Business Ideas to Get Aid

Charities with plans for new profit-making ventures to support their missions are being invited to compete for one of four $100,000 prizes, plus a year’s worth of free consulting help. Four additional prizes of $25,000 each, plus six months of free consulting, will also be awarded.

A newly formed entity called the Yale School of Management–The Goldman Sachs Foundation Partnership on Nonprofit Ventures will run the year-long competition. The Pew Charitable Trusts has made a grant of $3-million, to accompany the $1.5-million given by the Goldman Sachs Foundation, to sponsor the awards.

The partnership seeks to educate nonprofit groups by providing a clearinghouse of information on its Web site about nonprofit business enterprises. The partnership also plans to give extensive feedback to every group that participates.

In advance of the competition, the partnership conducted an online survey about nonprofit business enterprises. Of those groups surveyed, arts organizations were the most likely to run for-profit enterprises, while religious and education groups were the least likely.

Complete results from the survey and more information about the competition are available on the partnership’s Web site http://ventures.yale.edu, or by calling (201) 894-8950.