Big ideas received big recognition at last month’s Social Good Summit in New York City, where the world’s brightest and most determined converged under the banner of social betterment. According to All Techie News, nearly 3,000 people attended the three-day event, with hundreds of thousands partaking via Livestream web viewing.

Perhaps the most intriguing aspect of the summit came not from entertainment or political celebrities, but from lesser-known entrepreneurs. Eight new organizations were selected as finalists for the StartUps for Good Challenge, a competition in which the founding entrepreneurs pitch their ideas to a panel of elite judges on the final day of the Social Good Summit. This year’s competition included concepts ranging from promoting online volunteerism to elevating energy efficiency. Here’s a rundown of the eight finalists selected to present their innovations:

· Awaaz.De: This organization provides a forum that enables workers with limited internet access to connect via a toll-free telephone message board. For example, Awaaz.De (which means “give voice” in Hindi) would allow an Indian farmer to call a number, ask a question about farming, crop pricing, etc., and receive a message with an answer from a fellow farmer participating in the project. Think Yahoo Answers, but on a telephone.

· Catchafire: Catchafire's self-stated mission is to “improve the quality of the volunteer experience by providing pro-bono opportunities for skilled professionals.” In essence, Catchafire acts like a headhunter for people seeking volunteer work and the non-profit organizations that would best complement those skill sets. It helps those who want to help.

· Kopernik: Started by a former UN employee, Kopernik connects developing technology with developing countries. Its online platform allows inventors to sell their technologies to non-profits dedicated to helping people make minor changes that will result in major improvements in their quality of living. For example, Kopernik successfully showcased and sold several Q Drums, rolling containers that enable people to transport greater quantities of water without as much exertion. The drums were initially distributed in African nations where women and children were suffering neck and spine injuries from carrying large quantities of water on their heads. The Q Drums recently received media attention for their success in slowing the cholera outbreak in Haiti.

· Em[Power]: Em[Power] helps improve the quality of life for impoverished landfill scavengers. This group is currently working on projects in Pakistan and Bangladesh that help towns streamline recycling, finding ways to turn organic waste into electricity, and create compost for farmers and businesses.

· Prove My Concept: This group’s concept is to provide a virtual platform for burgeoning entrepreneurs to test their business models online. The site poses relevant business questions to its users and 10 judges vote on the best business idea through a contest in the UK and Ireland. Proposal ideas have ranged from creating homemade meals for busy office workers (called Scratch) to SportPost, an online portal for hardcore sports fans who want continuous access to sports feeds. The chosen winner receives a prize of 3,000 Euros.

· Sparked: Sparked promotes the concept of ‘microvolunteering,’ which provides a way for busy people to give their time in a convenient, fun and tech-savvy way. Sparked enables people to lend their professional expertise, like creating PowerPoint presentations for non-profits or designing web pages. It brings volunteering into the Internet era.

· Simple Energy: Simply put, Simple Energy helps the energy industry find better ways to encourage customers to be more energy efficient. Their strategies include interactive games, energy conservation visuals and customer service advice.

· SunSaluters: Its aim is to provide solar energy to developing countries. By using special coils, these solar panels move to follow the sun, harnessing solar power more efficiently.

So who did the judges deem as their favorite StartUp of 2011? SunSaluters’ 19 year-old developer, Eden Full, took home the grand prize of US$10,000 to be used toward building her solar panel operation. The sophomore at Princeton University will be taking time off school to focus on expanding her new enterprise.

While only one winner could be officially crowned, the competition demonstrated that thousands - or even millions - of people will wind up winning because of these new ideas and products. Social good just got better.

SunSaluter: $10,000 Winner of the EcoLiving 2011 Student Leadership Award from Scotiabank's EcoLiving on Vimeo.