Seattle Pacific University held its 20th annual Social Venture Plan Competition (SVPC) on April 15, 2026. Teams of students from different academic majors and disciplines developed solutions to a wide variety of social problems with several key themes. A couple of projects looked at ways to eliminate apparel and textile waste, while a few others focused on food insecurity or food waste. But several of the biggest winners of the day honed in on finding better employment opportunities for women from marginalized backgrounds.
The winning project was ReForged Connections, chosen as the $10,000 Scott and Kathleen Cummins Grand Prize winner by the combined votes of nearly 70 judges representing the business, nonprofit, academic, and professional communities. The project’s busines plan states:
More than half of women who have been incarcerated reoffend within five years, fueled in part by employment discrimination, which is is higher for women with a conviction history than for men. At the same time, Washington’s skilled trades industries (e.g., construction, welding, plumbing, etc.) face a labor shortage as the current workforce ages and workers retire. ReForged Connections’ business proposal would solve one problem with the other, facilitating training and certification for women leaving the penal system before serving as an employer-funded hiring agency that would place them with firms in need of those newfound skills.
The ReForged Connections team included junior business administration major David Rodriguez, junior apparel design and merchandising major Jessica Blackburn, senior business administration majors Malia Ana Silva and Samira Biembongo, junior psychology major Shailey Makahanaloa Valoroso, and junior applied human biology and honors major Lillian Hamilton Ulrich.
Fifteen teams presented their business ideas at the event, comprising approximately 60 students. In the first round of the competition, an initial wave of 17 written business plans, representing students from six different schools, were read, reviewed, and scored by community partners. Over the course of the day, nearly 300 students, faculty, staff, and community members visited the competition and voted for their favorite project and the Donald B. Summers People’s Choice Award.
In addition to the review of written business plans, earlier stages in the competition included a series of seminars on the basics of writing a business plan as well as coaching sessions with knowledgeable businesspeople, nonprofit executives, and others. In all, over 120 community volunteers gave time as readers, instructors, coaches, and judges.
Entrepreneur and first-time SVPC volunteer Rubelyn Chu observed, “I was glad to be a part of this in some small way. I’m so happy to see the team I coached, InnovatHer, as one of the prize winners!”
Business consultant and returning SVPC volunteer Bruce Scheer added his praises. “Thanks so much to all of the competitors for putting together another wonderful set of businesses and for all the energy around this.”
Financial sponsors of the SVPC include the Scott and Kathleen Cummins Family Foundation, Kathryn and Tim Carlson, Northwest Center, Pioneer Human Services, Highland Private Wealth Management, Skills, Inc., and one anonymous donor. The competition is organized by the Burton and Ralene Walls Center for Applied Learning in SPU’s College of Business and Technology.
(See the complete list of winners and learn more about the annual Social Venture Plan Competition.)
