Earlham & Dimick Eastman Grand Challenge

Seeking your creative solutions for social change

One hallmark of the Center for Entrepreneurship, Innovation and Creativity is educating students about social entrepreneurship: using established methods for starting a business or organization to bring about social change or impact a cause.

Earlham students gathered in a meeting room to discuss the future of Richmond and how they can help

In its inaugural year, the Earlham & Dimick Eastman Grand Challenge invites students to actively improve the well-being of Richmond, Indiana, residents through social entrepreneurship. Participants develop comprehensive project plans to address one of the following concerns:

  • Food insecurity or food deserts
  • Lack of warming stations for people with insecure housing

Competing in teams of up to five members, students present their proposals in three phases to a panel of judges, with the chance to win funding at each level.

If you’ve got the ideas and the passion to accept the challenge but aren’t sure where to start, never fear—a series of workshops presented by experts will prepare you for every step of the process. With a top award of $20,000, the Earlham & Dimick Eastman Grand Challenge is a chance to develop great skills, make connections in the community and even turn your vision into reality!

Heart icon

Meet our donors

This initiative would not be possible without the community investment and generosity of Richmond residents Eric ’96 and Becky ’97 Dimick Eastman, and the CEIC is grateful for their partnership. They have a passion for helping the underserved and underrepresented in Richmond, and the Earlham & Dimick Eastman Grand Challenge is one way they have chosen to give back to their local community.

You can help

Every dollar counts when creating a life-changing opportunity. Donate today to the CEIC to help us offer those opportunities for generations of Earlhamites to come.

CEIC Staff and Faculty

Contact our team to learn more about ways you can get involved in entrepreneurship at Earlham.

Get to know our team

Next steps

EARLHAM ALERT:
We continue to monitor the effects of an industrial fire 1.1 miles from campus.
EARLHAM ALERT:
We continue to monitor the effects of an industrial fire 1.1 miles from campus.