Help us find people working on innovative ideas in Cambridge

Cambridge Community Foundation is excited to announce our second annual Social Innovation Award competition, Imagined in Cambridge. As a funder of Cambridge nonprofits for more than a century, we are deeply rooted in the community—yet we are confident there are local ideas we don’t know about. Last year, we uncovered five award-winning ideas presenting innovative solutions to pressing social problems and we know there are more. We want to discover and foster the next generation of emerging leaders and ideas that will help shape our mission to support Cambridge’s shared prosperity, social equity, and cultural richness. Now more than ever, faced with two pandemics in our community—COVID-19 and racism—voices for change are needed.

Somewhere in Cambridge we know there is a student, an emerging nonprofit, a group of neighbors, or an entrepreneur tackling a problem, inventing a solution, and/or implementing a program that will improve the quality of life in Cambridge.

We’re looking for original ideas that exhibit creativity, daring, and ambition. We value light touch interventions—programs that can be implemented with small resources and create big impact. Help us find them!

The award winner will receive $5,000 and two runners-up will each receive $1,000. All three also will receive at least one pro bono consulting session with the Foundation and join a growing network of social entrepreneurs in the community.

The 2020 application is now closed. This year’s winner and runners-up will be announced in October.