Every year I pick a new conference (or two) that I really want to attend because I’ve heard it will blow my mind, because I want to connect with new people, because I know it’s good to stretch the mind and the soul. This year, it’s SOCAP.
In looking into the conference, I stumbled upon a post by my friend Emily about a contest where you can win a pass to the conference! Yes, the contest has some element of voting but it’s not everything (thankfully) and regardless of if I win, I like the question they’re asking.
The Social Capital Markets Conference (SOCAP) is a gathering of investors, entrepreneurs, and innovators at the intersection of money and meaning. SOCAP has spent the last two years defining the social enterprise movement. This year, more than 1,200 investors, donors, entrepreneurs, and innovators will decide: What’s Next?
A recent report by Hope Consulting on Money for Good revealed there is a $120 billion untapped market of individual investors looking to make a positive environmental and social impact with their dollars. With deserving entrepreneurs looking for funds to make that impact, the challenge is to discover:
What’s Next? How will social enterprise unlock the $120 billion market opportunity for impact investment?
SOCAP will be exploring this question throughout the conference, but they want to hear from you.
The challenge? Tell them (in 500 words or less) what’s next in social enterprise to unlock the $120 billion market opportunity for individual impact investment, and you could win a scholarship to this year’s SOCAP, valued at $1195, as well as the opportunity to be published in TriplePundit – an innovative new media company pushing the conversation forward about sustainable business in the 21st century.
How To Win
Because nobody is as smart as everybody, everyone is invited to vote on their favorite posts to determine the winners. The top ten entries by votes are considered for the prize.
The Challenge Sponsors will then evaluate the top ten entries and select five to be featured on triple pundit, as well as the overall SOCAP scholarship winner.
How To Enter
The Challenge is now open for entries. You do have to create a Myoo Create account (I just did, not terribly painful). Then by September 7th, 2010 you must submit the following information:
- blog title
- short description of blog
- full 500 word publishable blog post
- profile image of yourself to accompany blog post
The judges will evaluate the entries on the following criteria:
- 50% on the strength of your ideas and how you present them
- 25% on the originality of your ideas
- 25% on the quality of the writing
So good luck, and hope to see you this year at SOCAP!
Sloane Berrent is a cause-based marketing and social branding consultant, nonprofiteer and budding social entrepreneur. She uses social media, product evangelizing, fundraising and community development services to help for-profit and nonprofit companies with a focus on social action campaigns. Originally from Pittsburgh, PA, she has lived in Burlington VT, Boston MA, Rome Italy, and Los Angeles, CA. She spent 2009 as a digital nomad, traveling the world experiencing life and volunteering including stints in South America, New Orleans and three months in the Philippines as a Kiva Fellow.
She co-created “Cause It’s My Birthday” a campaign to raise money (over $19k to date) and awareness for malaria prevention in Ghana. Sloane moved to New Orleans as her new home at the end of 2009 and co-launched NOLAlicious, a weekly newsletter of events in New Orleans. She was recently named the citizen journalist to attend the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland for the MySpace and The Wall Street Journal communities. Her consulting practice, Answer With Action, focuses on strategic integrated marketing consulting. She speaks frequently on building community and blogs at The Causemopolitan.
