Hampshire College Social Venture Fund and Advisory Network

'''THE SOCIAL VENTURE FUND IS CURRENTLY INACTIVE. FOR MORE INFORMATION PLEASE CONTACT rfinn@hampshire.edu '''

OVERVIEW
What is the Hampshire College Social Venture Fund and Advisory Network (SVFAN)?

The SVFAN is committed to supporting student initiatives that generate significant social value, and to aid students in developing a rigorous plan of action to enact their ideas.

What is a social action project?

A social action project can have its roots in any field (natural science, social science, humanities and arts, cognitive science, entrepreneurship, design, etc.), but all projects considered by the SVF will have the same basic components:


 * Respectfully engages the community impacted by the project
 * Identifies need as an opportunity for change
 * Collaborates with mentors and members of the community
 * Develops a concrete and actionable strategy for social change
 * Includes opportunities for assessment and reflection
 * Is able to be implemented within the time frame of the grant

Strong proposal ideas are:


 * Real – identifies and addresses an existing/pressing social problem, or responds to a demonstrable opportunity that exists
 * Systemic – examines and addresses the root cause of a social problem, or facilitates that process
 * Scalable – potential to scale out or up, or be replicated; the project itself can start small, but takes into consideration how the impact can be broadened
 * Collaborative – Respectfully engages individuals or communities that will be impacted by the project, and cultivates an awareness of the student’s role in change (i.e. what skills or resources do they bring to the table?)
 * Innovative/Creative – demonstrates a new approach or application of an existing model, or engages new communities, etc.
 * Sustainable – The plan must work within its available resources, be a good fit with the impacted community, and be able to sustain its impact beyond the scope of the award from the SVFAN (i.e. culminate in a product or service that can be distributed, work in partnership with other organizations or businesses who will continue to support the initiative, or generate income as part of the model)

The average award amount is between $300-600, although the Review Board may award more or less funding at their discretion.

GUIDELINES FOR SUBMISSION
Students seeking assistance from the Hampshire College Social Venture Fund and Advisory Network will be required to submit an application and make a short presentation to the Social Venture Fund Review Panel.

Following are the application guidelines for proposal submissions to the Hampshire College Social Venture Fund:


 * Applications may not exceed four pages in length (this includes any supplemental materials as well)
 * Applications must be submitted as a PDF
 * Applications must be emailed to rfinn@hampshire.edu with “SVF Application” in the subject line
 * Applications are due by 5:00pm EST on the deadline date
 * PLEASE NOTE THAT INCOMPLETE, IMPROPERLY SUBMITTED OR LATE APPLICATIONS WILL NOT BE CONSIDERED!

You are encouraged to meet with one of the fund directors to review a draft of your application prior to submission – please email rfinn@hampshire.edu to arrange.

APPLICATION
Please include the following:

Contact information:


 * At the top of your application, please list: your name, box #, email, phone, project title, amount of funds requested, and dates of your project activity

Summary project plan


 * Overview/general description of project (What are your goals and objectives? What have you accomplished on this project so far? What inspired this project?)
 * Anticipated social impact, educational, artistic or scientific benefit (Please explain how social value creation is a primary goal or outcome of the project, and how it is creative or innovative)
 * Sustainability (What is the short-term and long-term impact of the project? How will the impact be sustained, or continue to be felt?)
 * Who is involved in your project? (Just you, other students, faculty members, community organizations or partners, etc. Do you already have a relationship/support from others who will be involved?)
 * Relevant Experience (If any – do you have any previous experience that might be helpful in completing your project?)
 * Evaluation (How will you evaluate the success of your project? How will your assessment strategy provide meaningful feedback, and how might you apply what you learn?)
 * Risks (What risks or possible challenges do you anticipate, and how might you address them?)
 * Resources (What resources – financial, human, social, environmental – are already available to you and what still needs to be acquired?)
 * Budget and Funding Timeline (What is the complete budget for your project, and what is the timeline for completion/startup?)
 * Amount of Funds Requested (How much funding are you requesting from the SVF?)
 * Use of Proceeds (Within your budget, how will those funds be used? Can the project still move forward if the full budget amount is not raised?)

Please explain how an advisor or mentor could be most helpful to you.

Submit all materials to:

Roxanne Finn, The Creativity Center, rfinn@hampshire.edu 

DEADLINES
'''THE SOCIAL VENTURE FUND IS CURRENTLY INACTIVE. FOR MORE INFORMATION PLEASE CONTACT rfinn@hampshire.edu'''

PRESENTATION
Once all materials have been reviewed a time will be arranged for selected applicants to present their projects to a Social Venture Fund Review Panel. Each applicant will have approximately 10 minutes (including time for questions from the panel), so presentations should take the form of an elevator pitch in order to be as concise as possible (no more than 2 minutes in length). Remember, the panel will have already reviewed your application, so this is your opportunity to highlight the vital aspects of your project.

Submit all materials to: 

Roxanne Finn, The Creativity Center, rfinn@hampshire.edu