William James Foundation 2009-10 Competition Full Plan Round

The William James Foundation (WJF) is a 501c3 public charity operating foundation based in Washington, DC USA. Founded in 2002, our primary assets include a seasoned management team, relationships with hundreds of reading judges, and an international network for securing serious entrants, reading judges, and prize sponsors.

Goals
The WJF seeks to expand the opportunity for individuals around the world to be of service to serve their community their community at the same time as they are earning a living. We admire volunteering, but recognize that it is a luxury. We accomplish our goals by finding, supporting, and connecting the entrepreneurs who exhibit the best new ideas using the power of for-profit business to make the world a better place for their employees, customers, and communities.

Services Provided
The primary work of the WJF involves managing multiple business plan competitions that share the same entry documents and deadlines. Individuals and teams submit business plans that must prove financial viability foremost, and then receive additional credit for integrating social and/or environmental sustainability into their business model.

We are not looking to reward the most “pure” social or environmental firms but rather the ones that have found ways to make sustainable practices part of a viable business. We have four requirements for competition entrants: a) they present a for-profit business plan; b) that they are still in start-up phase; c) They have a defined social and/or environmental goal; and d) that the plan be in English.