ING Direct has entered the social ventures market, joining forces with crowdfunding business StartSomeGood to fund social entrepreneurs.The bank has launched Dreamstarter, a program combining crowd-sourced funds with contributions from ING to get social ventures up and running.ING Direct head of corporate affairs David Breen said the bank started working with a group called School for Social Entrepreneurs as a community project a couple of years ago. SSE organises mentoring services, IT support and funding for social entrepreneurs.Breen said the association led ING Direct to StartSomeGood, which operates an online crowdfunding service. "We thought we would support that enterprise as well," Breen said.The three organisations have representatives on a panel to select projects for funding through the Dreamstarter program. Breen said 170 applicants for the first round were reviewed by the panel to select a shortlist of 11 projects.The 11 projects are raising funds now, so it won't be known for a while how many have been successful. However, Breen said planning was already underway for the second round.Each social entrepreneur on the shortlist must make a pitch on StartSomeGood. If they reach a target level of funding ING will make a similar contribution.Breen said a social entrepreneur was a business with two objectives: to operate a sustainable business and have a social impact.The bank ran a pilot last year and one of the businesses it funded was One Night Stand, a sleepwear maker that has committed to providing a meal for a young homeless person from the proceeds of each sale, working with a group called Open Family.One Night Stand's founder, Jamie Green, said ING Direct's involvement had extended beyond its contribution to the start-up funding of $24,000. He said the bank had given his business ongoing advice and marketing support.Dreamstarter does not set guidelines about how much businesses have to commit to social impact but 25 per cent of revenue is the rule of thumb.Breen said the bank was looking to support businesses that aligned with its values as a challenger and a tech-driven business. It wants to use the program to support "sustainable trade-based" initiatives and not one-off projects.