Make Your Mark Blog

As we turn the corner of a new era, we need new people to help us continue with our enterprise message - As the new HR manager I am excited to have some great opportunities available to continue the enterprise message through our people. We are looking for people ready for new challenges and passionate about what we do - whether you are a self confessed enterprise junkie or want to embark on an amazing new journey you might just be in with a chance - so who’s in?

Vanessa

Enterprise Junkie - and - Make Your Mark HR Manager

The Social Enterprise Coalition (SEC) have just launched the annual Enterprising Solutions Award for the most immaginative, entreprenuerial and sustainable businesses that are passionate about social change - that’s social enterprise to you and me!

This year for the first time as well there is a Social Enterprise in Schools award with £1,000 up for grabs, exclusive mentoring from last year’s winner, Divine Chocolate and hopefully a big bag of lovely chocs!

Visit http://www.enterprisingsolutions.org for more information.

Phil

Make Your Mark Ambassador Adrienne Taylor is nominated as Best Newcomer for the Daily Post & Echo Women in Business Awards. Adrienne’s company www.goodfoodstore.co.uk was set up last year and sources local produce from across the North West striving to be ethically and environmentally friendly.

Please vote for Adrienne at the link below

http://www.liverpooldailypost.co.uk/liverpool-life-features/women-of-the-year-08/2008/05/15/daily-post-women-of-the-year-cast-your-vote-64375-20914566/

Women entrepreneurs are more likely than men to use their wealth in charitable ways, according to the author of The Sunday Times Rich List 2008.

“Women are much more likely to see their wealth as something they can do good with than to go out and buy toys - boats, fast cars, jets and so on,” Philip Beresford told Third Sector.

Twelve women are mentioned, eight as part of a couple, in this year’s 100-strong Sunday Times Giving List, an offshoot of the Rich List. According to Beresford, the trend for female entrepreneurs to give is set to continue.

“Charities need to target women entrepreneurs because they’re beginning to make their mark,” said Beresford. “The balance in business is tilting in favour of women.”

Beresford also pointed out that women entrepreneurs could be harder for charities to target. “They tend to be more low-key and they don’t want to talk about what they do as much,” he said.

You can find the full article here: http://blog.makeyourmark.org.uk/wp-admin/post.php

Phil Hope gave a rousing speech at the launch event of the UK Catalyst Awards - the community awards for social technology yesterday at NESTA.

Present were a range of aspiring winners, sponsors, partners, media, interested parties and not least the ‘Talkaoke’ - a doughnut shaped table where people come to have a facilitated debate and discussion.

The minister was especially keen to see a fusion between ‘techies’ in the social media sphere, social entrepreneurs and social activists. Watch this space…

www.ukcatalystawards.com

If you would like to go to a Reception at Buckingham Palace, can you think of someone you could nominate for The Queen’s Award for Enterprise Promotion 2009?

The nominators of the successful candidates also get a Royal invitation so it is will worth making a nomination.

Each year there are up to 10 Awards plus a Lifetime Achievement Award, if there is a suitable candidate.

Previous recipients include Jane Delfino, Innovations Director at the United Learning Trust within the Manchester Academy who is a Board Member of Enterprise Insight.

For further details and a nomination form go to www.queensawards.org.uk/individual

startups.co.uk have published their list of the top 100 UK start-ups. It is great to see some familiar faces in there, and lots of young entrepreneurs in the mix. My personal faves have to be Onya (their shopping bag is always on me) and moo.com. Check em out and please let us know your favourite.

http://www.startups.co.uk/6678842910082155685/startups-100.html

NESTA has unveiled the 100 groups who’ve made it through to the next stage of the Big Green Challenge, the £1 million prize fund that challenges people from across the UK to work together to demonstrate new ways to reduce CO2 emissions within their communities. You can find details of all 100 groups here: www.biggreenchallenge.org.uk/big-green-challengers/

The big green ideas on the shortlist include a ‘Carbon Watchers’ club to monitor CO2 emissions in Yorkshire; a Sussex prison’s bio-fuels production scheme; the creation of a volunteer workforce in the West Midlands to help local people take energy-efficient measures in their homes; and a virtual farmer’s market in Bristol.

The shortlisted groups have from now until the beginning of June to complete more detailed plans about how their ideas will work, receiving access to a range of experts to help them. Ten finalists will be selected in July, each of whom will receive up to £20,000 plus advice and support to get their green projects up and running over a year. The groups with the most imaginative and successful approach to cutting carbon emissions at the end of the competition will win a share of the £1 million prize.

The Big Green Challenge website also has some useful links to organisations and resources that can help people to take action on climate change: http://www.biggreenchallenge.org.uk/links/

The BBC is currently searching for Britain’s best entrepreneurs for the next series of Dragons’ Den and will be auditioning throughout the coming months. They want to hear from anyone who is genuinely seeking investment for their business idea or invention and thinks they’ve got what it takes to enter the Dragons’ Den.

If you would like an application form send an e-mail to dragonsden@bbc.co.uk, telephone 0871 200 3003 (Calls cost 10p per minute from a BT Landline, other operators and mobiles may be higher) or visit www.bbc.co.uk/dragonsden

What’s more, as it is St George’s Day today what better day is there to take on a Dragon?!

Make Your Mark has teamed up with the Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform, NESTA and a number of other organisations to bring you The UK Catalyst Awards: Community Awards for Social Change.

These new awards are looking for people who help their community by using social technology in new and exciting ways.

Anyone in the UK can enter and winners will get the chance to promote their idea and see it adopted by others, be invited to pitch their idea to judges, compare notes with fellow finalists, and meet other interesting people, like the folk from Unltd - the charity that helps social entrepreneurs. They will also be invited to an award ceremony where their work could be recognised as the best in the country.

