The Forbes Under 30 $1 Million Change the World Competition is the largest ever for young social entrepreneurs.
Six finalists, selected from the complete pool of competitors, will receive a cash award of $100,000 USD. They will then compete on-stage at the Forbes Under 30 Summit in Philadelphia on October 6, 2015 in front of 2,000 world-class mentors and the best young entrepreneurs and game-changers in the world, as culled from the Forbes 30 Under 30 lists.
The overall winner will receive at least $400,000 USD in additional cash and in-kind support, bringing their award total to at least $500,000 USD, and the overall award total to $1,000,000 USD.
The competition calls on social entrepreneurs with disruptive and scalable ideas with the potential to change the world. It is open to both nonprofit and for-profit enterprises. This is not a business plan competition – organizations or companies must already be in operation and the prize money should be utilized to accelerate the most promising ideas.
All submissions must be submitted on HeroX.com. Applications will be screened by the Wharton Social Impact Initiative of the University of Pennsylvania. The finalists will be announced in early September, before competing on the main stage at the Forbes Under 30 Summit on October 6.
These Challenge Guidelines are part of the Challenge Specific Agreement that governs the competition and to which you must agree before making a submission. To view the Challenge Specific Agreement, click on « Submit an Entry. »
Submission Requirements
The competition submission consists of under 30 questions that require you to complete short answers, upload documents, and create short videos. Click on “Submit Entry” to register for the competition and to view and to complete the submission form.
We encourage you to register for the competition as soon as possible and to make note of all submission requirements. We also suggest that you compile all components of the submission offline and then login to HeroX.com to upload and copy/paste your answers.
The submission deadline is August 26, 2015 at 11:59PM Eastern Time. No late entries will be accepted. Please plan ahead; to avoid any technical issues with your browser do not submit during the last few minutes.
Applicants who make the first cut-off will be asked for follow-up information; telephone interviews may be requested. Finalists will be notified by September 9 and must be able to travel to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania from October 5-6, 2015 for the Forbes Under 30 Summit. A full-pass to the Summit will be provided; finalists are responsible for their own travel expenses. International applicants need to be mindful of visa and other logistics issues.
The finalists will be notified by email on or around 12:00 noon ET on September 9, 2015. The challenge partners will make a maximum of three attempts to contact each finalist. If a finalist is unreachable during the 48-hour period in which challenge partners attempt to make contact, or if he or she does not comply with this SCA, an alternate finalist may be selected from other eligible Submissions.
Judging Criteria
True to the competition’s name, this challenge seeks innovative models that attack big problems with solutions that are scalable. The competition is looking for exceptional teams executing bold ideas with the potential to make a huge impact. Judges are looking for solutions in the areas of education, extreme poverty, sustainability, global health and any other number of other social problems.
Prizes
The challenge will award a total of $1,000,000 USD in cash and in-kind prizes. The awards and/or investments will come from the following Sponsoring Organizations: The Charles and Lynn Schusterman Family Foundation, the Case Foundation, the Pratt Foundation, the Keywell Foundation, the John Templeton Foundation and entrepreneur Bob Duggan, plus an in-kind advertising grant from Forbes.
- Six $100,000 USD prizes (or equivalent); and
One $400,000 USD prize (or equivalent) to the overall winner
- Finalists will be invited to participate in the Under 30 Impact Lab – an afternoon during which the attendees at the Under 30 Summit will work with challenge finalists to help them solve problems and accelerate their growth.
Nonprofit prizes:
Nonprofits will receive their cash award in the form of a grant or other charitable commitment (subject to the terms and conditions of the respective sponsoring organizations).
For-profit prizes:
For-profit companies will receive their cash award in the form of an investment, in the form of equity at the same valuation and on the same terms as their current or previous funding round, or if no funding round is underway, in the form of a convertible note. The investment will be completed no later than 60 days following the announcement of the winner.
In-kind prizes:
In-kind awards, as part of the grand prize, will be given to the company outright, without any equity consideration.
Challenge Schedule
| Date | Milestone |
| July 22, 2015 | Challenge opens |
| August 26, 2015 | Submissions deadline, 11:59PM Eastern Time |
| September 9, 2015 | Finalists announced |
| October 6, 2015 | Forbes Under 30 Summit and Winners Announced |
Applicants who make the first cut-off will be asked for follow-up information; telephone interviews may be requested. Finalists will be notified by September 9 and must be able to travel to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania from October 5-6, 2015 for the Forbes Under 30 Summit. A full-pass to the Summit will be provided; finalists are responsible for their own travel expenses. International applicants need to be mindful of visa and other logistics issues.
The finalists will be notified by email on or around 12:00 noon ET on September 9, 2015. The challenge partners will make a maximum of three attempts to contact each finalist. If a finalist is unreachable during the 48-hour period in which challenge partners attempt to make contact, or if he or she does not comply with this SCA, an alternate finalist may be selected from other eligible Submissions.
Eligibility
The challenge is open to:
- Active social entrepreneurs who were born after October 6, 1985, who are a founder, co-founder, or top executive of their organization.
- Applicants from anywhere in the world.
- Those who are already actively engaged in a social enterprise – this is not a business plan contest, but rather one that will reward and accelerate those entrepreneurs already making a difference.
- Both nonprofit and for-profit social entrepreneurs – finalists will come from both categories.
Rules
- All submissions must be completed on HeroX.com and are due on August 26, 2015 by 11:59PM Eastern Time. No late submissions will be accepted.
- Applicant must be a founder, co-founder, or top executive of his/her organization and must be under 30 years of age. Any applicants born on or before October 6, 1985, will be deemed ineligible.
- All submissions and any presentation at the Forbes Under 30 Summit must be made in English. Any submissions not submitted in English will be deemed ineligible.
- Finalists must be available to travel to Philadelphia, PA, USA on October 5-6, 2015 to participate in the Forbes Under 30 Summit.
- Any ideas submitted by the competitor remain the intellectual property of the competitor.
- Applications and application will be retained; information and data will be accessed only by competition partners and not sold or shared.
- Any applications will go through a process of due diligence; any application found to be misrepresentative, plagiarized, or sharing an idea that is not their own will be automatically disqualified.
- All ineligible applicants will be automatically removed from the competition with no recourse or reimbursement.
- No purchase or payment of any kind is necessary to enter or win the competition.
Void wherever restricted or prohibited by law.
What You Can Do To Get Involved
- To compete, login to your HeroX account and click Submit Entry above to register for the competition. You will be notified of any status updates and be able to create an entry to the competition. (If you do not already have a HeroX account, click Join Us at the top of the page.)
- Click on the Share button or social media icons above to share this competition with your friends, your family, or anyone you know who has a passion for social impact.
- Leave a comment in our Comments Thread to join the conversation, ask questions or connect with other innovators.
The deadline for submissions to the Forbes Under 30 $1 Million Change the World Competition isWednesday, August 26, 2015, at 11:59PM Eastern Time.