WASHINGTON DC, Nov. 11 /CSRwire/ - WJF director Ian Fisk notes "The next great ideas that will use the power of business to make the world a better place are already out there. Our partners are working with us to offer more than $100,000 in cash and in-kind expertise to help sustainable entrepreneurs turn their passion from plans to action."

The WJF, a long-time leader in expertise philanthropy, brings together more than 300 high-level experts, including Wall Street executives, CEOs, senior social entrepreneurs, and academic and field experts from around the world to provide detailed feedback on the business plans that are submitted into the competitions.

The WJF provides its partners with the opportunity to find and support new for-profit businesses that have a defined social and/or environmental goal. In addition to our own Social Responsibility prizes, the WJF has partnered with seven complimentary organizations to give entrepreneurs one easy place to find feedback, mentorship, and financial and in-kind support.

Interested entrepreneurs need only submit one executive summary and they will be considered for all of the prize areas for which they qualify. The next entry deadline is December 4th, 2009. Full application information is available at http://www.williamjamesfoundation.org/criteria. Prize Categories include:

The Social Responsibility Prizes are sponsored by the William James Foundation. Details at http://www.williamjamesfoundation.org/social. The Richard Heinberg Sustainability Prizes for businesses that actively measure reduction in their carbon footprint are sponsored by the Foundation for a Sustainable Future. Details at www.williamjamesfoundation.org/sustainability.The Community Economic Development Prizes for businesses that seek to provide long-term, stable employment and housing in distressed communities are sponsored by Wall Street Without Walls. Details at www.williamjamesfoundation.org/wsww.The Sustainability as a Profit Driver Prize for businesses that show the innovative and viable approaches to using the tools of sustainability for financial profit is sponsored by Strategic Sustainability Consulting. Details at www.williamjamesfoundation.org/profitprize.The Social Media Prize for entrants who demonstrate innovative and effective use of social media to support their business goals is sponsored by VisCap. Details at www.williamjamesfoundation.org/socialmedia.The Africa Prize for entrants based on the continent of Africa is sponsored by the Salesforce.com foundation. Details at www.williamjamesfoundation.org/africa.The Washington, DC Prizes for firms based in the greater Washington, DC area are sponsored by the Affinity Lab and Think Local First-DC. Details at www.williamjamesfoundation.org/dcprize.The Bethesda Green Prizes for entrants who are based in Montgomery County, Maryland, are sponsored by Bethesda Green. Details at www.williamjamesfoundation.org/bethesdagreen.

Past award-winning entrants include Sproxil (A west African firm providing world-class counterfeit protection for pharmaceuticals), PowerMundo (A Peruvian-based company creating distribution networks for clean technology products and support new local economic development in emerging markets.), and Atayne (A US company making high performing outdoor and athletic gear with a sustainable point of view)

Entrants can be of any age and from anywhere in the world. Full entry details are at www.williamjamesfoundation.org/criteria. The prizes include cash, software, legal and accounting services, and technical and communications consulting. Competition prize winners choose the prize most valuable to them in order of finish.

Mike Callahan, whose company, PowerMundo entered more than 30 similar competitions last year, wrote "[The WJF] competition successfully defined the rules of the funding opportunity, matched qualified judges with the appropriate business plan, and provided constructive feedback. [They] set a good example for other social business plan competitions to follow."

Experienced executives who have successfully walked the path of financial viability with a social mission and who are interested in help the next generation do so are encouraged to learn more about our judging process at: http://www.williamjamesfoundation.org/judges or by contacting us at judges@williamjamesfoundation.org. Mark Albion, a co-founder of Net Impact and a frequent judge for socially responsible business plan competitions, says that “[The WJF’s] process and scorecard are truly first rate, better than other competitions I am involved with."

Organizations and individuals with the desire and ability to provide resources and investments to the next great ideas should contact our executive director, Ian Fisk, at ian.fisk@williamjamesfoundation.org.