It was an evening more than a year in the making.
When Social Enterprise Greenhouse (SEG) and United Way of Rhode Island opened applications for their Nonprofit Innovation Lab last October, the goal was clear. The lab would provide 10 nonprofit ventures with training, community and funding, starting with an intensive boot camp before moving to a 16-week-long accelerator program. At the heart of it was a mission that has always been central to both SEG and United Way: to foster innovative and sustainable solutions designed for social impact.
The nonprofit sector is not often heralded for innovation. It can easily be overshadowed by shiny e-scooters or high-tech software startups. Yet, the participating ventures in the Nonprofit Innovation Lab have created solutions to problems that have only become more prevalent in the Covid-19 era. The College Crusade of Rhode Island, for example, is now running programs to that ensure college students forced to take a gap year stay enrolled beyond the pandemic. Other nonprofits in the lab are providing employment opportunities, training programs and housing to some of the people most impacted by Covid-19.
Rhode Island Inno partnered with SEG and United Way to introduce you to the Nonprofit Innovation Lab this fall. You voted, and five nonprofit organizations ultimately had the opportunity to make their case to a virtual audience and panel of judges in a "Shark Tank"-style pitch event on Thursday night. At stake were a total of $100,000 in prizes.
"We believe that innovation is truly happening everywhere, especially in our nonprofit sector," Cortney Nicolato, president and CEO of United Way of Rhode Island, said during her opening remarks. "I think Covid-19, and the nonprofit sector's response to Covid-19, is absolutely an example of [bringing] that into fruition."
Over the course of two hours, we had the opportunity to hear pitches from all five finalists, watch videos showcasing their ideas and listen in as founders fielded questions from a panel of judges. We also heard a fireside chat between Larry Warner, director of grants and strategic initiatives at United Way of Rhode Island, and Dennis Littky, co-founder and co-director of The Big Picture Company, The Met School and College Unbound.
Judging social impact ventures is no easy task, but our panel arrived at three winners to take home prize funding. Without further ado, here they are:
$15,000 award – Genesis Center
Genesis Center plans to develop a food enterprise that will redesign the culinary arts training program model from a traditional classroom setting to paid, “on-the-job” training.
$25,000 award – The College Crusade of Rhode Island
The College Crusade is initiating new programs and supports tailored to meet the needs of students impacted by Covid-19 for whom a “gap” in their college studies could easily become a “trap” as they seek to achieve social and economic mobility.
$50,000 award – Man Up
Man Up's plan is to start an indoor hydroponic vegetable business that will not only provide financial sustainability to the organization, but will also provide additional training and high-wage employment opportunities for the population Man Up serves.
The audience choice award winner will be determined one week from today, but as of Thursday night, House of Hope CDC led the pack with the majority of votes from attendees. Vote for your favorite here.
"I want to say thank you, thank you, thank you, finalists, for your passion for this work, for not letting a pandemic keep you from chasing this dream and in fact motivate you to move faster," Nicolato said. "Thank you, each and every one of you, for your leadership."
Couldn't make it last night, or just want to experience some of the excitement again? Watch the pitch videos from the five finalists below.
House of Hope CDC
Man Up
Genesis Center
Fuerza Laboral
The College Crusade of Rhode Island
Thank you to Nonprofit Innovation Lab sponsors Bank Newport and Wells Fargo.
A note from Rhode Island Inno: We experienced technical difficulties during this event due to a systemwide software outage. We sincerely apologize to everyone who was impacted.
