UpPrize: BNY Mellon Social Innovation Challenge
Helping southwestern Pennsylvania nonprofit, for-profit and social entrepreneurs create positive social returns with purpose-driven innovation.
UpPrize is a social innovation challenge that creates cross-sector partnerships to solve some of our community’s most pressing problems. Through in-depth research, we identify areas in which innovation is heavily needed and then extend an open call to the community for solutions. The competition is staged to help ideas and solutions that started in an existing innovation ecosystem develop to their highest potential. The most promising applicants receive grants and/or investments to advance their ideas. We invite nonprofits, start-ups, established firms, students and government agencies to apply. UpPrize was created through a unique partnership between BNY Mellon, the BNY Mellon Foundation of Southwestern Pennsylvania, and The Forbes Funds.
Learn more about the pitch competition at www.upprize.org and sign up for the email list.
How it works:
Challenges
The UpPrize process is designed to engage the creative thinking of regional innovators to solve some of our community’s most pressing problems. As in-depth research process produced the areas in which innovation is most heavily needed and a multi-stage competition enables the existing innovation ecosystem to develop the best possible solutions.
Prizes
Awards will include $10,000 grants for finalists, and an additional $300,000 in grants and $300,000 in investments. Additional targeted support will be provided through a network of partners.
Participants
UpPrize is open to nonprofits, start-ups, established firms, students, and government agencies. Anyone, from a student to a seasoned entrepreneur is eligible to participate.
Learn More: UpPrize Website Next Pittsburgh Pittsburgh Post Gazette BNY Mellon 90.5 WESA
