Seattle Pacific University’s 19th Annual Social Venture Plan Competition

Winter and Spring Quarters 2025
  1. Teams may consist of one to six people. The Social Venture Plan Competition (SVPC) is a team event. Each team shall consist of not more than six members. One-person entries are permissible but discouraged. Team members must be either current SPU students or enrolled at a recognized partner school, student program, accredited college, or university (e.g., Ashoka Youth Venture, Northwest Nazarene University, the University of Washington, Seattle University, Carnegie Mellon, the University of New Mexico, etc.) Alumni, faculty members, or staff members of SPU or partner organizations are not eligible to compete unless they are also students.
  2. Projects must be early-stage social venture plans. Business plans for existing and operating ventures, projects that have had extensive development, or projects that have raised substantial venture capital may be disqualified at the discretion of the Center for Applied Learning (CAL).
  3. Competitors may receive support from the Social Venture Planning course, if desired. Teams are encouraged but not required to attend a series of bi-weekly resource sessions running every Monday and Wednesday afternoon at 2:30 p.m., from January 6, 2025, through March 5, 2025. SPU students wishing to receive credit for their work may do so by registering for the Winter Quarter class BUS 3682: Social Venture Planning. However, SVPC competitors may attend these sessions, even if they are not registered for the course.
  4. Intent to Participate forms are due February 11. Teams intending to compete in the SVPC should submit an Intent to Participate form electronically to CAL (cal@szsderun.com) by February 11, 2025.
  5. Written business plans and the official Submission Form are due on March 7. Each team will submit a digital version of the written plan for their social venture (including any accompanying financial statements) to cal@szsderun.com as Word documents or PDF files. Other file formats may be allowed by exception. Each team must also submit an official signed Submission Form to CAL. The venture plan should follow the template laid out on the SVPC website or cover the same basic information. The written plan must be submitted no later than 5:00 p.m. on March 7, 2025, the official entry deadline for the SVPC. Late submissions may be penalized or excluded from the competition, at the discretion of CAL. 
    • Each venture plan must include a description of the social need to be addressed as well as the means by which the project will address it.
    • Each venture plan must include a paid revenue-generation mechanism. Venture plans that rely on donation-funding only will not be considered.
  6. Coaching (required) will occur on April 9. One or more representatives from each team will participate in a coaching event on April 9, 2025, from 6:00 to 7:30 p.m. Teams will be paired with community partners (social entrepreneurs, businesspeople, not-for-profit experts, etc.) for feedback specific to their plan and for assistance with making their pitch at the Showcase.
  7. Digital assets for the Showcase website are due April 11. Each team will produce a one- to two-minute pitch video, for public posting on the Showcase webpage. Video clips may be MP4 files or can be sent as YouTube or Vimeo links. In addition, each team will write a one-page executive summary about their plan. Executive summaries should be submitted as either Word documents or PDF files. Other file formats may be permitted by exception. Videos and executive summaries will be submitted to cal@szsderun.com no later than 5:00 p.m. on Friday, April 11, 2025.
  8. The final Showcase Round (required) will be held on April 16. All teams will compete in the Showcase Round on Thursday, April 16, 2025, from 2:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m. This event will be held in upper Gwinn Commons on the SPU campus.
  9. Scores from both rounds determine the winners. Scores from the evaluation of the written plans will be added to the scores from the Showcase Round. The team with the highest combined score will be named the Herbert B. Jones Grand Prize Winner ($10,000). A runner-up prize ($5,000) and three honorable mention prizes ($2,500) will be awarded to the teams with the next highest cumulative point totals. The Donald B. Summers People’s Choice Award ($1,500) will be given to the team that receives the most votes from students, faculty, and staff. Projects winning the People’s Choice Award may also be considered for the top prizes. The prize-winning teams will be announced shortly after the conclusion of the Showcase on April 16, 2025, at approximately 6:30 p.m.
  10. Here are the Intent to Participate form, the official Submission Form, and the Social Venture Planning Template. The template builds on the idea of a Business Model Canvas. For more information on the Business Model Canvas and how to use it, check out this YouTube video.

          For questions not answered here, please contact the Center for Applied Learning: cal@szsderun.com.