Applicants are invited to apply for the Truist Foundation Inspire Awards.
Donor Name: Truist Foundation
State: Selected States
County: All Counties
Type of Grant: Awards and Prizes
Deadline: 01/08/2025
Size of the Grant: $100,000 to $500,000
Grant Duration: Grant Duration Not Mentioned
Details:
The subjects of economic mobility and the well-being of workers have gained serious traction in American discourse, often emphasizing the need for comprehensive and accessible career navigation resources for workers. Households across the country are facing heightened costs of living, career uncertainty, and conflicting messaging about the future of work. These trends are particularly concerning when considering that 44% of all U.S. workers are low-wage earners. A clear need remains for worker-centric resources to support the present and future of work, and many assert that the time is ripe.
Although offerings to support youth have grown, those later in their careers face different challenges and have not received the same support, particularly those who are unemployed or underemployed. Nonprofits are stepping up to fill this gap, playing a pivotal role in advocating for and providing services for these workers. Additionally, nonprofits are critical to coordinating with business and government, often supporting knowledge exchange, improving best practices and breaking down siloed stakeholder engagement. Nonprofits have deep expertise for workers, offering direct assistance and broad coalition-building efforts.
Truist Foundation and MIT Solve seek innovative nonprofit solutions that improve resources and wraparound services for adults who are in the middle or late stages of their careers seeking reskilling, upskilling, and career navigation support, including:
- Wraparound Services – Supporting unemployed and underemployed individuals on their journey to economic mobility through innovative and comprehensive resources including transportation support, childcare, mentorship, mental health services, and more.
- Coalition Building – Generating greater buy-in and support for workforce navigation efforts through coalitions, promoting communication and collaboration across diverse sectors and stakeholders including businesses, nonprofits, and government entities.
- Career Navigation – Enabling workers to navigate their career choices more easily, helping to facilitate informed decisions about which high-quality jobs and career trajectories best suit them.
- Upskilling and Reskilling – Providing accessible, high-quality, skill-building and training opportunities for those transitioning between careers or facing unemployment.
Grant Awards
- 15 semifinalists receive a $10,000 award.
- 6 finalists will be selected with the opportunity to receive the following funding:
- 1 finalist will receive the $250,000 First Place Award.
- 1 finalist will receive the $150,000 Second Place Award.
- 4 finalists will receive a $25,000 Runner-up Award.
- 1 finalist will receive the $75,000 Audience Favorite Award, regardless of their status as a runner-up, first-place, or second-place award winner.
Eligibility Criteria
The Inspire Awards are open to nonprofit organizations that meet the following requirements:
- Hold a registered 501(c)(3) status with the IRS. If your organization is a 509(a)(3) supporting organization, fiscal agent, or a fiscal sponsor please see below.
- Headquartered in the U.S. and directly or indirectly serving within the Truist footprint: Alabama, Arkansas, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Indiana, Kentucky, Maryland, Mississippi, New Jersey, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia, Washington, D.C., and West Virginia.
- The organization is operating at least at a Growth Stage of Development: A registered 501(c)(3) organization or a 509(a)(3) supporting organization with an established product, service, or business model rolled out in one or, ideally, several communities, which is poised for further growth in multiple communities.
- The organization’s solution is at least at the Concept Stage of Development: An idea being explored and researched for its feasibility to build a product, service, or business model, including prototypes under development.
- Team Lead must be 18 years or older to apply: The Team Lead should be the CEO, Executive Director, Primary Investigator, or other key leader for your solution. If your solution is selected as a semifinalist, this person will be expected to present the solution to Advisory Council Members during an interview session, and if selected as a finalist for the Inspire Awards, they will be the lead participant in the support program. Alongside the Team Lead, an additional team member is expected to participate in the capacity-building components of the support program.
- Applications for the Coalition Building Dimension should be submitted by a Growth Stage organization serving as an anchor partner for the coalition. As mentioned above, the solution’s Team Lead must be an Executive Director, CEO, Primary Investigator, or other key leader.
For more information, visit MIT Solve.
