Kelley Impact Competition

Make positive community change as a Kelley Impact Competition participant.

The Kelley Institute for Social Impact (KISI) hosts an annual case competition to bring together socially minded students at Indiana University. Made possible by a gift from Kelley School of Business alumnus Lance Breitstein, BS'11, the Kelley Impact Competition challenges students to find and implement solutions to a social issue in Bloomington, Indiana.

In addition to $15,000 in student prizes, $10,000 in seed money supports the implementation of the winning idea to create lasting change in the community.

Interested in learning more? Please contact KISI at kisi@indiana.edu.

A word cloud, order of words from largest to smallest: Kelley Impact competition, CJAM, Meditation, KISI, Community Justic, Accountibility, Learn from Understanding, Empowerment, Meaningful, Restorative Justice, Prevent Harm, Non-violence, Increased Trust, Conflict Resolution, Unity, Low Risk

Kelley Impact Competition 2021 Winner

The winning team is presented with a virtual-check over a zoom conference window, 8 people are in a grid to the right of the check, smiling

Congratulations to the Inspire Solutions team, winners of the 2021 Kelley Impact Competition: Davis Aufdembrink, BS’22; Robert Levine, BS’22; Lorraine Michira, BS’22; and Sika Kodzi, BS’22.

This case competition has been challenging, thought provoking, and exciting. We look forward to implementing our idea and benefiting the Community Justice & Mediation Center and the rest of the community.
Inspire Solutions team, Kelley Impact Competition 2021 winners

Who can participate?

Teams of 4 Indiana University undergraduate students
Teams that exhibit a passion for reducing stigma surround mental health
Teams that demonstrate a variety of academic and professional interests

Key dates

Sunday, February 16th: Application Deadline
Thursday, February 20th: Kickoff and Case Release, 6:30 p.m. (Note that each team must have at least one member in attendance at the Kickoff and Case Release event.)
Tuesday, March 10th: Case Comp 101 Workshop. This optional event, hosted by Kelley faculty, will provide an introduction to presentation skills and an overview of competing in case competitions.
Education Events: Dates TBD. These events will provide an opportunity for participating students to ask questions of key stakeholders as they are developing their ideas.
Friday, April 3rd: 2020 Kelley Impact Competition

Application instructions

Each team member should fill out an individual online application.
The team captain should email a single PDF file, with all four team members’ resumes, to kisi@indiana.edu. The email subject line should read “[Team Name] Resumes.”

2021 Kelley Impact Competition Timeline

January 18: Applications open
February 21, 11:55 p.m.: Deadline for online submission
February 25: Evening kickoff event
April 9: Kelley Impact Competition, 8:30 a.m. to noon, 1 to 4 p.m.

All IU Bloomington undergraduates are invited to participate. Teams must consist of four students, with a limit of one senior per team.

Kelley Impact Competition Projects

2021

Partner: Community Justice & Meditation Center

Case: Present solutions to help CJAM educate the community of its services, recruit diverse volunteers, and make the case management system more efficient.

Winning team's solution: A Round-Up Rent donation program, enhanced marketing efforts, and diversity committee

2020

Partner: National Alliance on Mental Illness of Greater Bloomington Area (NAMI-GBA)

Case: Develop strategies and solutions that make a difference for the local community in addressing mental illness.

Winning team's solution: A new service-learning course at Indiana University, HON-H238 Planning for Social Impact: Mental Health for All. Now fully funded, their initiative will establish multiple years of support for NAMI-GBA. The second-place team also received funding and created a new website for the organization.

Rapid pivot: When the coronavirus pandemic impacted the competition schedule, the competition’s students, Kelley School staff, local partners, and judges adapted with resilience, transitioning to an online format.

2019

Partner: Habitat for Humanity of Monroe County

Case: Provide an innovative idea to address affordable housing in Monroe County

Winning team's solution: Convert shipping containers into tiny homes to lower the cost of construction and the homeowner’s mortgage payment. Construction on the first shipping container—a first for any Indiana Habitat affiliate—began in September 2020.

The Kelley Impact Competition incentivizes the smartest students in the country to learn more about the issues in their community, find solutions, and make a real difference in the world around them.
Lance Breitstein, BS'11, Kelley Impact Competition benefactor

The Kelley Impact Competition partnership is providing the Community Justice & Mediation Center with the tools, resources, and person-power to deepen our capacity to better meet the conflict resolution and restorative justice needs of our community. We have been given the chance to think outside the bo, and to truly explore and co-create innovative solutions with our incredible Kelley student team. The project has the potential to become a replicable model that can be shared with other community mediation centers around the country. It is not often that nonprofits are given this type of funding opportunity.
Liz Grenat, executive director, Community Justice & Mediation Center

The students are amazing—smart, dedicated, inquisitive, resourceful. They take (the Kelley Impact Competition) seriously, so the competition is very worthwhile because they want to see their ideas implemented. It would be a worthwhile endeavor for any organization.
Juliette Kniola, volunteer, National Alliance on Mental Illness of Greater Bloomington Area (NAMI-GBA), Kelley Impact Competition 2021 community partner

Community Partner

Past Community Partners