2027 SDSU Social Venture Challenge

The SDSU Social Venture Challenge is an annual pitch competition hosted at San Diego State University.

The 2027 competition will focus on the theme: Nourish the Future: Innovative Solutions for Healthy Communities. Students will be challenged to identify a significant problem impacting healthy communities and develop an innovative solution that results in a social venture.

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A social venture is a business or organization that puts social good first. While it can still make money, its main goal is to help solve a real-world problem and create a positive impact. Any profit it earns is usually used to keep the work going and make the solution more sustainable.

Social ventures can be for-profit, nonprofit, or a mix of both. They often focus on issues like poverty, inequality, education, the environment, and economic opportunity. For SDSU’s Social Venture Challenge, the focus is on ideas that address food security and its impact on our region and beyond.

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• Current, degree seeking SDSU undergraduate and graduate students
• Southern California colleges and universities (current, degree seeking undergraduate and graduate students) by invitation
• Teams may not compete in the 2027 SDSU Social Venture Challenge with the same idea if they previously won a cash prize in a past SDSU Social Venture Challenge.

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• Enrollment: All team members must be degree seeking undergraduate or graduate students enrolled during both Fall 2026 and Spring 2027 semesters.
• Team Size: Teams must consist of 2-4 members that meet enrollment requirements.
• Live Pitch Participation: At least 1 member of the team must be available to participate in the live competition held at SDSU.
• Stage of Venture: The competition is designed for early stage ideas. Ventures that have generated more than $10k in revenue and/ or $50k in funding/ grants are not eligible.
• Open to All Majors: Students from all academic disciplines are encouraged to apply!
• Repeat Participation: Teams may not compete in the 2027 SDSU Social Venture Challenge with the same idea if they previously won a cash prize in a past SDSU Social Venture Challenge. Nor can they pitch the same idea that has been pitched.
• Commitment Requirement: Teams are required to participate in all programming sessions (including check-ins and workshops) as well as the Finalist Summit, in addition to the final competition (see schedule below).

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Online Resources:

• United States Department of Agriculture
• World Health Organization
• Economic Research Service
• United Nations Sustainable Development Goals
• North Carolina Local Food Council
• United Nations
• Example Solution- One Restaurant Has a Way to Fight Food Waste: Making Food Out of 'Trash'

ZIP Launchpad Resources:

• Don't Fall in Love With Your Solution, Fall in Love With Your Problem
• Asking for What You Need
• Intention- Creating Awareness
• Q&A With Food Security Startup Founder
• Guest Lecture With Kristian Krugman (Co-Founder of Soul Much) and Jonathan Zaidman (VP of Community at the Ecology Center)
• Soul Much
• Ecology Center
• Guest Lecture With Iana Castra (Co-Founder of BrightSide Produce)
• BrightSide Produce

Case Study: Food Finder

• Food Finder Description
• Food Finder FAQs
• Food Finder Theory of Change / Impact Summary
• Food Finder Demo

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A total of $35,000 in cash prizes will be awarded to the 2027 SDSU Social Venture Challenge winning teams.

Prize money for students from invited institutions will be processed through SDSU and distributed by each student’s home campus. All prize funds must be split evenly among team members.

Participating campuses should be prepared to collaborate with SDSU for proper disbursement.

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Enrollment: All team members must be degree seeking undergraduate or graduate students enrolled during both Fall 2026 and Spring 2027 semesters.

Team Size: Teams must consist of 2-4 members that meet enrollment requirements.

Live Pitch Participation: At least 1 member of the team must be available to participate in the live competition held at SDSU.

Stage of Venture: The competition is designed for early stage ideas. Ventures that have generated more than $10k in revenue and/ or $50k in funding/ grants are not eligible.

Open to All Majors: Students from all academic disciplines are encouraged to apply!

Repeat Participation: Teams may not compete in the 2027 SDSU Social Venture Challenge with the same idea if they previously won a cash prize in a past SDSU Social Venture Challenge. Nor can they pitch the same idea that has been pitched.

Commitment Requirement: Teams are required to participate in all programming sessions (including check-ins and workshops) as well as the Finalist Summit, in addition to the final competition (see schedule below).

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The participating college/ university’s representative will submit a Google Form with the nominated teams’ names and contact information. It is up to the college/ university to determine how their teams are selected.

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Teams will have the opportunity to compete for $35,000 in cash prizes.

Prize money for students from invited institutions will be processed through SDSU and distributed by each student’s home campus. All prize funds must be split evenly among team members.

Participating campuses should be prepared to collaborate with SDSU for proper disbursement.

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