Gorge Owned (GO!) is pleased to introduce the first GO! Local Business Plan Competition in conjunction with its annual Earth Day event. Both start-ups and existing businesses in the Gorge are invited to apply. Because this is a social impact business plan competition, GO! is seeking entrepreneurs and businesses that have a triple-bottom-line mission that includes care for the planet, care for people, and economic viability. Although all scales of businesses are welcome to apply, they are especially seeking entries from businesses that gross less than $250,000/year in revenues.

A committee of local business experts will review all submitted business plans and choose up to five entries to present their idea in-person at the Gorge Owned Earth Day event to be held on April 22 (details of Earth Day are still in preparation). Short pitches will be made to the audience of the business concept and efforts being made towards sustainability. Based on those live pitches, the audience will pick the top three candidates through a simple paper vote. The winning candidates will then be eligible to apply for a business loan up to $5,000 through our partners at the Kiva Zip program, a not-for-profit micro enterprise lending program. More information on the competition can be found at gorgeowned.org.