After completing the United Way of Metropolitan Dallas’ Social Innovation Accelerator program, five organizations were chosen to take part in the nonprofit’s annual The Pitch event for a shot at $270,000 in prizes.
Sweeping the digital stage and taking home the largest share of the prize package was Addison-based Cornbread Hustle, a staffing agency focused on giving people with criminal records a second chance, took home five awards, including Social Innovator of the Year, the Judges Prize and the Entrepreneurial Spirit Award. Altogether, Cornbread Hustle walked away with about $145,000 in new funding.
“It’s been a very challenging year for Cornbread Hustle, so these resources, the recognition and the credibility of United Way, everything involved in being part of this competition, will help us thrive, grow and expand,” said Cheri Garcia, founder at Cornbread Hustle, in a statement.
Since its launch in 2016, Cornbread Hustle has been working to connect people with addiction issues and criminal records with employment through a number of ways. In 2019, the organization partnered with Virtual Recovery System Freedom 365 to develop and app help people recover from addiction while networking with local companies. During the pandemic, Cornbread Hustle has been working with businesses to help disinfect their spaces.
The only other organization taking home a prize at The Pitch event was The Welman Project, a Fort Worth-based nonprofit that helps teachers source supplies from companies with extra goods. The organization took home the $25,000 Audience Choice award.
In addition to the prize money given out at the event, each of the participants received $25,000 for making it to the finals.
“These are the entrepreneurs that have the potential to improve education, income and health—the building blocks of opportunity—right here at home,” said Jennifer Sampson, president at McDermott-Templeton and CEO at the local United Way, in a statement.
Check out the other finalist that pitched below (descriptions provided by the United Way of Metropolitan Dallas).
- Dwell With Dignity (Dallas), a retail pop-up thrift shop where high-end furniture, art, and accessories are sold at deep discount to fund the homes where domestic abuse survivors and their families can thrive.
- To Be Like Me (Dallas), an innovative disability awareness program, currently targeted to schools, that aims to build more inclusive communities through education and purposeful interactions.
- Trusted World (Garland), which streamlines the labor-intensive work of accepting donations of food, clothing and personal care products for the nonprofit community with no-cost service and online inventory.
While much of the Thursday event’s excitement centered around the pitch competition, during it United Way announced plans to launch a new incubator program focused on female entrepreneurs and founders of color. In addition, the organization said it was planning to introduce a new annual innovation challenge, as well as step up investing initiatives around social impact work in the North Texas area.
The event capped of the United Way’s 2021 Social Innovation Accelerator program, which has been running since 2013. This time around, 10 local nonprofits were chosen to take part in the Accenture-powered program. Throughout it, Seed funding is awarded to participating organizations for completing certain steps along the way.
“When we consider the challenges that have unfolded throughout the last year, North Texas needs innovation now more than ever to drive lasting impact in education, income and health, which are the building blocks that put opportunity in the hands of all North Texans,” said Anne Chow, CEO at AT&T Business and the United Way’s annual campaign chair, in a statement.
Meet the other members of the 2021 cohort below (descriptions provided by United Way).
- Agape Resource & Assistance Center (Plano), a scalable and replicable affordable housing solution that supports residents to sustain or attain economic stability.
- The Concilio (Dallas), whose innovative “talk pedometer” helps parents understand the importance of and increases their children’s exposure to early-language learning.
- Connected Mind (McKinney), a mental health triage tool that identifies up to six of the most troubling mental health conditions and provide school counselors with an instant mental health risk in minutes.
- Dwell With Dignity (Dallas), a retail pop-up thrift shop where high-end furniture, art, and accessories are sold at deep discount to fund the homes where domestic abuse survivors and their families can thrive.
- Kimiya International (Dallas), whose Fight Club has an interdisciplinary approach to addressing mental health care for women who are survivors of trauma, by integrating boxing, yoga, group talk therapy and/or journaling, and individual counseling.
