Two Madison organizations collectively received $1.5 million last week from Schmidt Futures, a philanthropic organization led by former Google CEO Eric Schmidt.
As part of Schmidt Futures' Alliance for the American Dream competition, a program that invests in solutions that help people move out of poverty and into the middle class, the group awarded first place prize and $1 million to Lift Dane, a project that uses technology to provide legal assistance to people that have committed civil offenses. A second Wisconsin organization, We Care for Dane Kids, won $300,000 for its innovative solutions for childcare affordability.
Both groups also received the audience choice award, which gave each an additional $100,000.
The teams, who are both affiliated with the University of Wisconsin-Madison, pitched Schmidt in person last week at an event in New York City.
"It was pretty crazy having Eric Schmidt drill you on Python programming," said Scott Resnick, one of the Lift Dane team members and the COO of Hardin Design & Development.
In its inaugural Alliance for the American Dream competition, Schmidt Futures partnered with four universities---UW-Madison, Arizona State, the University of Utah and Ohio State---to fund projects that reduce inequality and relieve poverty in the U.S. Specifically, the focus for the local teams is on increasing the net income by 10% for 10,000 Dane County middle-class households by 2020. The winning projects were chosen as part of the university's DreamUp Wisconsin challenge.
Lift Dane is looking to bring justice to the civil legal system, Resnick explained, by creating a technology platform that allows people to do things like get their record expunged or receive their driver's license if it's been suspended after a civil offense.
We Care for Dane Kids aims to make childcare more affordable for low-income families, and help childcare programs sustain healthy businesses and provide their employees with fair wages. It aims to supplement income for workers and childcare costs, reduce operating expenses for childcare facilities, and create a childcare benefit program.
"Schmidt Futures is looking to put together a network of innovative and thoughtful ideas that are really addressing some of the core issues that are facing Americans today," Resnick said. "To be part of that inaugural class and to be one of two grand prize winners is pretty remarkable."
