Vancity is sponsoring a competition to help post-secondary and recent post-secondary graduates grow for-profit businesses that have a positive social or environmental impact.

Applicants must submit an 8 page business plan that includes a description of the positive environmental or social impact of the business. Vancity personele will judge the plans based on their merits and up to 10 applicants may be selected to move on to the next phase of the competition. All qualified applicants will get feedback on their business plans, regardless of their ranking by the judges.

The application deadline for submitting a business plan is 12:00 p.m., Friday, March 16, 2012. Finalists will be announced on Monday, March 26, 2012.

Finalists will be invited to pitch their businesses to the contest’s judges. The pitches will take place on Wednesday April 4, 2012.

Winners will be announced on April 25, 2012 at an award ceremony in Vancouver. The prizes are:

• 1 first prize of $50,000
• 1 second prize of $25,000
• 1 third prize of $15,000

This contest is a good opportunity for student entrepreneurs to gain recognition for their companies. The full terms and conditions can be found on the Vancity website.