Support is on the rise for young, local, social entrepreneurs with fresh ideas and innovative projects. More than $3000 was raised in support of Sydney-based social entrepreneurs in a crowd-funding campaign. Dozens of Sydney-siders eager to help change-makers chipped in to make three scholarships available to social start up projects in the areas of sustainability, education and mental health.
There’s no shortage of bright, young minds on Sydney’s entrepreneurial scene; the limitations come in the form of financial costs and resources. The Support Young Social Entrepreneurs program was born from the need to provide ways to facilitate projects and move them from conception to reality.
Scholarship recipients will each receive 24-hour access to a co-working space close to Sydney’s CBD, a mentor to meet regularly to share advice, skills and networks, and at least three workshops that will provide valuable knowledge in areas such as business planning, marketing, fundraising and idea generation. Marketing, multimedia and promotional support will also be given to each project.
The outpouring of donations shows the growing support for social entrepreneurship from a range of sectors. “Young people who want to create social change need access to the right people and resources to get their projects off the ground,” said Chief Operations Officer of Vibewire, Omar Samad.
“Vibewire wants to give three social start-ups the space, resources and mentoring they need in order to have the best chance of success. Vibewire wants to find people with great ideas and support them to make those ideas happen with no cost restrictions.”
Vibewire is a not-for-profit organisation aimed at including youth in conversations that matter. To apply for the scholarship, simply visit the Vibewire website at http://vibewire.org/need-help-creating-social-change/.