Sponsoring Agency: FINNOVATION Lab
Type of Fund: Fellowship
Deadline Available: Available
Deadline Date (mm/dd/yyyy): 05/15/2021
Size of the Fund: Less than USD $50,000
The FINNOVATION Fellowship prepares changemakers to lead and launch sustainable social enterprises.
The FINNOVATION Fellowship program develops leadership capacity and builds social entrepreneurial skills in early-stage founders. Supported by the Bush Foundation, the goal of this program is to empower social enterprise leaders in Minnesota and beyond through an immersive nine-month program.
Benefits
Fellows Receive:
• $50,000 living stipend
• $3,000 health care stipend
• Curriculum designed to help develop leadership skills in a successful social enterprise
• Access to an entrepreneurial community of advisors and mentors with relevant expertise
• Dedicated workspace at FINN Lab
• FINN Lab virtual membership access ($35/mo value)
• The support, growth, critical feedback, and fun that comes from working as part of a cohort!
The lab is looking for fellows who are:
• Passionate about making a big social or environmental impact
• Knowledgeable in the problem they are addressing
• Eager to develop innovative business models to solve problems in new ways
• Committed to participating in the program full-time
• Open to learning, experimenting, and growing to be a better leader
Should You Apply? Yes!
IF YOU:
• Are passionate about solving and have a deep understanding of a particular social or environmental problem.
• FINN fellows should be willing to fail in order to learn and are resilient enough to try again.
IF YOUR IDEA:
• Is innovative, has a revenue-generating component, and solves a real need.
• Great ideas that haven’t yet been transformed into operating entities drive successful FINN fellows!
IF YOUR IMPACT:
• Makes a difference in Minnesota and potentially beyond.
• All areas of impact are welcome including education, health, environment, hunger, poverty-alleviation, or any other field that cries out for a “force for good.”
Eligibility Criteria
To be eligible to apply you must:
• Be authorized to work in the United States
• Be at least 18 years of age
• Either currently live in or be willing to move to the Twin Cities Metro Area in Minnesota, and have an idea that will impact individuals or a community in MN
• Be dedicated to solving a social or environmental issue through entrepreneurship
• Not be a Bush Fellow during the FINN Fellowship program term (Sept. 2021 – June 2022)
• Not be related to any members of the Bush Foundation’s staff or board of directors
• You or your spouse cannot be a government official (click for more details) during the program term
• Be able to participate in the program 35 hrs/week from September – June and work out of the FINNOVATION Lab space in Minneapolis, MN
• If your social enterprise is already operating, you are not eligible to apply if:
o you or someone else has been working on it full-time for over one year
o you are not the primary decision-maker for the enterprise
o you do not own all the IP, trademarks, or copyrights related to the social enterprise should they exist.
More information at: https://www.finn-lab.com/fellowship
