YV Team Spotlight: Playable

This is the story of Pierre Bataille- Youth Venturer, Social Entrepreneur, and now Reality TV star! Pierre co-founded Playable (formerly known as APAID) an organization which focuses on improving lives of people with disabilities using sport as a tool. He and his team members help organizations across Europe and Africa to adapt their activities and policies to enable inclusion of people with disabilities.

Pierre was recently chosen as a fellow for the Unreasonable Institute. The institute brings over 20 young social entrepreneurs from all over the world to Boulder, CO for 10 weeks where they live together, receiving mentorship from some of the top names in the social enterprise field, as well as get the chance to win grants of up to $75,000. The entire 10 weeks are filmed and have been turned into a 10 episode reality series! Click here to watch the series and consider applying yourself for some valuable mentorship, funding, and fame!

The summer is over! Its Back-2-Cool

Its almost September and that means only one thing. The summer is gone! Believe me, we're as upset as you are. Perhaps the one highlight of going back to school is the mini-shopping spree we all allow ourselves. Its fun, we know, but ever wonder what the climate impact of all your back-to-school gear is? The Back-2-Cool campaign has the answers to your questions. Its not that difficult to be a climate-conscious consumer! Click here and let them help you out.

The world is looking to hire Venturers! Apply today.

We have always known that the skills you develop as a Venturer are valuable in many different areas of your life. Over time schools, colleges, and now organizations have also begun to recognize the value of your skills. We at Youth Venture have recently developed a partnership with Commongood Careers to help you reach these organizations!

Commongood Careers is a search firm that connects outstanding talent to innovative citizen sector organizations, and they are looking for Venturers! If you are currently looking for a job add your resume to the Youth Venture resume pool by clicking here. You can also browse available openings by clicking here. Remember to site ‘Ashoka’s Youth Venture’ as your source when applying to jobs. Its time to reap the benefits of being a Venturer!

Global Catalyst Grant: Take your Venture to the next level!

The Global Catalyst Grant is aimed specifically at Ventures that have an ongoing impact at addressing poverty and are looking to take their Venture to the next level. Grants are between $10,000 CAD and $30,000 CAD, over a period of 1 to 3 years depending on the needs of your Venture. The deadline, Sept 8th, is approaching quick so apply now!

On a sidenote, all the funds for this grant are raised through an innovative campaign called 'Riding to Break the Cycle'. They organize bicycling tours across the world that help young people learn about themselves and the role they play in the world. Its an awesome fundraising idea! Check out this video to find out more the campaign.


Deadline: Sept 8th, 2010

Business for Good. Find yourself a mentor!

You + Great idea + Experienced Mentor = Successful Venture! We at Youth Venture have seen that Venturers who have the support and guidance of an experienced mentor are more successful at launching and growing their Ventures. Harvard Undergraduate Women in Business has seen this too! Hence they decided to launch the Business for Good competition that identifies college students with impactful social enterprise ideas to receive individualized mentorship from experienced social entrepreneurs. This could be a really valuable asset for you and your Venture. Applications open September 1st. Apply today!

YV Team Spotlight: EUforIA

A big shout out to Youth Venture European team EUforIA who have successfully taken their Venture to a global level! The Venture was formed in 2007 by six students from different European countries who met while studying abroad at Boston University. Its mission is to raise awareness and motivate youth to take local action around global challenges (also, check out their awesome logo!). Read more>>

What could you do with a Trillion Dollars?

So far the U.S. has spent over $1 trillion in the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. Ever wondered what you could do with a trillion dollars- for yourself, your family, or your community? The American Friends Service Committee (AFSC) and National Priorities Project (NPP) are sponsoring a youth video project to make your ideas heard! Submit a 1 to 3 min video on the theme "If I Had a Trillion Dollars..." for a chance to win $500 and a trip for 2 to Washington DC! Click here to apply. And if you are still confused click here to check out the awesome videos already submitted.
Deadline: November 30, 2010

Here come the winners! Staples Youth Social Enterprise Competition.

We are thrilled to announce our first three winners of the Staples Youth Social Enterprise Competition. Our winners are inspiring storytellers who are leading extraordinary change in their communities and following their vision for a better world. We’re still accepting applications and are announcing winners on a rolling basis. We hope to have eight in all. You could be one of them! So don’t wait to apply! Winners will have the opportunity to share their stories at TEDxYSE.

• Rebecca Kantar, MINGA

Rebecca is a founding member of Minga, a youth-run organization building a movement of young leaders dedicated to ending the global child sex trade. Read More>>

• Mohammed Barry, Aid for Smiles

At age 16, he started a school for HIV-positive children and today he is founder of Aid for Smiles, a coalition to help socially disadvantaged children to become agents of social change and reform in their communities. Read More>>

• Ben Lyon, FrontlineSMS:Credit

Throught FrontlineSMS:Credit Ben Lyon is pioneering technology that is connecting microfinance institutions to their borrowers via cell phones. Read More>>

Going up?

In the world of Venturers one of the first things we work hard on is developing an "elevator pitch." That short one or two minute spiel that we use to tell our friends and funders about our Venture idea. You want your pitch to be simple, interesting, and maybe even funny. After all, at the end of the one minute everyone needs to know how awesome your Venture is! Check out this great elevator pitch from a entrepreneur at MIT. Tell us what you think.

Lemelson-MIT Award for Sustainability

To all our young inventors out there, if you are looking for inspiration, here is the place to go: Lemelson-MIT Award for Sustainability. This $100,000 award celebrates individuals whose inventions and innovations enhance economic opportunity and community well-being in developing and/or developed countries. Last years winner, BP Agrawal, has dabbled in everything from rain water harvesting to public health. Check him out here!

YV Team Spotlight: NAVIGATE

Today we want to give a big shout out to Youth Venture team NAVIGATE who were recently interviewed on Minnesota Public Radio! Founded in 2007 the team works to make the path to college more accessible to teenagers who grow up in this country as undocumented immigrants. Denise and her team have shown outstanding courage and determination in their efforts to help their peers pursue their dreams. Click below to hear their story.

Fun and Fundraising: MINGA’s Action Auction!

MINGA is a rockstar Youth Venture team, whose mission is to empower youth against the child sex trade. They recently launched their ‘Lets Get Real Campaign’ which aims to reach two million teens via screens to empower them to speak out against the child sex trade. To raise funds to support their campaign they are organizing a silent auction via ebay. Did you know that if your Venture is a non-profit organization you can use this platform to hold auctions for free? Check it out here! And help support MINGA by spreading the word.
Deadline: August 24th, 2010

Launch or scale your Venture! Through Tr3s: agentes de cambio.

In partnership with Tr3s: MTV we are calling on youth to help target issues that affect US Hispanic communities with the launch of the Agentes de Cambio campaign. If you are a Latino youth interested in launching your own Venture or scaling your existing Venture, consider applying. Winners will receive $1000 to launch or scale their Venture! As if that’s not incentive enough we’ll also put your story on TV at Tr3s: MTV!

Deadline: September 1st, 2010.