge Workshop Series offered each year from October through February is also designed to assist teams in the competition, though workshops are free and open to all, regardless of whether the workshop attendees elect to participate in the competition.

Our Approach

• To conduct an inclusive, engaging, fair, and change-driven annual competition
• Open to new ventures and new activities by existing organizations
• Provide ongoing education open to all
• Develop frameworks for evaluation
• Engage judges, mentors, social investors and sponsors
• Cause ongoing measurable social innovation
• Create a sustainable Competition

About YouthBridge
The YouthBridge Community Foundation is a 135-year-old organization that was previously known as the General Protestant Children’s Home for orphans. YouthBridge’s mission evolved to fund and support multiple innovative youth-focused social ventures, some of them located on their 19 acre Creve Coeur campus. Haven House St. Louis provides services to families and patients that have traveled to St. Louis to receive treatment at area hospitals. Good Shepherd School provides innovative approaches to early childhood education and intervention services for a diverse population of children with both typical skills and developmental challenges. This inclusive environment helps develop well balanced, compassionate youths. YouthBridge also helped organize and fund the Missouri Alliance for Children and Families, LLC. The Alliance helps over 500 severely disadvantaged children and their families to become more functional and minimizes foster care and residential services. YouthBridge-supported and -funded ventures are designed to operate as independent entities following the association’s initial support. YouthBridge’s goal is to support ventures that can benefit from their initial support and then become sustainable.