School for Social Entrepreneurs – Dublin

Do you have an idea for a project or business which will benefit your community?

The School for Social Entrepreneurs is running an Incubator Programme in Dublin, beginning April 2014. The Programme will run over six months between April and November. This programme offers a unique combinaion of personal and professional support for 25 entrepreneurial individuals with an idea for a start-up social or environmental venture.

Who is eligible?

To apply you must:

• Have an idea for a project or business with a social or environmental benefit
• Demonstrate passion, drive and commitment to the idea/project as well as personal integrity
• Have ownership of the idea/project and autonomy for decision-making
• Be available to commit to full duration of programme (a total of 17 contact days over six months, 2 to 3 days per month) and attend all Study Sessions
• Be available for the Programme Induction : April 4^th & 5^th, 2014
• Commit at least 2-3 days per week (outside the Study Sessions) to working on your project

Programme participators will attend seven, two-day Study Sessions and five half-day Action Learning Sets. It is centred entirely around you, your project and your fellow social entrepreneurs.

It offers:

• A student-led, action-oriented learning environment, relevant to growing your venture
• Practical sessions with experienced social entrepreneurs & business people working on areas such as marketing, fundraising, business skills and planning, legal structures and communications as well as work-life balance
• A network of fellow social entrepreneurs, from across Ireland who are at a similar stage, to share ideas, provide encouragement and connections
• The opportunity to be mentored by experienced social entrepreneurs and business people
• Networking events, tools and resources, as well as visits to social enterprises
• The opportunity to join a worldwide network of 1,500 Fellows

It includes:

• Learning how to set up and secure funding for your social enterprise or organisation
• How to develop your products and services
• How to improve your work methods and communications.

The focus is on your learning as the leader of your social enterprise and  ‘learning by doing’ as you develop your idea or project over the duration of the programme.

Aim of the Programme

The aim of the project is to provide social entrepreneurs, currently developing an idea or project for how to improve things in their community and they’re ready to take it to the next level.

You will benefit from this programme if your idea excites those you have already spoken to about it and has lots of potential. You will have also taken some steps towards putting it into action and have done some initial exploring, researching, testing or piloting, even in an informal way to try it out.

You are open to exploring how to raise >25% of your project’s future revenue from business activities.

As social entrepreneur you have the drive, enthusiasm, and curiosity to make it happen.

Where is it?

The programme is held in the centrally located Fumbally Exchange, beside Temple Bar, in the heart of Dublin city. We will also be visiting Social Enterprises in the Dublin area.

What are the costs?

The full cost of the programme is €8,000, however thanks to the generosity of the JPMorganChase Foundation and The Atlantic Philanthropies we are able to offer the programme at a highly subsidised rate as follows:

Employed €450        Unemployed €150

Payments can be staged over the programme duration and we work to ensure that financial constraints do not stop a successful applicant from participating on the programme.

We ask that applicants from established organisations pay the full cost. Limited organisational bursaries are available as well as significant discounts for non-profits and public bodies.

Students are required to cover the cost of their own travel, food and accommodation.

For more details, click here to take a look at the website and download the brochure here.