Social Innovation

Creating change through innovation.
Join the movement.

The Changemaker Institute at Tulane supports students with ideas for social change that can evolve into sustainable ventures and potential careers. We work with Tulane graduate AND undergraduate students passionate about transforming New Orleans - both students who have an idea for social change and students who want to join the leadership team of these start-ups. We want to help students develop, test, and launch social ventures. These ventures can expand an existing project/program or create a new organization, they can develop into non-profits or for-profits - we want to support any idea with a strong social mission that can be sustainable and has potential to grow. Our 10-week Spring Incubator offers students:

• Workshops to develop entrepreneurial skills
• Peer learning and team building
• Consulting and mentoring from the Tulane and New Orleans community
• Access to funding opportunities
  

All Changemakers who submit a venture and develop it through the Changemaker Institute have the opportunity to apply for the NewDay Social Innovation Challenge, a chance to win up to $20,000 to launch a student-led venture. Additionally, all students that apply for the Changemaker Institute are automatically registered for the Dell Social Innovation Challenge.

Our spring 2013 application is due Monday, November 19, 2012. We strongly encourage all applicants to set up a meeting with Andrew and Melanie at TUchangemakers@tulane.edu to assist in the application process. In order to complete your application process, please:
1. Register and create a profile on the Dell Social Innovation website
2. Create your team
3. Complete the project page provided
4. E-mail Andrew and Melanie at TUchangemakers@tulane.edu with a link to your published project page and a one-page resume from your team leader (we would prefer a one-page resume from each team member).

Any student that would like to join an existing team can contact Andrew and Melanie at TUchangemakers@tulane.edu. If you are interested in learning more about the Changemaker Institute, connecting with student entrepreneurs, or sharing your ideas with other students, please join us for our Big Idea Meetups throughout the fall semester - check out our calendar of events or sign up for our weekly newsletter.

Workshops Include:

• Team Building Day: Who's on your Team?  

• Defining Social Innovation: What's the Innovative Idea?
• Marketing Strategy: What's your Marketing Strategy?
• Operational Strategy: How do you do What you do?
• Financial Strategy: How do you Pay for What you do?
• Social Impact, Evaluation, and Assessment: How do you Know What you do Works?

Learn More and Join our 2013 Teams:

You can contact all of these social ventures, to get more information or join their team, on their Dell Social Innovation Challenge Homepage.

CoupNOLA’s mission is to discover creative and effective ways to utilize the untapped material resources and social capital within New Orleans to break the cycles of violence and crime.  

Crescent City Connections (CCC) will promote and facilitate customized volunteer and cultural activities for visitors and residents in New Orleans to better connect people with community organizations in the city.

ECOnomize is developing a green auditing and contracting firm that will maximize the efficiency of a residential or commercial establishment to help the owner/occupant save the most money while preserving the environment.

Enlighten through Travel aims to inspire talented, but underprivileged high school students to achieve beyond societal expectations through international travel, mentoring, and leadership training.

Fee-Fi-Fo-Farm! will make fresh fruits and vegetables available to as many New Orleanians as possible by creating a low-cost network of vertical hydroponic hoophouses and greenhouses.

Fund 17 is a microfinance institution run by volunteer Tulane students that will combat income inequality in New Orleans by providing financial tools for self-empowerment.

Launchange seeks to build an online network that connects Tulane students, administrators, and faculty who want to get their socially-conscious ideas off the ground with others who are excited and able to help.

Mushroom aims to build a business growing gourmet mushrooms with young adults in low-income neighborhoods and cultivate a community of action to empower disadvantaged youth.

Project:Food is developing a mobile application that will scan receipts and build data to help people make healthier, more economical, and more conscious food choices. Aimed at food desert communities, the app has the potential to help anyone hoping to improve ones diet.

TUNA Neuroscience Teaching aims to teach basic neuroscience to underserved New Orleans high school students, making an advanced science accessible, fun, and realistic while translating these notions even further to the idea of attending college.

