Why Mentor
Mentors will provide significant support throughout the CCSI value chain by investing their unique knowledge and experiences to supplement the skills, knowledge and networks for social innovators. By providing these resources into the marketplace, mentors will also receive opportunities to become more formally involved with social innovators (advisors, investors, board members, etc.) as well as have the opportunity to network with like-minded individuals, develop a peer network of Christian social entrepreneurs, and gain access to educational content in the field.
There are two distinct areas of mentorship in the current CCSI program construct. The first is a one-on-one mentorship relationship with the ten finalists of the challenge event to prepare them for their live pitch event. The skills from mentors needed for this commitment will include storytelling, value proposition creation and articulation, design, and key messaging to name a few. Mentors who volunteering for the pitch preparation will expect to spend three to five hours working directly with one social innovator over the course of four weeks.
The second mentorship opportunity occurs post-challenge with a six-week virtual bootcamp where teams of mentors support specific gaps in experience, knowledge and/or skills of the social innovator. Mentors will be matched after the innovators are selected based on the needs present and fit with prospective mentors. The time commitment for this mentorship engagement is expected to be five to ten hours over the course of the six-week program.