The William James Foundation Socially Responsible Business Plan Competitions

The William James Foundation supports entrepreneurs who are starting for-profit businesses with defined social and/or environmental goals. We have multiple prize categories, so we are positioned to help both local community businesses and PhDs with multi-million dollar ideas for renewable energy.




We provide this support through a Socially Responsible Business Plan Competition. Entrants submit executive summaries (up to five pages) to us in June, September, or December. The next open deadline is December 4th, 2009 -- visit www.williamjamesfoundation.org/timeline for a detailed timeline. The best of those plans are invited to submit full plans in February of 2010.




Most entrants receive an average of ten pages of constructive feedback per plan per round. If we have to reject a business plans, it is usually because they are still in the rough idea phase, and there isn't enough detail in the plan for us to give feedback on. Those teams are invited to re-submit more detailed plans for the next open round.




Our feedback comes from a pool of more than 300 experts from the worlds of finance, academia, in-the-field practice, and other entrepreneurs. This is an excellent opportunity for entrepreneurs to learn from those who have successfully combined their passion for a better world with the rigor of financial sustainability.