12 Nonprofit Business Plan Competitions for High School Students
If you’re a high school student interested in nonprofit work or social entrepreneurship, joining a business plan competition can be a good way to explore the field. These competitions let you take an idea for a nonprofit project and work through the steps of planning, organizing, and presenting it. You get to see how a project could be implemented, what challenges might come up, and how to communicate your plan to others.
Participating in a competition also shows that you’ve gone beyond regular schoolwork to learn about nonprofits. It can be a solid addition to your CV and strengthen your college essays, especially if you’re applying to top business undergraduate programs. It demonstrates that you can think through a problem, plan a structured solution, and follow through on an idea. With that, here are 12 nonprofit business plan competitions for high school students to consider!
12 Nonprofit Business Plan Competitions for High School Students
1. Diamond Challenge
Location: Initial stages are virtual, and semi-finals are conducted live
Participation Fee: Free
Dates: January 15 - April 24
Application Deadline: January 15
Eligibility: High school students across the world
Diamond Challenge is a nonprofit business plan competition for high school students where you and your teammates build a business or social venture idea. You use video modules, tools, mentor input, and peer feedback to test assumptions and refine your concept. Submit your idea in a written and pitch form, and then present at regional or virtual pitch events. Finalists have a chance to attend the Limitless World Summit to showcase their work before judges and connect with entrepreneurs and students worldwide. Along the way, you’ll hone skills in customer research, business planning, pitching, iteration, and collaboration with coaches and professionals. Winning teams will also receive prize funding and recognition.
2. Conrad Challenge
Location: Virtual
Participation Fee: Free for the first stage. $499 at the Innovation Stage
Dates: November - April
Application Deadline: November 3
Eligibility: Students aged 13-18
The Conrad Challenge is a nonprofit business plan competition for high school students. You join a small team and spend the year designing a real-world innovation. You research a global problem, plan a product or service, build a prototype or demo, and create a business model. You learn collaboration, communication, creativity, and critical thinking with guidance from industry mentors. Your work is reviewed by experts, and top teams present at a live Innovation Summit. You also get to network with professionals, attend workshops and tours, and share your solution on a global stage.
3. NFTE World Series of Innovation
Location: Online / Global
Participation Fee: Free
Dates: January - April
Application Deadline: December 12
Eligibility: Students ages 5-24, individually or in teams
The NFTE World Series of Innovation is a nonprofit business plan competition for high school students. You choose a challenge based on social or environmental issues, often connected to the UN Sustainable Development Goals. You then write a plan that explains the problem, your solution, and how it works. Throughout the process, you receive mentorship, feedback, and coaching from volunteer experts. If your team becomes a finalist, you prepare a pitch, usually in video format, to present your idea.
4. DECA
Location: Conferences vary in location (different cities around the US), with virtual options too
Participation Fee: Varies
Dates: According to the program type
Application Deadline: Based on your program type
Eligibility: High schools are eligible to join their schools’ chapters
DECA is a business competition program for high school students. You take on challenges in areas like marketing, finance, hospitality, management, and entrepreneurship. You compete in role-plays, case studies, written projects, and online simulations where you solve problems, create proposals, and present to judges who are business professionals. You build skills in public speaking, research, strategy, and decision-making. You also receive mentorship, attend regional and national conferences, and meet students from around the world. Winners advance from local events to state-level competitions and then to the International Career Development Conference, known as ICDC.
5. Global Youth Entrepreneurship Challenge
Location: Virtual / Online
Participation Fee: 10,000 Yen/team
Dates: January 15 - October 10
Application Deadline: January 15
Eligibility: Teenagers from around the world
The Global Youth Entrepreneurship Challenge (GYEC) is a nonprofit business plan competition for high school students. You work in a team to solve a global social or environmental problem based on the United Nations 17 Sustainable Development Goals. You submit a two-page business plan and a three-minute video pitch. Along the way, you learn design thinking, marketing, finance, and leadership skills. You also attend workshops and receive coaching from professionals and academics. Many participants take part in a Silicon Valley site visit or connect with mentors during the program.
6. The Paradigm Challenge
Location: Virtual / Global
Participation Fee: Free
Dates: Ongoing competition with new challenges announced every two years
Application Deadline: May 1
Eligibility: Students aged 4 to 18 around the world, individually or as teams of any size
In The Paradigm Challenge, you propose creative solutions to issues like waste reduction, health, biodiversity, or home fire safety. You have to submit your idea in any form, through video, invention, website, public event, or poster. Mentors will review your entries and give feedback. Finalists (at least 100) will present to a panel of judges, and top winners will win cash and attend a Prize Ceremony in Los Angeles. In this nonprofit business plan competition for high school students, winners will get help filing patents for their ideas.
