INNOVATION GRANTS 2013

In 2013, LinkedIn for Good for Employees launched a new grants program called Innovation Grants.

Innovation Grants enable LinkedIn employees to champion initiatives that are ready to develop and test new, innovative ideas for social impact.

Today, we’re excited to announce our first 51 Innovation Grant selections and their employee champions.

ANGEL XPRESS & MAHESH PRABHU*Connect educated, fortunate adults with school-going children from underprivileged backgrounds through non-formal learning classes organized in public spaces.

ASHA FOR EDUCATION & CHITRA MADHWACHARYULA,JAYANT SAI, LAUKIK WATVE, RAHUL SULEDeveloping a new curriculum for providing holistic care for children affected by autism.

BOYS & GIRLS CLUBS OF THE PENINSULA & SHREYA OSWALA new, engaging after-school methodology designed to replicate the flow of an actual design studio for kids; weekly design challenges are based on actual prototyping standards, process, terminology, and the big ideas common in the design industry.

BULL CITY FORWARD & ALISON DORSEYIncrease the creation, scale, and impact of social enterprises in Durham, NC

BUMP & ALI RAZFARBump’s OpenSocket Program produces and distributes low-cost prosthetic limbs, targeting the 98% of 1.75M affected individuals who are unable to afford and access these products

CHERISH UGANDA & BEDA YANGCherish Uganda is building an in-house lab for treatment of HIV positive orphans.

CLICKTHECAUSE & BRIAN ALBRITTONDaily Deal for Community Good – ClickTheCause will be a community crowdfunding platform for raising investment for local improvement projects

COACHART & BRETT WALLACEBuild out training, guidance and financial support to help anyone, anywhere, become qualified as a CoachArt volunteer

COLLEGIA & ADAM MILLER*Taking the proven crowdfunding model and applying it to student college tuition debt.

DEFY VENTURES & JENAE KASKATeach felony offenders how to harness their street-savvy business skills and create legal business opportunities. Expanding program from NY to communities across North America

DISCOVERY TIMES SQUARE FOUNDATION & CHRISTOPHER KENEALLYCombining the museum experience with professional development for teachers and real-world learning for students.

EARLYED INC. & SASCHA AMBROSE*Developing a teacher and parent training program to prevent children with disabilities from isolation and bullying.

EDUKO FOUNDATION & ROLI SAXENAProvide an online platform for teens to help their peers across the world by engaging in answering questions raised by each other about subjects or concepts they might be struggling with

ELEVATED & ERIN NIXON*Developing a teacher retention program that seeks to create longer term buy-in to the teaching profession and shift broader opinion.

ESWARAJ.COM & SHIRSENDU “TROY” KARMAKAR*eSwaraj will allow Indian residents to post and aggregate needs and complaints online in order to enhance the transparency and action of civic agencies in India.

GLOBAL CHINA CONNECTION & DERRICK FU*GCC will launch an alumni program, engaging program alumni as mentors and cultural bridges for current interns in China.

GOLDIE’S PLACE & DANIEL HARTMANBuilding a public/private partnership to support Goldie’s Place’s Dental Assistant Training Program, offering a career path out of homelessness.

GO INSPIRE GO & DEANNA LAZZARONIScaling the “Heroes Club,” a school-based program for kids to discuss and act on the problems in their communities and find ways to help others together.

GREAT NONPROFITS & CONNIE CHAN WANG Gather community-based feedback that helps provide evidence of the impact of donations on a nonprofit

GREEN SCHOOLYARDS AMERICA & MIKE GAMSONThe “Scale It Up” Initiative will help districts adopt comprehensive green schoolyard programs with careful consideration of facilities management, curriculum needs, and ecological systems.

IDUKA CORPORATION & MIGUEL MARTIM*Complete and deploy a web platform that can easily hold and manage a donor/lender/student and volunteer database with content in multiple languages

KITCHEN TABLE ADVISORS & DIANA KUCERFormalizing a pro-bono program that draws on a large community of professionals who want to lend their talents to build a healthier food system

LITERACY CENTER & VIRGINIA ROODEProvide learning opportunities to ABE students using both traditional methods as well as learning through technology in the classroom and at home

LOTUS CHILD & KEVIN CASSIDY*A program that brings middle-class students to be teachers and friends of vulnerable children in Kolkata.

MABOS & BARBARA GILLERAN*Mabos is developing a community space in Dublin that brings community members together to celebrate culture and space.

