Organizing on campus often runs into a student paradox: passions run high, but attention spans can be short. That's one lesson Michael Del Ponte has learned since founding Conscious Lifestyle in 2005. A nonprofit that encourages students and schools to be socially responsible, Conscious Lifestyle's Ventures program provides $1,000 in start-up cash and a whole lot of hand-holding for would-be student activists and social entrepreneurs.

If you've got a great idea for making your school more conscious, you've got until February 15 to apply for the 2008-2009 academic year. In the meantime, Do-Gooder asked Del Ponte for some tips on how to have the most impact on campus. The 25-year-old grad student at Yale's Divinity School spent last summer as a microfinance consultant for the Abhilasha Project in Nepal. He got his start as an undergrad, organizing classmates at Boston College around issues such as divesting college money from businesses in the Sudan and labor rights for janitors in Boston and garment workers in Bangladesh.

Even if you're school days are over, Del Ponte's tips can help you foster change in any institution.

What inspired you to found Conscious Lifestyle?

The original intention was to get people to think more about their consumer decisions. We wanted people to learn about locally grown organic food and non-sweatshop products. Then buying green became really popular, so we switched to student groups.

We have a three step philosophy: you should be aware of your impact on environment, then you can change your lifestyle, then you realize that having changed your own life, you can change an institution or the world.

Why focus on students?

There is such a great opportunity for change on campus. It’s really easy to make small changes that will be there forever. There's a venture this year at Columbia University that places students in dormitories kind of like resident assistants, solely to help other students live eco-lifestyles. For years and years to come, that will have an impact and can be replicated on other campuses.

Conscious Lifestyle Venture's Class also has high school students making their schools greener by pushing the administration to use post consumer waste recycled paper and college students volunteering in soup kitchens while working against the root causes of poverty or hosting a 5k run to raise funds to renovate a local animal shelter. What is the CL criteria for choosing a venture?

We look for groups that fit the three-part philosophy. Last year was somewhat of a pilot program with 8 ventures. We’re looking to expand to 25 ventures next year, and then 100 ventures in four years.

For the selection process, the students have to do a 10-page application where they lay out everything: identify the problem, what they’re doing to do to solve it, their budget and time table. It’s like a business plan. We help them revise it. Then they have to present it to a panel. If we’re going to invest in them we want to make sure they’re successful.

What kinds of advice do you find that student ventures need?

Being able to clearly state what their venture will actually do. We have them pitch their ideas several times. If you can ‘t articulate what you’re doing, you can't succeed.

What seems to be the biggest challenge facing students who are motivated to promote change in their schools?

We thought it would be funding, but it’s actually balancing their really busy lives as students. That was one thing that caught me by surprise: students feel burdened by doing schoolwork, going to class, and spending time with friends. So now each venture will be given a young professional in their geographic area to walk them through their projects. So now there's someone who can say: Look I’ve done this. I was just in your shoes a few years ago.

So, how can students balance activism with the rest of their lives?

Look for overlap. They need to see if they can incorporate their venture into their classwork. Get their friends involved, so instead of sacrificing their social life to have a meeting they can have a meeting over dinner.

What other practical strategies do you recommend?

Meet regularly. It’s imperative that students meet regularly. It’s really hard to stay on a weekly schedule. So they need to make meeting a constant just like a class, make it non-negotiable.

Build momentum. A lot of students have large goals, but it's important to start small. Down in Florida, there's a venture called Minor Changes for Major Impact that put on a fashion show with used clothing to show how purchasing clothes isn't good for the environment. They had that right at the beginning and got some good press, so that keeps everyone going.

Find one key ally. We can teach students how administration can be partners rather than adversaries. Find one key ally who can help you provide extra connections or publicity.

Change your game plan. Let’s say you want to get organic food in the cafetreria and you want to switch Coca-cola with another brand in the vending machines because you don’t like their human rights record. Activists are so passionate, they don’t want to give up. But if the administration won't budge on Coca-cola, then you might be better off saying: Okay, organic food this year; Coca-cola next year.

Connect with an established social entrepreneur. We have a venture called IdeaTree Design, with Franklin W. Olin College of Engineering, that provides engineering and product design services to nonprofits. Since they were a startup, I connected them with a startup from Silicon Valley. The young professional was more important than a professor, who maybe knows the engineering but doesn't have experience getting out the product.