Dreaming is fun and fluffy and often leads nowhere.
The world is full of dreamers. Doers? People who actually execute and change the world? They’re rare. But it doesn’t have to be that way. I think our generation can change the world.
That’s a big part of the reason I wrote my book Quitter and was excited to partner with Praxis, a new non-profit organization set up to help social entrepreneurs build high-impact organizations.
Who is a social entrepreneur?
People like me and people like you.
My favorite part of Praxis is that it’s mentor-driven. A lot of people don’t know this, but when Stuff Christians Like and my hope of actually changing the world with it started to grow, I sought out mentors like crazy. One of the people I would regularly have dinner with is Brad Lomenick, the Executive Director of Catalyst. I’d email him questions before dinner and then he’d generously share wisdom and ideas with me. That’s a big part of what Praxis helps make possible. It is a mentor-driven accelerator program for social entrepreneurs and innovators compelled by their faith to advance the common good.
Praxis provides:
- Cash awards totaling $100,000. At the culmination of the program at the Q 2012 event in Washington, D.C., Praxis will award prizes of $50,000, $30,000, and $20,000 to each of the top three organizations.
- A year-long mentoring program for twelve early-stage organizations. More than just encouragement, the mentor program includes action-oriented education and planning, peer networking, and access to capital sources.
- Three unique opportunities to gather and learn in New York, Los Angeles, and Washington, D.C. Over twenty mentors will get together to share key organizational development advice with “fellows” (people like you who are being mentored).
A complete list of what you receive when you become a fellow is right here.
In addition to people like my friend Brad Lomenick, who else is a Praxis mentor?
People like:
- Gabe Lyons, founder of Q and founding partner of Praxis
- Jamie Tworkowski, founder of To Write Love On Her Arms
- Jason Russell, founder of Invisible Children
- Chris Crane, former CEO of Opportunity International and founder of Edify
- Jena Nardella, founder and executive director of Blood:Water Mission
- Charles Lee, founder and CEO of Ideation
- Peter Greer, president and CEO of HOPE International
And those are just a few of the mentors. Here’s the complete list.
Praxis was founded and led by Dave Blanchard, a serial entrepreneur and former Principal Designer at IDEO. (If you’ve spent any time in the design world, this is the part of the post you geek out on. IDEO? Unbelievable.)
I would have killed to have a program like this years ago when I decided to take my ideas from “what if?” to “what is!” And that’s why I was so excited Praxis decided to sponsor SCL and reach out to SCL readers.
If you want help changing the world with your organization, check out the Praxis Accelerator Program.
They will be accepting applications from now until July 15, 2011. That’s the one thing I don’t want you to miss. You’ve only got until July 15 to apply.
You can also follow them on Twitter, connect with them on Facebook or learn more by visiting the Praxis website.
Question:
What’s an idea or dream to change the world that you’d love some help to turn into a reality?
