As part of the Pure Michigan Social Entrepreneurship Challenge, a statewide competition designed to advance ideas and solutions that address social challenges, the Michigan Economic Development Corporation, Michigan Corps, and Great Lakes Entrepreneur's Quest (GLEQ) today announced a new $25,000 award that encourages the hiring of structurally unemployed individuals.

"Structural unemployment is among the most pressing challenges faced by communities around the state," said MEDC President and CEO Michael A. Finney. "The Social Entrepreneurship Challenge is a natural opportunity for our state's social innovators to help address this issue by seeking ways to provide a talent match and supportive resources to employers, and to ensure that participating job seekers are provided with a career pathway."

The $25,000 MEDC Community Ventures Award will be presented to the venture that most effectively impacts structural unemployment through at least five new hires in Flint, Detroit, Pontiac, or Saginaw. Structurally unemployed residents include those who are returning to their communities after prison, adults without a high school degree, individuals who lack a solid work history and at-risk youth.

Community Ventures, a public-private partnership led by the MEDC to help structurally unemployed individuals pursue career opportunities at Michigan companies, has partnered with GLEQ and Michigan Corps to support entrepreneurs who are committed to providing job opportunities for people with few employment options.

Announced in January, the Great Lakes Entrepreneur's Quest's Business Plan Competition and The Pure Michigan Social Entrepreneurship Challenge advance new solutions addressing needs across Michigan. The competition invites individuals and teams to submit plans for an emerging entrepreneurial idea or replicable model from an existing organization for sustainable social change in a wide range of areas including but not limited to urban revitalization, environment, health, and education.

The Community Ventures prize will support entrepreneurs playing an important role in advancing Community Ventures' goal to hire at least 1,000 unemployed residents from Michigan neighborhoods. To learn more about Community Ventures, visit http://www.mitalent.org/community-ventures/

The Pure Michigan Social Entrepreneurship Challenge aims to harness the collective power of today's entrepreneurs to address the challenges of our state. To learn more about the Pure Michigan Social Entrepreneurship Challenge visit http://michigancorps.org/TheChallenge 

To participate in the GLEQ Business Plan Competition and Pure Michigan Social Entrepreneurship Challenge, entrepreneurs must register online at http://GLEQ.org by March 27, 2013, and indicate the cities where new hires will be made. For more information and to register, visit http://GLEQ.org