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"Green and Social Venture Capital One potential source of funding for green and social entrepreneurs is venture capital (VC). Venture capital firms generally make equity investments in enterprises beyond the seed stage of development. In addition to financial resources venture capital firms can provide business guidance and other resources to entrepreneurs. Many traditional venture capital firms now have dedicated funds and staff that focus on one or more aspects of environmental or social responsibility. In addition, some VC firms (sometimes known as "social venture capital firms") explicitly incorporate additional investment criteria, such as social or environmental benefits, in their mission and investing activities. This page also includes links to some relevant "angel investors." Angel investors generally provide capital at an early stage of an enterprise's development, prior to the period of investment by traditional venture capital firms."

ELC Clients - Social Entrepreneurs & Non-Profits Individuals or groups who wish to build a non-profit business or charitable services organization, as well as those pursuing social entrepreneurship objectives, fit into this category. Most of these ventures will be generally eligible for ELC services. Well established non-profits with substantial endowments, as well as private foundations, will likely not be eligible for ELC services. Because of the emerging trend in social entrepreneurship for new ventures to demonstrate both low cost access strategies and profitable market strategies, ELC will consider providing services to founders who are not exclusively committed to forming a non-profit. In fact, ELC can help such founders think through the pros and cons of establishing non-profit vs. for profit organizations. Accepted clients will be assigned a team tailored to the needs of the proposed venture. In some cases this will be a full team consisting of different students and attorneys for review of: business planning, structure, and governance; intellectual property, particularly trademarks, trade secrets, copyright, and, if applicable, patents; employment law; business licensing; and tax planning and compliance. In other cases, a non-profit or social entrepreneurship venture will be assigned a team with a single student and supervising attorney. For example, a small co-op that needs to focus solely on governance and co-op organization law, or obtaining tax exempt status can benefit from the efficiencies of a single business and tax law trained student and supervising attorney team. The initial confidential legal and business audit report will assess the following areas, as applicable; additional legal services in these areas may also be offered upon mutual written agreement of the venture and ELC: * Business planning * Entity selection and registration * Differences between non-profit governance (including co-ops) and for profit governanc

"Funk Ventures is a multi-faceted and entrepreneurial investment firm with focus on venture capital, business acceleration and real estate. Supported by an experienced and passionate team, our philosophy is grounded in the belief that businesses can make a significant and positive contribution to people, society and the environment. Our portfolio companies and our investment focus on wellness, medical devices and clean technologies put this philosophy into action every single day."

"Green VC is developing a comprehensive resource of funding sources for entreprenuers working on socially- or environmentally-focused ventures. Please visit the pages below for some initial funding sources and feel free to send suggestions for additional sources to info [at] greenvc.org * Green and Social Venture Business Plan Competitions * Green and Social Entreprenuership Awards, Competitions, and Fellowships * Green and Social Venture Capital * Green and Social Venture Credit and Lending "

"NewSchools Venture Fund is a venture philanthropy firm working to transform public education through powerful ideas and passionate entrepreneurs so that all children - especially those in underserved communities - have the opportunity to succeed."

"One potential source of funding for green and social entreprenuers is through a green or social venture business plan competition. These programs are organized by business schools and other organizations and are generally geared to ventures that are at an early stage in their development. Eligibility varies from event to event, but most school-based competitions require participation by students. Prize levels vary, but can exceed $50,000."

"About Us Virtue Ventures is a small, innovative firm committed to furthering the field of social entrepreneurship through action-research, technical services and our own initiatives. Our practitioner-focused and mission-centered approach stems from being a creative team rooted in industry: Virtue Ventures' team has first-hand experience designing, launching and managing social enterprises and nonprofit agencies. We have worked with literally hundreds of nonprofits and social enterprises, spanning sectors and industries in over 40 countries worldwide."

"Green and Social Entreprenuership Awards, Competitions, and Fellowships One potential source of funding for green and social entreprenuers is through an award, competition or fellowship. These program vary and include cash prizes for one-time contests, seed funding for new ventures, and later-stage funding for existing organizations. Note that some of these program provide funding for non-profit ventures only. The amount of funding provided by these programs vary, but can be as large as $1 million. These programs also can provide a variety of other resources beneficial for entreprenuers, including technical assistance and connection to a network of other entreprenuers."

"Green and Social Venture Credit and Lending One potential source of funding for green and social entrepreneurs is through loans and credit. Some banks and other institutions that include a focus on supporting green and social entrepreneurs are listed below."

Vision To enable entrepreneurs to realize their dreams while benefiting the lives of people at the base of the economic pyramid. Mission To deploy needed financial and human resources to high impact social ventures addressing the needs of large, underserved populations.

