- 12
- Award categories
- $500–$2,500
- Per award, raised from its own sponsor
- 100
- Point rubric, published in advance
- 12+
- Age to enter. Free.
Looking to judge instead? Judge signups now have their own home.
Sign Up to JudgeFour ways in
Ways to support Launch League
Pick whatever fits: money, tools, time or simply buying from a Launch League founder.
Fund it
Sponsorship pays prizes and program delivery. Sponsors never influence judging or receive student information.
- Sponsor Launch LeagueRegional, Provincial and Presenting partnerships.
- Sponsor an awardName a competition award in a community, a region or province-wide.
- Support a school or communityBring the program and a named award to the place you care about.
- Support an industryBack the category for your sector — trades, agriculture, energy and more.
- Economic development partnershipFor municipalities, SBECs, chambers and foundations.
Give tools, services or space
In-kind support reaches Launch League founders through the Launch Kit and Awards Night.
- Contribute business toolsDomains, hosting, software, marketing credits, equipment, books.
- Provide professional servicesBookkeeping, legal, insurance, design or printing for founders.
- Provide a venue or host an eventSpace for workshops, pitch practice or Awards Night.
- Gift cards, food or signagePractical support for events and finalists.
Give your time
Volunteering is never tied to sponsorship. Judges and advisors are reviewed independently.
Buy, offer work, cheer
The most direct support there is: become a Launch League founder's customer.
- Buy from Launch League foundersBusinesses started by Launch League participants.
- Offer a job or placementSummer jobs, co-op placements and internships, arranged through Launch League. Employers follow Ontario employment standards and youth-safety rules.
- Come to Awards NightMeet the finalists and the founder showcase.
Put your name on the Builders Wall
From $25: a permanent Builder number and a tile on the wall. Or see every way to support Launch League.
Launch League is not a registered charity, so contributions are not tax-receiptable. If that changes, we'll say so here.
In-kind support
Offer tools, services, space or jobs
Tell us what you can offer. We'll confirm the details with you before anything is listed publicly — nothing is announced as a partnership until you've agreed to it.
Nothing listed until you agree
Seven roles
Find your role
Why it matters, what it takes, and one place to start. Judging is always volunteered and independent — it is never part of a sponsorship.
Judge
Read an entry. Write the feedback someone keeps.
Every complete entrant gets written feedback, which means every entry needs an experienced businessperson to read it. For many entrants it's the first time anyone outside their family has taken an idea of theirs seriously.
What you'll do
- Score a handful of entries on the published rubric
- Write short, specific feedback
- Remote — no travel
- Independent: you never score an award your organization funds
Sign up to judgeCommitment
2–4 hours, once, in April
Advisor
Be the person they can ask.
Most people with a first idea have nobody to ask how pricing works, whether a lease is reasonable, or what an accountant is for. Founding advisors are being recruited now; matching opens during the season.
What you'll do
- Answer practical questions in your area of expertise
- No fees, no commission, no equity
- Help, not a sales funnel
Become a founding advisorCommitment
Flexible — you set how many conversations
Educator
Give your students a real audience.
Bring the program into a business class, an SHSM program or a club. Students get an outside deadline, a published rubric and written feedback from people who run businesses — and you get evidence of learning to assess.
What you'll do
- 8 practical modules with real-world actions
- Parent/guardian consent and privacy built in
- Written feedback for every complete entrant
See the educator guideCommitment
One unit or term, free
Corporate Partner
Don't just sponsor the next generation. Help build it.
Fund an award or the program in a community, a region or across Ontario. Partners help build future talent and stronger communities — they do not choose winners or receive student data.
What you'll do
- Name an award, or fund delivery in a region
- Employee volunteering through the same independent process
- Reporting on what your support delivered
Explore partnershipsCommitment
Season sponsorship, from $1,000
Community & Economic Development Partner
Build your future entrepreneur pipeline.
For economic development offices, Small Business Enterprise Centres, chambers and foundations. Launch League reaches people before your programs can, then sends them on to you better prepared.
What you'll do
- Programming and named awards in your community
- Aggregated reporting on local participation
- Works alongside the programs you already run
Partner in your communityCommitment
Season partnership
Expert Contributor
Teach what you know from doing it.
Operators, tradespeople, accountants, marketers and founders who can add real-world depth to Business 101 or a future industry playbook. Contributions are credited only once agreed in writing.
What you'll do
- Review or contribute to a module
- Share industry-specific know-how
- Record a short lesson or example
Commitment
Project-based
Community Champion
You shouldn't have to leave your hometown to build something big.
Tell a teacher, a principal, a young person with an idea, or an employer who should be involved.
What you'll do
- Share Launch League with schools and families
- Introduce a potential judge, advisor or partner
- Help it take root in your town
Commitment
Flexible — do what you can
Local involvement
Why it matters
Be taken seriously, early
A real businessperson reading an idea and writing back is something many young people never get. You can be that person.
Build the local pipeline
Tomorrow's employers, suppliers and business owners are in classrooms today, in your town.
Keep it close to home
You shouldn't have to leave your hometown to build something big. Local involvement is how that becomes true.
Volunteer or partner
Sign Up
Tell us how you'd like to help and we'll connect with you.
Volunteer / Partner Signup
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Sponsorship
Your organization can name an award, too
Related
Keep going
- Judge a competitionReview entries from your region and write the feedback an entrant actually keeps.
- Become a sponsorAward sponsorships fund prizes; partnerships fund delivery, so the program stays free to enter.
- Name your own community awardChambers, municipalities, and community organizations can fund a named award from $1,000.
- Find a local advisorOntario business advisors by region, for the questions a template can't answer.
- Launch League WorkforceFor Ontario workers hit by layoffs or tariffs: trades, apprenticeship, self-employment or a business of their own.
- Back Launch League from $5, once or monthlyHow a for-profit that gives its programme away pays for it, and how to help. Not a donation — no charitable receipt.