The 2016 Great Social Enterprise Pitch Participants Have Been Selected!

Ten social enterprise idea teams will move forward as part of the 2016 Great Social Enterprise Pitch, Lancaster’s social enterprise idea incubator and friendly business plan competition, hosted by ASSETS and the Lancaster County Community Foundation. Business concepts include wellness training, a mobile farm stand, ethically-made fashion, and more!

The ten teams were selected by organizers from a pool of 32 applicants to participate in the free Idea Incubators involving a robust three-month learning program designed to develop the proposed social enterprise ideas. Applicant ideas were evaluated based on the clarify of problem the enterprise addresses, the enterprise’s proposed impact on that problem, the demand for the proposed products or services, the potential for profitability, and the leadership of the enterprise and its capacity to scale to address the problem. Preference was given to ideas that develop or support thriving wage jobs for people with barriers to employment.

Check out the 2016 Ideas:

Lush Bazaar
Sourcing fashion that inspires and empowers underprivileged women to have jobs in a stable environment.

The Farm Stand
Developing a mobile farm stand for healthy, affordable produce.

Ebenezer Wholistic Foods
Creating Lancaster’s very own raw vegan food company that inspires people to eat healthier and live better.

Bench Mark B-Fit
Empowering and training opportunity youth to become personal trainers in corporate settings.

SoberBars
Promoting sobriety in the community through entertainment.

WIN Workplace Solutions
Providing a temporary, portable space to employers for their female employees who need to express breastmilk in the workplace.

BootCamp900
Developing a fitness and wellness center focusing on improving the health of low income communities while providing high quality employment opportunities.

Sophie Stargazer Boutique
Ethically-made fashion & gifts for the stylish woman.

Whitaker Family Child Care
Supplying healthy, local food for early childcare facilities.

BirdOrganics
Creating ethically-produced, natural, hygienic products.

The 10 teams will attend a three-month series of learning sessions led by ASSETS focused on feasibility and business planning. In August, they will each launch a crowdfunding campaign to generate awareness and dollars in support of their concept. Five concepts from the Idea Incubators will then be invited to pitch their ideas, Shark-Tank style, for up to $50,000 in cash prizes and pro-bono services at the LIVE Pitch.

We’re so excited to see these ideas grow, evolve, and blossom! Keep checking back for more information as we progress through the 2016 Great Social Enterprise Pitch!

After 5 months of preparation, The Great Social Enterprise Pitch 2015 participants are finally ready to take their ideas to the public.  That’s right, crowdfunding is officially underway. Now, it’s time for the public to play their part.

Voting with your dollars for your favorite local social enterprise idea means you help decide which ideas move on to the final, crowning jewel of the Great Social Enterprise Pitch, the Live Pitch. While just 5 of the 8 ideas in the competition will move on to the Live Pitch, all of the participants can benefit from the community support that comes with crowdfunding. Keep in mind, an idea doesn’t have to make it to the Pitch to come to life as a social enterprise in Lancaster.

Through clicking this link, you can learn more about the social enterprises we’ve been working with for 5 months. Meet the minds behind the impact-driven business madness through their videos and written content, and if one (or two, or three…) of the pitches speaks to you, share and support it! You’ll also earn some exciting perks for your efforts!