For Entrepreneurs

At SvF we live entrepreneurship and market based solutions to social problems. Our mission is to provide you the necessary resources so you can develop your business and deliver the desired impact both to your community and the world. While we provide capital to help your business grow, our greatest contribution comes from our ability to leverage the assets of the top universities in the world.

Housed within the Zell Lurie Institute for Entrepreneurial Studies at the Ross School of Business, SvF directly connects you with with one of the top rated MBA programs both for entrepreneurship and for social and environmental impact. As part of the larger University of Michigan community, SvF is uniquely positioned to collaborate with some of the country’s best graduate schools and has developed working partnerships with the following programs: engineering, public health, natural resources & environment, education and law. By working with SvF you gain access to these resources as well as to the largest living alumni base with over 425,000 members that include entrepreneurs, gate-keepers, investors and policy makers around the world.

Capacity Building

Our mission at SvF is not only to provide you with the capital to scale your enterprise, but also to provide you with technical assistance so they can achieve your desired impact. By tapping into the business acumen of fund members as well as the wider University of Michigan community, we can help you further develop your business models, organizational strength, and skill sets to either prepare you for investment and/or to ensure your success post-investment.

We are currently working with entrepreneurs at Hub Ventures in the Bay Area to further develop their businesses. Capacity building projects can take the form of semester consulting projects or summertime internships. If you feel that that could benefit from our capacity building program, please contact us at: [email protected].

To Submit Business Plans

If you are running a social enterprise that meets the following criteria, we encourage you to submit an executive summary and business plan to by Friday, October 26st. Download a pdf about the call.

All entrants will receive constructive written feedback within one month of the close date. If you have any questions please send an email to the address above. We look forward to seeing your innovative ideas!

Our Investment Criteria

Social Enterprise: The Social Venture Fund focuses exclusively on for-profit social enterprises, existing independently or within the legal structure of a pre-existing organization (LC3, 501c3, LLC, etc.)

Change Agent Entrepreneurs: We invest in inspiring leaders, both students and non-students, capable of assembling a world-class management team that shares their passion and commitment to the enterprise’s sustained social impact.

Alignment with Investment Areas: We invest in enterprise generating a profit and responding to critical challenges within Education, Food Systems & Environmental, Health, and Urban Revitalization.

Investment Amounts and Stage: We invest $50,000 – $250,000 in pre-revenue and post-revenue companies.

Location: We focus on businesses based in the US. The Urban Revitalization circle is particularly interested in plans for the Southeast Michigan/Detroit area.