Impact Scholarship ProgramRising Leaders
Your business is one pitch away
We're giving one entrepreneur $50,000 to start their business — and everything they need to launch it right.
- Applications are open now and close — September 18, 2026
- The winner is announced live at our Launch Gala — Saturday, October 17
Fifty thousand dollars. Yes — fifty thousand.
Most dreams don't die from a lack of passion. They die in the gap between the calling and the plan — between having the idea and having the money, the paperwork, and someone in your corner who has done it before. This scholarship closes that gap for one entrepreneur, completely.
What the $50,000 covers
This isn't a check and a handshake. It's everything required to open the doors and stay open.
Your startup costs
Equipment, inventory, build-out, licensing, insurance — the real costs of opening, funded.
Legal fees
Entity formation, contracts, trademarks — set up properly from day one, not patched later.
Our mentorship program
You're paired with people who have built businesses and will walk the first year with you.
The Impact community
You grow alongside other founders building at the same time — nobody does this alone.
Every tool you need
Business plan, financial model, systems, and templates — the roadmap, ready to use.
A business built to give back
We help you build something that lifts your community, not just your bottom line.
You bring your idea. You pitch it to us. That's it.
No complicated forms, no fees, no gatekeeping. Four steps, from your application to the moment your name is called at our Launch Gala.
Apply
Tell us who you are, what you want to build, and what the $50,000 would make possible — in writing, plus a three minute video. Applications are open now through September 18, 2026.
Finalists chosen
We read every application and choose ten finalists. If you’re one of them we’ll contact you by September 24, using the details you gave us. Everyone who applies hears from us either way.
Pitch in person
The ten finalists pitch their business live and in person in San Diego on Saturday, October 3, to a panel of five judges — founders and business leaders who have built something themselves. Finalists cover their own travel and accommodation — we do not provide travel assistance.
Announced at the gala
The winner is announced live at the Impact Launch Gala on Saturday, October 17, 2026 — on stage, in front of the whole community. One entrepreneur receives the full award and begins the program with our mentors behind them. Only the winner needs to be there. Every finalist is welcome as our guest — your seat is on us if you can make it — but attending is not required.
You already know what it is.
You've felt it for years — in your notes app, on napkins, at 11pm scrolling past someone already living the life you keep picturing. Nobody ever handed you the map.
This scholarship is for you if:
- You have a named business and an idea you believe in, and haven't been able to fund it
- You're ready to actually launch — not someday, this year
- You want to build something that gives back to your community, not just to you
- You're willing to be coached, and to show up for the people coming behind you
Notice what we're not asking for
We're not asking for a perfect deck, a finished product, or a track record. We're asking what you'd build and who it would serve. Philanthropy is one of our core values — it isn't what you do once you've made it, it's built into how you start.
Who can apply, and how the money works
No surprises later. Read this before you spend 45 minutes on the application.
Who can apply
- Entrepreneurs anywhere in the United States
- You must be 18 or older and legally able to work in the US
- You have a named business — already operating, or ready to launch
- You can submit a three minute video with your application
- You can pitch in person in San Diego on October 3 if you're chosen as a finalist
- Employees, board members and judges of Impact, and their immediate families, are not eligible
Finalists cover their own travel and accommodation; we do not provide travel assistance. If you come to the gala, your seat is on us.
How the $50,000 works
- The award goes to the business, not to you personally
- You'll need a business entity — we'll help you form one if you don't have it yet, and that's covered under legal fees
- How and when the money reaches the business is agreed with the winner before anything is spent
- You'll account to Impact for every dollar, and meet an Impact mentor monthly for the first year
Tax: this award may be taxable and Impact may be required to issue a 1099. We can't give tax advice — please speak to a tax professional about your situation before you apply.
One winner is chosen. If you're not selected, we'll tell you — and you're welcome at our workshops and community either way.
Questions before you start? info@we-impact.com or (619) 541-2454
Ready? Let's hear it.
Applications are open now through September 18, 2026. Finalists are chosen by September 24 and pitch in person October 3. The winner is announced live at our Launch Gala on Saturday, October 17.
The application opens right here on the page and it asks a lot of you. Set aside 30–45 minutes and answer it properly — your progress saves as you go, so you can stop and come back.
