2016 Schwab Foundation’s Social Entrepreneur of the Year Award: Apply Now

Application Deadline: May 31, 2015

Applications are now open for the Schwab Foundation’s Social Entrepreneur of the Year Award for Social Entrepreneurs around the world.

The Schwab Foundation for Social Entrepreneurship provides unparalleled platforms at the regional and global level to highlight and advance leading models of sustainable social innovation. It identifies a select community of social entrepreneurs and engages it in shaping global, regional and industry agendas that improve the state of the world in close collaboration with the other stakeholders of the World Economic Forum.

The 2016 Awardees will join the Schwab Foundation’s global community of over 325 outstanding social entrepreneurs operating in 60 countries. Members of the Schwab Foundation community receive many benefits, including support services from our partners, peer-to-peer learning opportunities with fellow entrepreneurs, and access to World Economic Forum events such as Davos.

Eligibility Criteria:

Successful candidates:

• Are running a for-profit or non-profit whose primary mission is social and/or environmental change
• Have a track record of at least 3-5 years and have expanded to multiple locations/cities
• Can be tackling any social or environmental issue (e.g youth, housing, water, health care, employability, education, climate change, etc.) but work directly with low-income or vulnerable populations
• Are not (crowd)funders, intermediaries, incubators, or technical assistance providers
• Female candidates are strongly encouraged to apply

Benefits:

• Selected winners will be included in the Schwab Foundation network of social entrepreneurs.
• This includes access to a peer network of social entrepreneurs, special benefits such as pro-bono consulting services and scholarships to executive education courses at world-class institutions such as Harvard Business School, Stanford University and INSEAD.
• The winners will be invited to the regional meetings of the World Economic Forum which are relevant to their work.

They are highlighted as leading social entrepreneurs in a plenary session with heads of state and/or corporate leaders. Excellent finalists or winners under 40 will also be nominated to the Young Global Leaders network of the World Economic Forum.

Selection Criteria

• Transformative Social Change
• Organisational Sustainability
• Proven Social and/or Environmental Impact
• Reach and Scope
• Scalability
• The Candidate as Ambassador

Process

Step 1 – Those interested in being considered as candidates complete the application form. Information gathered in the selection process will remain confidential and submit additional information such as a Curriculum Vitae, a recent evaluation report of the organization, income statements, etc.

Step 2– The Schwab Foundation and local experts review the information forms submitted by Second Round Candidates. Those who qualify are invited to be semi-finalists. At this stage, further information is gathered through site visits to the candidate’s organization and/or interviews with the candidate and key informants. This due diligence step enables the selection of the finalists.

Step 3 – Finalists Selected

Step 4 – Selection Committee (Schwab Foundation Board Members) selects the winners

Step 5 – Winners are annouced

Application:

• Download and complete an application form.
• Complete application forms can be returned to: socialentrepreneurs@weforum.org
• Note that the global application is open to organizations headquartered in all countries, except in India, France, Brazil, and Chile,

For More Information:

Visit the Official Webpage of the Schwab Foundation Social Entrepreneur of the Year Award