It’s time to put your innovations caps on and get those creative juices flowing.  It’s business competition season.  If you’re looking to get your funded, we’ve listed three different business competitions you can enter within the next month. Feel free to list other competitions as well in the comments section.  Good luck to everyone entering!

1.  504ward.com

FIRST ROUND APPLICATIONS ARE DUE AT 5:04PM CST ON THURSDAY, DECEMBER 4, 2008.

The Idea Village is launching 504ward’s $100,000 Business Competition for entrepreneurs with business ideas that retain and engage the 23 – 35 year old demographic in New Orleans.  Please visit our youtube page to get your creative juices flowing!

Apply here

2.  Echoing Green

APPLICATIONS ARE DUE ON DECEMBER 1, 2008.

Each year, Echoing Green awards 20 two-year fellowships to social entrepreneurs. Fellows receive up to $90,000 in seed funding and technical support to turn their innovative ideas into sustainable social change organizations.

This is not a scholarship program. Our Fellows do not develop their ideas in an academic setting. Our Fellows work in the community. They launch, manage and grow organizations that implement and continually expand their ideas for creating lasting social change.

Individual Fellowships: $30,000 per year for two years for a total of $60,000 paid in four equal installments of $15,000. Partnership Fellowships: $45,000 per year (per project, not per individual) for two years for a total of $90,000 paid in four equal installments of $22,500.

Fellowship stipends are paid twice a year. In addition to the two-year stipend, Echoing Green also offers a monthly stipend for health insurance. Echoing Green provides our fellows a range of support through a variety of media including the Internet, conferences, site visits and phone contact.

We offer guidance in strategic and financial planning, staff and board development, fundraising, legal and accounting practices and many other aspects of starting and building a non-profit organization. During the two year Fellowship period, Echoing Green will host three Fellowship conferences. At the conference we also offer educational workshops and access to Echoing Green Fellows, program alumni and other experts in the field.

The fellows develop ambitious and measurable first year objectives. Throughout their fellowship, they provide regular reports to the foundation and track their progress against their objectives, refining their objectives as appropriate.

Apply here

3.  NYU Stern 5th Annual Social Venture Competition

APPLICATIONS ARE DUE OCTOBER 27

The NYU Stern Social Venture Competition was started to recognize and support the growing number of students and alumni interested in using their business and entrepreneurial skills to create innovative approaches to tackling social problems, here and abroad.

Winners of the Social Venture Competition receive the $100,000 Satter Family Prize named after Stern alumnus Stewart Satter, a successful entrepreneur whose donations support the program.

Apply here