The Foundation will award up to three Grand Prizes of $40,000 each to individuals or teams of up to four members. Grand Prize winners who applied as individuals will receive $40,000; winners who applied as teams will split the $40,000 award amount among the team members. Honorable Mention winners will receive $5,000, to be split in the same manner.
Eligibility Criteria
Innovators may apply as individuals or as teams of up to four members. If you are applying as a team, at least 50% of the team must meet ALL eligibility requirements (e.g. at least one member of a two-person team, and at least two members of a three- or four-person team).
Age: An individual founder must be under the age of 28 years during the calendar year in which they apply. If a team of co-founders applies, at least half of the founding team must be under age 28 in the year they apply.
Residence: Live, work, or attend school in California, or come from California and attend school elsewhere. An individual founder or at least half of the co-founders must be resident(s) of or live in California at the time of the application and throughout the selection process.
Role: Creator/founder or co-creator/founder. All co-founders must be listed on the application.
Issue Focus: Any, so long as the innovation addresses a community challenge and is grounded in a strong social purpose
Stage of organization: Early-stage, but must have a working prototype
Form of organization: Any, so long as social purpose is central
At least one co-founder is able to present remotely on January 20, 2024.
The foundation welcomes applications from young innovators from California who want to make the world a better place. They evaluate candidates on these criteria:
Quality of the Innovation: The community challenge is significant, and the innovator(s) has/have a working prototype of the solution that exhibits creativity, originality, and has been tested with some success.
Impact: Applicant has developed a new and compelling solution to a social challenge anywhere in the world, and has developed an innovation that shows potential to scale.
Capacity & Sustainability: Applicant demonstrates sufficient organizational infrastructure to move forward or the ability to build that capacity, and is committed to the ongoing sustainability and scaling of their innovative venture.
Leadership: Applicant is a leader and creative problem-solver with a willingness to try, fail, adapt, and persist.
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