Top Box Foods makes high-quality nutritious food (lean meats, fish and fresh produce) available at extremely affordable prices. The non-profit uses volunteers to deliver food, focusing on areas identified as food deserts.

Learn About Our 2011-2012 Teams:

Sudz Soap: Melanie Barlow, mbarlow@tulane.edu
Sudz Soap is a student-owned company that sells organic soap on campus that smells good, looks good, and does good! For every bar of Sudz Soap purchased, the proceeds go towards helping people in areas where they don’t have access to basic sanitation, and thus are dying of entirely preventable diseases. Can you smell the good? Sudz Soap in the news.

NOLA Eye Care: Anushka Das, adas2@tulane.edu & Aleena Ashary, aashary@tulane.edu
NOLA Eye Care is a social venture created for the purpose of addressing the healthcare needs of elementary school children in the New Orleans area.  We hope to conduct biannual healthcare camps to provide free eye screenings and prescription glasses to uninsured and insured elementary school students attending RSD schools affected by Hurricane Katrina.

Humanure Power: Anoop Jain, ajain4@tulane.edu
Humanure Power works to eradicate outdoor defecation as a normal practice for hundreds of millions of villagers in rural India by building community toilet blocks. These toilets leverage proven and existing technology that convert human waste in to energy that can be sold, generating a revenue stream that helps us further our mission of building more toilets. Humanure Power in the news.

Prepare and Repair Team (PART): Ariane Wiltse, arianewiltse@gmail.com
The Prepare & Repair Team (PART) aims to provide opportunities for youth development, leadership and civic engagement within existing summer camps and after-school programs. PART’s program will encourage student discussions, critical thinking, problem solving, peer-to-peer mentoring and life-long learning. PART supports youth development and leadership, civic engagement and hurricane preparedness.

Learn About Our 2010-2011 Teams:

AMPS: Doug Jacobs, djacobs@tulane.edu
The goal of AMPS is to develop affordable mobile aquaponic food production systems that meet several situational needs. The pods of food, therefore, can be used for long-term disaster relief, as teaching units at schools and universities, or a source of food for a remote village, local grocery store, or restaurant. AMPS will also support a non-profit affiliate that will operate systems and provide education in developing countries. AMPS in the news.

Threw Dat Disc Golf Club Group: Zachary Shraberg, zshraber@tulane.edu
The goal of Threw Dat Disc Golf club is to promote a healthy mental and physically active lifestyle for elementary, middle, and high school students. The organization is structured to function during and after school. Disc golf can be easily integrated into a physical education program or function as an extracurricular activity. Disc golf can be enjoyed at any skill and fitness level. Threw Dat Disc Golf Club's mission is to improve children’s lives  by introducing them to the life long sport of disc golf.

Swim 4 Success: Tanvi Shah & Meghan Stanger (to contact, please visit the organization's website)
Swim 4 Success seeks to unite volunteerism and community resources to provide free swim lessons for low-income youth. With swim instructors serving as both coaches and role models, youth not only learn how to swim but also invaluable life skills. Graduates of the program will become lifeguards, swim instructors, and role models for their communities. Swim 4 Success in the news.

The Idea Factory: Richard Tang, rtang@tulane.edu
Great ideas come from all types of ordinary people from various walks of life. The Idea Factory sets out to serve as a website for idea sharing, tweaking, and searching for best possible solutions to individual’s ‘headline’ issues. The website will also serve as a jump-off point for organizations with the necessary resources to take action on the best solutions.

Second Line Rebrass: Stephen Ternois, stephenternois@gmail.com
By tackling three prominent issues at once, Second Line Rebrass seeks to provide inner-city youth with recycled brass instruments through private auctions between the collaboration of recycling companies, welders, and private organizations.

Refresh Environmental: Larry Spegele, lspegelejr@gmail.com
This venture seeks to create a biofuels company that reliably collects waste cooking oil from restaurants and reacts the oil into biodiesel. The revenues derived from biodiesel sales will be used to further alternative energy technologies while promoting healthy eating habits. Refresh Environmental in the news.

Here is one example of changemakers from Tulane.