"GoodCompany Ventures catalyzes start-ups with innovative solutions to big, unmet social needs. We champion models that offer investors both financial return and social impact."

"Social Venture Planning and Legal Guidance for a Better World"

"Investors' Circle is a network of over 225 angel investors, professional venture capitalists, foundations, family offices and others who are using private capital to promote the transition to a sustainable economy. Since 1992, Investors' Circle has facilitated the flow of over $133 million into more than 200 companies and small funds addressing social and environmental issues."

"The mission of the NUST-SEECS Social Entrepreneurship Club is to create, organize, manage and capitalize the venture to make social change and to provide the students of SEECS with a platform to create awareness among the people especially our youth about the concept of social entrepreneurship and to link them with social organizations to resolve their issues and learn from these organizations the basic skills to make a positive social impact on individual level."

"Committed and innovative people change the world. Our mission is to enable youth and adults to solve challenges with sustainable, innovative solutions. The world needs genuine innovators-those who dedicate themselves to an ideal, draw from many domains, and reframe challenges as opportunities. Innovators not only move mountains but often change the entire landscape. That landscape defines the potential available to the rest of the community. When focused on important problems innovations can result in enormous social good. We plan to increase the potential for innovative solutions in areas where good ideas are needed most. Springboard Innovation was formed in 2004 to help fill the gap of learning and support for those who wish to make a difference in a new way. We create opportunities for community members to learn how to launch social ventures, provide ongoing consultancies, help them network with others, help them get seed funding, and work to build a supportive ecosystem in the cities where they live. Springboard works through four core strategies. These work together to offer both a sequenced continuum of experience and a cycle of programs and resources that allow leaders and supporters to connect at any point, nurturing community-led community change. "

"Dedicated to ending the use of environmentally-destructive disposable plastic water bottles, the Bottle Brigade will both educate students about the reasons that these bottles are destructive and also work to find alternatives for people to purchase. To promote education, the Bottle Brigade will design a workshop and present this at local area elementary schools, providing students with important environmental knowledge and a customizable reusable water bottle. In addition, the Bottle Brigade will work with local high schools to end the sale of disposable bottles on campus, campaign towards shoppers about the dangers and alternatives, and sell reusable water bottles as a safe, green, alternative."

Our mission is to help companies reach their highest potential in the context of the next paradigms in business. At shiftalliance™, we advise businesses on how to innovate their entire business model through the lens of meaningfulness, the key value driver of the 21st century. shiftalliance shows a business-any business-how to improve profitability with minimal capital investment from the companies we serve. We are experts in powerful, low-cost ways of discovering new ideas to increase the value your company generates, motivating a company's work force, inspiring its leaders and attracting new customers. Whether you're a leader seeking to revitalize the ROI of an existing business or a venture capitalist needing to optimize a business in your portfolio, shiftalliance™ can help you discover the innovation opportunities to enhance your business model and align your company with emerging shifts of the 21st century. Our singular approach comes from the combination of rigorous business analysis + design thinking + awareness mindset leadership coaching to unlock the full potential of your strategy, leaders and performance. We coach your people to lead and embed meaningfulness into your culture. We became a B Corp immediately upon discovering B Corporation. We had collected 231+ better practices in business and realized that B Lab was promoting many of these practices through their certification and legislation initiatives. We were thrilled to discover that companies could be recognized for their meaningful practices and potentially even benefit financially (through tax breaks) as a result of their commitment to socially responsibility. Most management and specialist consulting firms address business, organization development, innovation, brand or sustainability. We use the lens of meaning, the value driver of the 21c, to assess, innovate and embed all of the above into meaningful business models and unleash greater value for all stakeholders and the enter

"Ned.com is a global online co-working space for early stage social entrepreneurs and collaborative social ventures. We believe every individual has the power to make a difference. We exist for one single purpose: So that more and more people discover their own power to make good things happen. "

"cosi10 is a transformative event for social innovators, social entrepreneurs and their social ventures that's happening all over the world in the second half of 2010. * A simple, self-organizing face to face unconference event. cosi10 participants come together under the guidance of a local host who follows the cosi10 unconference event guide. Through that process, participants network and learn from each other in dynamic collaborative conversation (in their local languages) about impact strategies, sharing resources for developing our skills, and planning what it takes to build thrivable social innovations and revenue models. The participants co-create the story of what happened offline in the online event space at ned.com, where other cosi10 participants from around the world can respond, interact and connect around common purpose. Learn more about the cosi10 Unconference Format"