MIAMI, Oct. 19, 2020 – The Elevate Prize Foundation is pleased to announce the first-ever Elevate Prize winners, a group of 10 radically diverse innovators, activists, and problem-solvers. Chosen from nearly 1,300 applicants after three months of review, these winners are tackling the world’s biggest problems, including peace, health, women’s empowerment, youth education, and food insecurity, among others.
Launched this past spring, the goal of the Elevate Prize is two-fold: to find extraordinary, purpose-driven leaders all around the world, and to provide them with resources and support to dramatically increase their impact. Winners of the Elevate Prize aren’t just changemakers themselves; they inspire others to have positive impact as well. The foundation believes their stories and actions will change the world and, with the right support, have the potential to awaken the hero in all of us.
Winning the Elevate Prize doesn’t only result in financial support; winners will each receive a minimum of $300,000 in prize funding, professional development services, and have access to a powerful network of partners, executives and decision makers to aid in advancing their work. Over two years, the foundation will work with each winner to amplify their impact, share their stories, and build fanbases to further drive their work forward.
“It’s been a challenging year for the whole world, but it’s also shone a light on those individuals and organizations who are using what’s happening around us as motivation to fight and solve for a better future,” said Joseph Deitch, Founder, Elevate Prize Foundation. “When I started this journey, I envisioned a type of philanthropy more suited to the resources we can deliver today – a more entrepreneurial approach that goes beyond just monetary resources, and provides comprehensive assistance to scale these worthy causes. With all that we’ll offer this cohort through the foundation over the next two years – from 1:1 mentorship to educational training to growing social platforms – I’m excited to help shepherd these heroes on their own journeys to changing the world – and awakening the hero in all of us.”
The 2020 winners of the first-ever Elevate Prize include:
Alexandra Grigore, Simprints, a UK-based nonprofit implementing biometric solutions to give people in the developing world hope and access to a better healthcare system. Simprints is also the winner of the MIT Solve Health Security & Pandemics Challenge.
Amanda Nguyen, Rise Justice Labs, a millennial-driven social change incubator dedicated to helping everyday people champion their own cases, pass their first law, and become leaders in their own right.
Brisa De Angulo, A Breeze of Hope, a Bolivian-based foundation that provides free legal, social, and psychological services to victims of sexual violence.
Chad Bernstein, Guitars Over Guns, an organization that uses mentorship and music to reach and empower Miami and Chicago’s most disenfranchised youth.
Dr. Dixon Chibanda, Friendship Bench Global, a Zimbabwe-based nonprofit that trains grandmothers to be community health workers, where they deliver talk therapy to those in need on a park bench.
Fadi Daou, Adyan Foundation, a Lebanese-based foundation that promotes peace and spiritual solidarity through interfaith dialogue, education, and understanding.
Felix Brooks-church, Sanku, a Tanzanian NGO that fights malnutrition for millions through technology that effectively “doses” flour with the precise ratio of nutrients, ensuring a healthy diet.
Dr. Iffat Zafar, Sehat Kahani, an all-female health provider network that provides quality healthcare to those in need via telemedicine in Pakistan.
Koketso Moeti, amandla.mobi, a community advocacy organization that turns every
cell phone into a democracy building tool so that people across South Africa can take action with others.
Trisha Prabhu, ReThink, an award-winning app that makes cyberbullies think twice before sending a hurtful text or tweet.
“Congratulations to our inaugural class of winners! If there ever was a time to elevate efforts to improve the world, inspire the hero within us, and reinforce our inherently good nature, it is right now,” said Carolina García Jayaram, founding executive director, Elevate Prize Foundation. “This year has magnified issues that still plague the world, but we are inspired and motivated by our winners and their impactful contributions to solving those problems. We are honored to help amplify their drive for positive change.”
The foundation launched the Elevate Prize in partnership with MIT Solve. Simultaneously, in response to the COVID-19 crisis, MIT Solve launched a Health & Pandemics Challenge; as an extension of its partnership, the foundation committed one of its 10 prizes to the winner of that challenge, noted above.
The esteemed judging panel responsible for selecting the winners is made up of 21 of the brightest minds in business, academia and humanitarian efforts, including cellist Yo-Yo Ma, journalist María Elena Salinas, Chef José Andrés, and Sun Media Group’s Yang Lan, among others.
The foundation invites you to support its work by following along its journey and those of its 10 winners on social media, @ElevatePrize on Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, and Twitter.
About the Elevate Prize Foundation
Founded in 2019 by businessman, philanthropist, and author Joseph Deitch, the Elevate Prize Foundation aims to elevate humanity on a global scale by funding, guiding, and scaling the platforms of social entrepreneurs within the areas of healthcare, the environment, poverty, inequality, the arts, and more. The foundation’s primary program is the Elevate Prize – an annual search for innovators and activists working to solve the world’s problems that culminates each fall with the selection of 10 heroes to receive funding and guidance to amplify their work. From there, the winners embark on a two-year program fueled by access to top scholars and industry leaders who guide and support them in scaling their impact. Together, prize winners, advisors, partners and collaborators across industries combine their impressive reach to create a single, powerful philanthropic amplification platform to awaken the hero in all of us. For more information, visit www.elevateprize.me, and follow @ElevatePrize on Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, and Twitter.