The Tarrson Social Venture Fellowship provides funding and advising to graduating UChicago students or recent alumni who are committed to growing a startup that helps solve a social or environmental problem. The Rustandy Center’s capstone social entrepreneurship resource, the fellowship supports entrepreneurs as they raise philanthropic or venture capital for their enterprises.
Award
The fellowship includes both a funding package and sustained coaching from the Rustandy Center:
- Funding: Each person accepted into the fellowship (two maximum per organization) is provided with $20,000 in the form of a Simple Agreement for Future Equity (SAFE), which is paid out to an incorporated entity in quarterly (4) intervals of $5,000 over a one-year period with a separate $5,000 to support travel/technology/customer research/legal expenses. Fellows running a nonprofit organization receive the fellowship funds as a grant.
- Coaching: Fellows benefit from a continued relationship with the Rustandy Center through coaching check-ins.
Eligibility
The fellowship accepts applications from Booth MBA students and non-Booth UChicago students who plan to work on their social or environmental startups as their main professional activity after graduation. Teams accepted into the Polsky Accelerator are eligible to apply. Applicants should have:
- An incorporated (or soon to be) organization
- A roadmap to launch and grow their product/service
- A full-time commitment to their startup venture (minimum 40 hours/week)
- Good academic standing, with a 2.33 GPA or better
- A graduation date from July 2024 to June 2025
Deadline
Thursday, June 5, 2025, at 11:59 p.m. CST.