UpPrize Social Innovation Challenge Will Fund Technologies to Support Racial and Economic Justice in Southwestern Pennsylvania
05.05.22
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CONTACT: TERRI GLUECK
(412)818-8191 mobile
UpPrize Social Innovation Challenge Will Fund Technologies to Support Racial and Economic Justice in Southwestern Pennsylvania
PITTSBURGH — May 5, 2022 – UpPrize Social Innovation Challenge, administered by Innovation Works and fully funded the BNY Mellon Foundation of Southwestern Pennsylvania, will return for a fifth year to bridge the gap between the nonprofit and entrepreneurial communities and increase the number of impactful technology-based solutions targeted to critical social challenges. For 2022, the UpPrize Social Innovation Challenge will focus on technologies supporting racial and economic justice while also strengthening diversity, equity and inclusion among entrepreneurs and businesses in southwestern Pennsylvania’s tech ecosystem. Regional nonprofits, startups and social entrepreneurs are encouraged to apply for funding and assistance in the fifth annual UpPrize Social Innovation Challenge when the program launches May 12, 2022.
Since its launch in 2015, the UpPrize Social Innovation Challenge has allocated more than $2.5 million in investments, grants and technical assistance. The 2022 cycle will continue the mission of supporting impactful technology that improves nonprofit service delivery and the lives and experiences of people in the region. UpPrize applications will be accepted until July 15, 2022 at 11:59 p.m. To apply or learn more, go to the UpPrize website (https://upprize.org/).
“The UpPrize Social Innovation Challenge continues as a platform for investing in breakthrough ideas and bridging the gap between aspiring entrepreneurs and critical social needs in southwestern Pennsylvania,” said Eric Boughner, Chairman of BNY Mellon Pennsylvania. “This year, we’re aiming the UpPrize platform specifically at racial and economic justice, which directly aligns with BNY Mellon’s Purpose-Driven Growth Agenda and amplifying our positive impact on the world. This focus also underscores our company value of Strength in Diversity and our commitment to seeking out who is missing and helping everyone feel included. We’re very excited to see the innovative solutions that founders and organizations can create to drive social change.”
New education sessions this year will provide tools to support more minority entrepreneur participation in the UpPrize challenge and attract greater diversity of people, ideas and potential solutions to the competition.
According to Rich Lunak, president & CEO of Innovation Works, “The UpPrize Social Innovation Challenge is a significant part of our own organization’s efforts to open up entrepreneurship to more people. It’s fantastic to be able to collaborate with an organization like BNY Mellon on a project like this. Their creativity, talented people, capacity to work throughout the entire region and commitment to the issues of social and economic justice make them a fantastic partner to enact social change.”
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About Innovation Works
Innovation Works provides investment and assistance to the Pittsburgh region’s most promising technology startups and is the only regional investment fund focused solely on this region, investing more than $113 million in over 600 companies since formation in 1999. This activity makes Innovation Works the most active seed-stage investor in the region and one of the country’s most active overall. Part of the statewide Ben Franklin Technology Partners, Innovation Works is one of four centers in the network to help build PA’s innovative companies, diversify the state’s economic drivers and capitalize on the world-class research conducted at the renowned universities throughout the state. Innovation Works is partially funded by the Commonwealth’s Ben Franklin Technology Development Authority. Providing investment, expert guidance, and access to networks, Innovation Works helps software, hardware and life sciences companies get to their next stage of economic growth. In an anonymous survey self-reported by founders and leaders of portfolio companies to receive IW investment in the past ten years, nearly 60% of those leaders were women and/or people of color. To learn more about Innovation Works, the organization’s commitment to inclusive innovation, and more please visit www.innovationworks.org.