The Elevate Prize Foundation to Award Up to $5M Annually to Global Heroes in Bid to “Change the Way We Change the World”

New Prize Partnering with MIT Solve to Address Health Security & Pandemics like COVID-19 and Other Pressing Issues Around the World

Miami, Florida – The Elevate Prize Foundation  is announcing the launch of the inaugural Elevate Prize, which will empower and celebrate inspiring people around the world who can spark movements, mobilize people, and catalyze positive, transformational change. This includes solutions that can help communities around the world prepare for, detect, and respond to emerging pandemics and health security threats, including Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19).

The new foundation has engaged with MIT Solve, a marketplace for social impact innovation, and will leverage their award-winning open innovation platform, methodology, and extensive network of entrepreneurs and social impact leaders all around the world. The Elevate Prize will award up to USD $5 million annually to a cohort of 10 Global Heroes, as well as offer unprecedented resources for two years after being selected.

In response to the COVID-19 crisis, MIT Solve has launched a new Health Security & Pandemics Challenge. The Elevate Prize has announced that they will commit one of its 10 prizes to one of the Solver teams selected for Challenge.

Established by business leader, philanthropist and author Joseph Deitch, The Elevate Prize will select a radically diverse cohort of Global Heroes to present with:

• Funding: A minimum prize of USD $300,000 to each Global Hero spread over two years, with potential for additional monetary support.
• Professional Expertise: Management and development services, mentorship and counseling, educational training, and capacity building.
• A Powerful Platform: The creation of a global fanbase to help amplify and scale winners’ work.

“We’re looking to change the way we change the world,” said Deitch, founder of The Elevate Prize. “Our mission is two-fold: First, we want to find extraordinary, purpose-driven leaders, innovators, activists, and risk-takers all over the world – the best of the best – and provide them with resources and support to dramatically increase their impact.”

“The second part is where the magic really happens,” he continued. “We want to share the stories of these changemakers – whether they are focused on equality, education, economic issues or are addressing other critical needs – and showcase their enormous energy, talent, and passion with the rest of the world. In this way, we believe The Elevate Prize can create a powerful fanbase for each winner and for social entrepreneurship in general. Ultimately, the goal is to awaken and nurture the hero in all of us, and ignite a chain reaction of giving, goodness and love on a global scale. The world is looking for heroes. I believe this is needed now more than ever.”

While the Prize is open to Global Heroes who are addressing any challenge in the world, the Foundation is using the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals as a general guide – so Global Heroes could be doing anything that solves problems and elevates humanity. Everyone who is making a profound difference is invited to apply – from entrepreneurs in Haiti and technologists in the United States to artists in Malaysia and activists in Brazil.

“The Elevate Prize is committed to making a profound difference with a new and innovative model for engaging and catalyzing audiences around the world,” said Carolina Garcia Jayaram, founding Executive Director of The Elevate Prize Foundation. “Right now, COVID-19 is on all our minds. It’s also important to remember the myriad issues that will emerge from or be exacerbated by the current pandemic and the massive economic disruptions it will cause. The collaborative and dynamic community of Global Heroes we are going to build will help us face those issues, creatively and head on.”\

“We are proud to partner with The Elevate Prize Foundation to support Global Heroes who can make a significant impact in their community and in the world,” said Alex Amouyel, Executive Director at MIT Solve. “We are thrilled to help launch and power the inaugural and expansive Elevate Prize. Now more than ever, in response to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, and its consequences, we need innovators, technologists, activists, and more who elevate humanity.”

The application process for the Prize begins on March 30, 2020 at www.elevateprize.org and applicants can submit a solution until the June 29, 2020 deadline. Finalists will be selected in August and invited to present their work before The Elevate Prize judges and a live audience in New York City during the United Nations General Assembly in September 2020.

Applicants who seek to elevate humanity can submit their application, and anyone is welcome to nominate their hero, starting today at www.elevateprize.org.

About The Elevate Prize:

Founded by businessman, philanthropist and author Joseph Deitch, The Elevate Prize Foundation launched The Elevate Prize powered by MIT Solve to awaken and nurture the Global Hero in all of us. The Prize will award up to USD $5 million annually dispersed across multiple Global Heroes, as well as offer unprecedented resources for two years after being selected, helping to amplify their work and build a massive movement to inspire people everywhere to do amazing things and awaken the hero in all of us. Learn more at www.elevateprize.org or contact us at hello@elevateprize.org.

About MIT Solve:  

MIT Solve is an initiative of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) with a mission to solve world challenges. Solve is a marketplace for social impact innovation. Through open innovation Challenges, Solve finds incredible tech-based social entrepreneurs all around the world. Solve then brings together MIT’s innovation ecosystem and a community of Members to fund and support these entrepreneurs to help them drive lasting, transformational impact. Join Solve on this journey at solve.mit.edu.