Group To Sponsor Socially Oriented Start-Up Companies

There's money out there for the taking, but only to those who are willing to give.

The Social Enterprise Club (SEC) has announced a new program that will offer money, advice and aministrative assistance to student start-up companies on campus. But to qualify, start-ups must be directed toward a social goal, not simply making money.

"[Enterprises] can either be for profit or non-profit, but they must have a social mission as their primary goal," said Program Director David M. Rosenblatt '02. "The creation of wealth for them must be a means to an end."

The program--nicknamed "incubator"--is being funded by a donor who has requested anonymity, Rosenblatt wrote in an e-mail. Rosenblatt said the size of the gift funding the program will depend on the needs of the projects that apply.

In early December, applicants will submit preliminary business plans, which will be judged by a panel of social entrepreneurs and SEC staffers.

"We expect to choose 2-3 projects this year," Rosenblatt wrote.

Money will be allotted to each of the winning plans according to their individual need.

"We have avoided setting a dollar amount in order to keep the focus on ideas, rather than a cash prize," he wrote.

Beginning in November, the program will also offer business workshops taught by experts in the field of social enterprise.

Rosenblatt said that the idea for the program grew out of the speaker series the club sponsored last year.

"Our speakers were literally mobbed with students asking for advice about how to start their own social

enterprises. We realized that we needed to give students an opportunity to

implement their visions," he wrote.

Rosenblatt and Club President Mekhala Krishnamurthy '02 then worked with Judith H. Kidd, assistant dean for public service, to build the program.

Kidd secured funding for the program through the anonymous donor, according to Rosenblatt.

According to Rosenblatt, SEC currently offers the only program on campus specifically targeting social enterprise.

Other programs, sponsored by the Harvard Student Agencies' Center for Enterprise and the Harvard Business School, offer aid to student entrepreneurs but without the prerequisite that they fulfill a social purpose, he wrote.

"Everyone we've spoken to about the program is very excited and

recognizes this as a unique opportunity," he wrote.

The incubator program will hold an information session at 8 p.m. next Tuesday in the Adams House Upper Common Room.