- Who you are, and your business name
- The business — what it is, who buys it, who else does it, what you'll charge and what it costs you
- Where you are today, and what you've already built with little or no money
- A real line-by-line breakdown of how you'd spend the $50,000
- Your break-even math, and how the business sustains itself after the award
- Licenses and permits you need
- Your biggest obstacle — and what happens if you don't win
- A three minute video — you, on camera, telling us what you'd build
- How the business gives back, and why this one is yours to build
You'll also confirm that you'll meet with an Impact mentor monthly and account for how the funds are spent. This award was funded by people who gave — we steward it carefully.
Questions first? info@we-impact.com or (619) 541-2454
This award exists because people gave.
Every dollar behind this scholarship came from someone who decided a stranger's calling was worth funding. If you want the next one to be bigger, you can make that happen.
Tax-deductible giving
Impact is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit, so your gift to the scholarship fund may be tax-deductible as a charitable contribution. You'll receive an official receipt for your records. Consult your tax advisor about your eligibility.
This is one of three.
The Rising Leaders Scholarship is the flagship of the Impact Scholarship Program — but it isn't the only way in. There are two more, for founders at different points in the story.
Roadmap Scholarship
A full year inside Impact, given to a founder who needs the map: a year of membership, a seat in a cohort, six coaching sessions, a dedicated mentor and the complete resource library.
See the Roadmap ScholarshipFirst Step Scholarship
A $5,000 scholarship for founders at the very beginning, granted quarterly. In development — we'll announce a cycle once the funding for it is committed.
Read about First StepScholarship terms
Everything that governs the award, in plain language. Please read these before you apply — applying means you agree to them.
- The award is a scholarship, not an investment. The $50,000 Rising Leaders Scholarship is a charitable award made by Impact, a California 501(c)(3). It is fully non-dilutive. Impact takes no equity, ownership, security interest, revenue share, repayment obligation, or any right to invest in your business now or in future. Nothing here creates an investment, loan, employment, partnership, agency or joint venture relationship.
- How the funds may be used. The award is designated for legitimate costs of establishing and operating your business — equipment, inventory, build-out, licensing, insurance, and legal costs such as entity formation, contracts and trademarks. Funds are released against documented costs, allocated in agreement with you and an Impact mentor. The recipient meets an Impact mentor monthly and accounts for how the funds are used. Impact may withhold, suspend or require the return of funds used outside the agreed purposes, or obtained through misrepresentation.
- Recording, and use of your likeness. Applications, finalist interviews and the Launch Gala may be photographed, recorded and filmed. By applying you grant Impact an irrevocable, royalty-free, worldwide licence to record, reproduce and use your name, likeness, voice, business name and statements made during the program, in any medium, for marketing, promotional, educational and fundraising purposes, in perpetuity, without further compensation or approval. Finalists sign a separate release before filming.
- Confidentiality — please read carefully. Impact cannot and does not guarantee the confidentiality of anything you submit or say. Judges are independent third parties, are not bound by a non-disclosure agreement, and Impact will not sign one. Please do not submit trade secrets, patentable inventions, or anything you need kept confidential. Protecting your own intellectual property remains your responsibility.
- Selection, and the judges' decision. Finalists and the recipient are selected at Impact's sole discretion. The decision of the judging panel is final and not subject to appeal or review. Impact may amend the criteria, timetable or number of awards, or postpone or cancel the program, at any time and without liability.
- Travel and attendance. Finalists pitch in person in San Diego, California. All travel, accommodation and associated costs are your own responsibility, and no travel assistance is provided. Only the recipient is required to attend the Launch Gala; other finalists are welcome as our guests but are not required to attend. If the recipient cannot attend, Impact may announce the award in their absence.
- Taxes. The award may constitute taxable income. The recipient is solely responsible for determining and paying any taxes arising from it, and may be issued an IRS Form 1099. Impact does not provide tax, legal, financial or investment advice — please consult your own advisors.
- No guarantee of outcome. Impact provides funding, mentorship, training and community. It does not guarantee any business result, revenue, profitability or survival. Mentors share their own views and experience; decisions about your business remain yours, as does responsibility for them.
- Eligibility. Applicants must be 18 or older, legally able to work in the United States, and have a named business either operating or ready to launch. Impact may verify eligibility and may disqualify any application that is incomplete, inaccurate, or breaches these terms.
- Your information. Information you submit is used to administer the program and may be shared with judges and mentors for that purpose.
Questions about any of this? Email info@we-impact.com or call (619) 541-2454 before you apply — we would rather answer them now.