Social Venture Plan

The Social Venture Plan is the written strategy of how you will implement your new business or nonprofit. The plan details the steps you will take to solve a significant social issue. The template below is your guide, but other formats are acceptable.

Social Venture Plans must be limited to 30 pages, NOT including appendices. Plans should be typed double-spaced, 12-point font, one-inch margins, and include:

1. Executive Summary (1-2 page brief synopsis) Summarize the following:
• Your social mission statement (Can you state it in a 1-2 sentence pitch?)
• Product/service description (Your innovation!)
• Market description and size (What segment of the population is addressed with your innovation? One paragraph, basic summary of what your market looks like and the size)
• Target customers
• Barriers to entry and competitive advantage of your venture
• How do you quantify social impact?
• Key growth statistics (You might have a pilot location, but what is the potential for growth for the next three years?)
• Summary of the financial model (Who pays for this? Where does the revenue come from?)
• What does it take to fund this project in the first year?
• Three years of estimated revenues and net income


2. Table of Contents (1 page)
• Page numbers for headings, subheadings, graphs and indexes


3. Logic Model
• Create a 1-page logic model for your venture using the Kellogg Foundation Logic Model Development Guide as your template.


4. Venture Overview
• Venture description and business model
• Value proposition (A value proposition is a clear statement of the tangible results a customer gets from using your product or service.)
• Current status (How far along are you toward your mission?)
• Current funding and funding source


5. Market Analysis/Market Strategy
• Market size (How big is the overall market?)
• Target market
1. What segments are you targeting with the product or service you're offering?
2. What is the current and projected market share in numbers?
3. Customer profile and segmentation - demographics and psychographics (the behaviors of your customers)
• Competitive analysis (Who are your competitors? What are their strengths and weaknesses? SWOT analysis)
• Market plan (What is going to make you stand out from the competition?)
1. Positioning analysis (Explain your position and how you do it better than the competition.)
2. Pricing strategy
3. Advertising/promotion plan
4. Timetable for your marketing plan (Year detailed, Year 2 & 3 summary)


6. Product/Service
• Customer need
• Major feature/benefits/limitations of product or service (tell us what it's all about)
• Supporting information (photos, drawings, etc.)
• Research and development (cost, time requirements, current status and future efforts)


7. Financials
• Key assumptions
• Projections: First three years
1. Operations (overhead costs, costs of production, sales and distribution)
2. Cash flow (other sources of funds, use of funds - realistic dollar estimate for R&D, manufacturing, equipment and working capital)
3. Timetable for break even point/point of sustainability/profitability
4. If you're a nonprofit venture, how will you move from grants and donations to a diversified funding stream? (i.e. fee for service, government support and volunteer labor)
5. How will you use the $50,000 prize?


8. Social Impact Analysis (address all that apply)
• Estimate your social impact (What matrices are being used to assess the impact of your social innovation?)
• Community involvement and development
• Product sourcing/supply chain
• Environmental practices


9. Management and Organization
• Structure & Form (organization chart)
• Founders/management team (industry experience, education, duties, highlights, compensation and equity in venture)
• Mentorship with outside experts is encouraged and allowed. Please identify mentors to your project and detail their involvement in the development of your innovation.
• Board of Directors (backgrounds, benefits and investment)


10. Performance Benchmarks
• Outline the development of systems to track, monitor and evaluate the performance of your venture


11. Risk Assessment and Contingency Plans
• Identify the risk factors associated with the enterprise and the external environment.
• What is the contingency plan to mitigate the identified risks?


12. Appendices (Not counted toward 30 page total)
• Resumes
• Copies of patent or copyright approvals/applications
• Product/service sample brochure/advertisement/etc.
• Market studies
• Articles
• Photographs/illustrations


13. Provide proof of enrollment for each team member. Proof can be in the form of a copy of a transcript or proof of enrollment from the registrars office. Please contact us if you have questions about the proof you are providing.



14. If you or project have received grant money, awards or prize money, please list the name of the award or grant and dollar amount. For example, Echoing Green Fellow.

A brief three-minute video pitch of your idea allows your team to tell a story. Who is the population you are addressing and why is your solution creative and new? Where did you get this idea and why are you the best person or team to implement it? Take three minutes to sell the judges on your innovation. If you are selected as a semifinalist, instructions for video submission will be e-mailed to you.