If you have had a great idea using social technology that has made a difference to your community then The UK Catalyst Awards want to hear from you!

Visit www.ukcatalystawards.com to find out more and enter.

The Sheila McKechnie Foundation is offering three awards for young people:

Shout Out! sponsored by the City Bridge Trust
This award is aimed at 15-18 year olds living in London encouraging them to get involved in community action by developing their campaigning skills. Young people will be considered if they are at the campaign vision stage – meaning they have had an idea but not started taking action.  It’s even better if they have started their campaign, but we will consider young people at both stages.
Five awards will be granted to individuals or groups (of up to five people).Each award winner or winning group will receive:
*       a campaign skills workshop
*       a campaigning resource pack
*       a coach who will advise them on how to plan their campaign
*       advice sessions
*       £100 bursary to further their campaign.

Young Activist sponsored by the YMCA and Foyer Federation
This award supports young campaigners, both individual and in groups, aged 16-24 living anywhere in the UK, who are campaigning on community issues to which they are personally connected. We want to encourage applications from those who have limited experience of campaigning but who have the drive and passion to change something in their community.

*       Each award winner and winning group will receive a package of support including:
*       a comprehensive assessment of their campaign objectives
*       advice from a senior campaigner about how to take forward their campaign
*       the chance to work through shared challenges with other campaigners
*       mentoring sessions reviewing the progress of their campaign.

Global Action in Memory of Guy Hughes Award is for students aged 18-24, who are working on International campaigns around global justice, challenging the root causes of poverty, international conflict, environmental destruction or human rights abuses. This award was established in 2007 in memory of Guy Hughes who was an inspirational campaigner, former Head of Campaigns at People and Planet and founder of Crisis Action.  The support programme for this award is similar to what the people receive in the Young Activist award.

To apply for this award and to read about last year’s award winners, please check out our website www.sheilamckechnie.org.uk . 

YOU have the chance to help a social enterprise get started by voting in the Make Your Mark in 60 Seconds final. The four ideas below have been selected out of over 60 social enterprise ideas that were pitched on www.makeyourmarkchangelives.org, www.bebo.com/60seconds and the Make Your Mark in 60 Seconds Facebook group

The idea that gets the most votes will win up to £5,000 towards getting started - so get voting!

1. Creative Kids Africa!
Creative Kids Africa aims to run visual arts workshops for street children and orphans in Zambia and deprived young people in Bristol in the U.K. They aim to link the experiences of African children with children in the U.K through sharing cultural learning and celebrating diversity to have a lasting impact.

Watch video and vote for Creative Kids Africa!

2. Community Gym
Community Gym aims to set up a local gym for all members of the community to use at a fraction of the cost of all other sports facilities in the area. They aim to tackle growing obesity in the area and offer a space to bring the community together. A venue for the gym is already established but they would need money to purchase the gym equipment to get this started.

Watch video and vote for Community Gym

3. The Top Spot
The Top Spot would like the money to establish a café/kitchen facilities for disabled young people to train in food hygiene, cooking and health and safety. They aim to develop their current setup to develop a social enterprise for sustainability.

Watch video and vote for The Top Spot

4. FroYo
Froyo aims to establish a social enterprise that produces an ethically, organically, locally produced frozen yoghurt that will promote healthy eating and lifestyle and will promote the benefits of sourcing local produce.

Watch video and vote for Froyo

There are just 2 weeks to go to get your entries in to the Big Green Challenge. This is a fabulous opportunity to work with like minded people with your prize money to make a real difference on some of the issues that face the world today.

There is loads of great info on http://www.biggreenchallenge.org.uk/  There’s a webchat, blogs from the green angels and discussions on where good ideas come form.

There’s not long left so don’t miss your chance to win you part of £1m prize.  Good luck to everyone who enters, I can’t wait to see what the winning ideas are.

Mutya Buena (former Sugarbabe) attended Castleford Tigers first match of the season on Saturday 9th Feb to perform her debut single, Real Girl and to make her mark (well signature!) along with the rest of Cas Tigers players on a rugby ball which is now on eBay being auctioned to encourage entries to the Make Your Mark with a Ball competition, in aid of Sport Relief 2008.

This is a one off rugby ball and bidding has begun - this once in a lifetime opportunity is only around until 22nd Feb go to eBay and get involved….

Help us raise money for Sport Relief and get involved with Make Your Mark with a Ball.

Fulston Manor Business and Enterprise College is based in Sittingbourne, Kent.  As a school supported by the Co-operative, they have a handle on the ethics and values that they attach to enterprise.

The school’s definition of enterprise spirit is:

Self manager

Presentation Skills

Innovative thinker

Reflective Learner

Independent enquirer

Team player

The enterprise SPIRIT permeates everything that happens at Fulston Manor School: displays in every classroom make sure that both staff and students are aware of the qualities and skills it takes to be enterprising.  Departments around the school work together to provide innovative and relevant  enterprise learning experiences - for example, the RS department worked with the Science department to provide a focus day on ethical farming.

Evidence of  a true enterprise SPIRIT can also be seen in the art department where amazing fashion designs made from recycled materials are on show.  Several student-led enterprises flourish at the school too, supported by the FBI (Fulston Business Incubator!)  The FBI is about to join the Make Your Mark Club , and will shortly be joined by the FEDs (Fulston Exchange Department),  an online ‘freecycle’ collaboration between students who are computer experts and the school’s eco group.

Fulston students have already showed their talent for enterprise online - one student runs a gaming site, whilst another won a prize to design a game promoting fairtrade chocolate: Choca Monkey

Watch out for the enterprise SPIRIT, and for the FBI and the FEDs!

www.fulstonmanor.kent.sch.uk