The United Way Social Innovation Accelerator in collaboration with Accenture encourages the creation of bold new solutions for issues of education, income and health in North Texas. The program provides entrepreneurs with the critical resources—funding, mentorship, and community connections — to accelerate the growth and stability of their innovative ventures.
Donor Name: United Way of Metropolitan Dallas
State: Texas
County: Dallas County (TX), Collin County (TX), Rockwall County (TX) and Denton County (TX)
Type of Grant: Accelerator
Deadline: 04/13/2022
Details:
Social Innovation Accelerator participants then begin a rigorous, milestone driven, program that is made up of three phases:
- Bootcamp – the first six weeks of the Social Innovation Accelerator is dedicated to an intensive, 40-hour curriculum designed to test the assumptions of our fellows, shape their goals and milestones, and match fellows with mentors (Tu/Th, 1pm-5pm)
- Milestone Accelerator – five months of concentrated coaching with the Social Innovation Accelerator mentors focused on completion of milestones.
- The Pitch – top performing participants are invited to move on to the accelerator’s competition, The Pitch, where they work with their mentors and other stakeholders to prepare for a live pitch event where one participant is named “Social Innovator of the Year”.
Drawing on the strength of United Way and supporters from across the community, the Social Innovation Accelerator supports their participants in three main ways:
- Financial capital through seed funding to accelerate your impact work (guaranteed $25,000)
- Human capital through expert instruction and one-on-one mentoring to refine your plan
- Social capital through the United Way network to increase visibility, connections and resources.
Goals
The Social Innovation Accelerator prioritizes organizations that align directly with the United Way of Metropolitan Dallas Aspire United 2030 Goals.
- Education
- Health
- Income
Benefits
- MENTORSHIP
- Experienced mentors are paired with Fellows based on expertise and need. Mentoring can range from providing an overall sounding board to strategic problem solving in specific areas.
- PEER LEARNING
- SIA Fellows navigate the Accelerator as a group and benefit by learning and sharing with each other. An important component of the program is building a camaraderie with a group of like-minded entrepreneurs who serve as support and a valuable resource.
- SEED FUNDING
- Fellows can earn seed funding by successfully completing program elements.
- INCREASED VISIBILITY
- The social capital of United Way of Metropolitan Dallas helps to increase visibility of SIA Fellows through media coverage, participation in community-wide events and digital community engagement.
- ORGANIZATIONAL CAPACITY ASSESSMENT GRID (OCAG)
- The OCAG is designed to help measure the overall capacity of your organization and your organizational growth throughout the Social Innovation Accelerator.
- UNITED WAY STAFF
- After an initial assessment of your organization, we work with you to establish short and long-term goals that we work to achieve during the short five-month program. Staff provides accountability and creates forward momentum for our Fellows.
Eligibility Criteria
United Way programs require that organizations serve individuals in Dallas, Collin, Rockwall, or southern Denton Counties. Please confirm that you serve individuals in one or more of these counties
The Social Innovation Accelerator supports the following types of organizations/ventures:
- Nonprofit, For Profit, and Hybrid
- Most of their organizations/ventures are early stage operations looking to scale their innovation, but they also accept established organizations looking to scale/implement a new venture/program, although these are less common in their program.
For more information, visit Social Innovation Accelerator Program.