MAPLE MICRODEVELOPMENT & PATRICK PHILIPSProvide Ugandan entrepreneurs and soon-to-be entrepreneurs with the business skills training, mentorship and guidance necessary to launch their business ideas and scale to self-sufficiency

MARY BYRON PROJECT & DANIEL ROTHDevelop a premiere training and curriculum and workplace/domestic violence policies and procedures

NETWORK FOR TEACHING ENTREPRENEURSHIP & RACHELLE DIAMONDUsing entrepreneurship education as a key lever for unlocking the potential of at-risk and low-income youth

NEW DOOR VENTURES & LUKE BAXTERIntegrating data analysis software that will drive decision-making about resources, scaling plans, and possible opportunities for improving youth service at large.

ONE ECONOMY CORPORATION & DANIEL KATZProvide valuable and marketable skills to an under-privileged segment of the city’s population and help fill the growing mismatch of skills and employer job needs documented by the Brookings Institution and others

ONE PURPOSE SCHOOL & SCOTT ROBERTSThe first elementary school in the US to combine three recent major advances—blended learning, intense focus on attitudes necessary to college success, and the Expeditionary Learning model—in an elementary school serving low-income students.

OVARIAN CANCER CANADA & SARAH LAWLESSTranslate the knowledge in the Ovarian Cancer guidebook into a more user friendly and leading edge format, both electronically and in print

RESTO VAN HARTE & LENA OLIVIER A platform that allows workers to share and compare wage information to equalize access to information

SCIENCEFIST FOUNDATION & RYAN DOUGLASA new mentorship support initiative where students participating in the Innovation Challenge will Skype, email or meet in person with their mentor to learn and make connections between their in-school learning and the work being done by their mentors at the most innovative companies on the planet

SIMPLON.CO & ISABELLE ROUGHOL*Simplon.co addresses a shortage in web programming skills in France and provides high potential students the opportunity to study and work in programming for free.

SPEAKUP SINGAPORE & JAMES CHAUKOS*Bring unique and inspiring speakers into secondary schools in Singapore to expose students to breakthrough ideas and role models at an early age and encourage students to think outside the box about their future

SPHOORTI & SRINIVASA RAJU BIRUDARAJUProvide underprivileged children in Andrha Prakesh, specifically victims of sex trafficking, with long-term care including basic needs, education skills-training and healthcare

STARSTRUCK YOUTH PERFORMING ARTS & JESSICA WEISSSupporting StarStruck’s Education Outreach Program that utilizes theatre to help kids learn life skills, how to combat bullying, and other important issues

STEPPINGSTONE FOUNDATION & VAUGHN GRAYA new initiative, the College Success Academy, provides academic and college readiness services to students attending one of Steppingstone’s three partner public K-8 schools

STIFTUNG SOLARENERGIE PHILIPPINES & ARIANA YOUNAI*LinkedIn will fund the first three “Solar Libraries,” allowing Filipino students to “check out” low-cost, solar reading lamps to complete their homework at night without financial burden or the risk of being burned by standard kerosene lamps.

STREETHEARTS & MICHAEL DUPREEHelp children in Haiti find their next step with social work, support to return to their families, and job placement programs

STUDENT LEADERSHIP PROJECT & MARY ANNE VIEGELMANNRecruit and train a corps of Student Leaders to work with their teachers to create the perception that learning is ‘cool’ and to model positive behaviors

STREAT & SARA WALDMAN*Addressing the issue of youth homelessness and the cycle of chronic unemployment that accompanies it. By running small sample courses of what STREAT has to offer, they hope to reach out to and attract more disengaged youth to their main program.

STUDIOARTES & RICHARD MITCHELL*The Studio ARTISAN program continues Studio ARTES core mission, to provide a meaningful creative program, which capitalizes upon and develops the artistic skill of adults with disability.

SURF FOR LIFE & CHRISTOPHER MOECreate a sustainable recycling program in El Salvador that will provide employment and prevent plastic from entering landfills

TECHWOMEN & OMAR GARRIOTTTrain TechWomen participants as LinkedIn Ambassadors as an opportunity to grow the network of women in STEM fields, as well as increase the usage of LinkedIn in Africa and the Middle East

THE CRUCIBLE & LORETTA CLARKEA non-profit educational facility that fosters a collaboration of Arts, Industry, and Community. Through training in the fine and industrial arts, The Crucible promotes creative expression, reuse of materials, and innovative design while serving as an accessible arts venue for the general public

THE LAST MILE & ANDREW KAPLAN*The Last Mile will be launching a new course, Code 7370, which will teach current California inmates computer programming.

TUESDAY’S CHILDREN & JOHN HASSETTCodify its Long-Term Healing Model to inform program development for community-based organizations and other providers seeking to deliver effective long-term recovery programs for traumatized populations in the wake of tragedy, including those in Newtown, CT, Aurora, CO, and Boston, MA.

VT SEVA & RAJESH BINDUBuilding a common educational curriculum for blind students that is available on laptops and mobile.

WIGGLE YOUR TOES & JAMES SCESA Assist the recovery efforts of individuals who have suffered an amputation

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