7. GENIUS Olympiad
Location: Virtual and in-person (locations vary every year)
Participation Fee: $50 application fee per project + $600 participation fee per participant
Dates: May 10 - June 13
Application Deadline: March 10
Eligibility: Students in grades 8–12 with a minimum age of 13; under-17 must attend with a supervisor
GENIUS Olympiad is a global competition for high school students focused on environmental challenges. You choose a discipline such as science, business, robotics, art, writing, short film, or music, and create an original project that addresses an environmental issue. This could be a research paper, prototype, creative work, or business plan. You receive feedback from judges and have the chance to improve your work before the final event. Finalists present their projects at the Rochester Institute of Technology before expert judges and peers from around the world. You build skills in research, design, presentation, and interdisciplinary thinking. Projects that earn medals may also be published or connected to scholarship and university opportunities through RIT.
8. The Blue Ocean Student Entrepreneur Competition
Location: Online / Virtual
Participation Fee: Free
Dates: February 22 - May 13
Application Deadline: February 22
Eligibility: High school students aged 14-18 at registration; compete individually or as a team (up to 5)
The Blue Ocean Student Entrepreneur Competition is a nonprofit business plan contest for high school students. You submit a three to five-minute video pitch for a “blue ocean” business idea, one that solves an unsolved problem or creates a new market space. You use strategy tools and templates provided by the program, complete an online mini-course, and receive feedback from experienced entrepreneurs. The competition is fully virtual, so you can participate from anywhere. You also join a global network of student innovators and present your idea to judges. Prizes include cash awards and recognition for your school.
9. Students for the Advancement of Global Entrepreneurship (SAGE) Competition
Location: Virtual
Participation Fee: Free
Dates: August
Application Deadline: August
Eligibility: Students between 13-19 years of age
The Students for the Advancement of Global Entrepreneurship (SAGE) Competition is a global program where high school students work in teams to build social enterprises. You start by researching a problem, then develop a business model, test your ideas, and refine your approach with guidance from mentors. Throughout the process, you build skills in market research, financial planning, storytelling, and teamwork. At the national level, your team submits a four-page annual report and delivers a live video pitch with a Q&A session. The top two teams from each country advance to the SAGE World Cup, where they present their projects to global judges, meet industry leaders, and connect with peers from around the world.
10. Pirates Pitch Competition for High School Students
Location: Seton Hall University, South Orange, NJ
Participation Fee: Free
Dates: November 21
Application Deadline: October 22
Eligibility: Current high school sophomores, juniors, and seniors with a GPA of 3.0
In the Pirates Pitch Competition, submit a short written plan or video pitch for a business idea you have created or have already launched. Explain the problem your product or service solves, how you will earn revenue, and why customers will choose you. Judges will review your entry, and finalists will present live on Seton Hall’s campus or online. Learn business writing, pitching, and presentation skills while receiving feedback from faculty and entrepreneurs. Finalists compete for prizes, recognition, and a chance to connect with Seton Hall’s Stillman School of Business, giving you both exposure and experience in entrepreneurship.
11. The Network for Teaching Entrepreneurship (NFTE) Youth Entrepreneurship Challenge
Location: United States (local to national rounds), finals in New York City
Participation Fee: Free
Dates: Varies by region
Application Deadline: Varies by region
Eligibility: High school students involved in NFTE programs
The NFTE Youth Entrepreneurship Challenge lets you create and pitch a business idea through a structured series of competitions. You will start at the classroom level, refine your business plan, and present to local judges. Winning teams will advance to regional and national rounds. Along the way, you practice pitching, financial planning, and product design, while learning from entrepreneurs and business leaders who serve as mentors and judges. At the finals in New York City, you present to top professionals and compete for seed funding.
12. Cooper Hewitt Design Competition
Location: Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum, New York, NY
Participation Fee: Free
Dates: April - June
Application Deadline: February 10
Eligibility: High school students in grades 9 through 12, or who are homeschooled students working toward a high school degree, anywhere in the United States.
The Cooper Hewitt National High School Design Competition asks you to use design to solve a community challenge. You begin by sketching and explaining your idea, and judges select finalists who refine their designs with mentor guidance. You then attend Mentor Weekend in New York City to workshop your project and prepare for final presentations. In June, you present virtually to a panel of design professionals. Finalists gain coaching, exposure, and the chance to have their work featured online. You can enter as an individual or as a team of up to three people.
If you’re looking for an incubator program that helps you build a startup or nonprofit in high school, consider the Young Founders Lab!
The Young Founders Lab is a start-up boot camp founded and run by Harvard entrepreneurs. In this program, you will work towards building a revenue-generating start-up that addresses a real-world problem. You will also have the opportunity to be mentored by established entrepreneurs and professionals from Google, Microsoft, and X.
You can access the application link here!
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