State Policy Network is excited to announce Doxa Development, unCommon Construction, and CarePortal, LLC are the winners of the 2024 Pathways to Prosperity Prize.
Supported by grants from the Beth and Ravenel Curry Foundation, John Templeton Foundation, and Rising Tide Foundation, the Pathways Prize inspires and accelerates projects that offer market-based solutions to the many challenges poverty presents to our communities.
Free enterprise has lifted billions of people worldwide out of poverty. Giving people the personal freedom to be entrepreneurial in all walks of life generates lasting social change that improves everyone’s quality of life. The Pathways Prize supports ideas and organizations that expand the power of free enterprise to bring about community progress and individual flourishing.
This year’s winners were recognized at State Policy Network’s Annual Meeting in Phoenix in late August.
Learn more about the winners and their projects, below.
CarePortal, LLC is a nonprofit whose goal is to disrupt the child welfare system and end the foster care crisis by making “care-sharing” as ubiquitous as ride-sharing. The organization uses technology called CarePortal to drive action for children and families in crisis. CarePortal connects local care stakeholders—the faith community, businesses, education, government, nonprofits, and people in proximity who care—to collaborate in meeting real-time needs and making meaningful connections with children and families in crisis.
Care-sharing—sharing the needs of the most vulnerable with people in proximity who care —is CarePortal’s solution to strengthen families through community at scale and ultimately end the foster crisis.
They will use the Pathways Prize to support their work to expand and strengthen families through community in Maricopa County, Arizona. With more than 6,000 children in foster care, Maricopa County is in the top one percent of communities with the most kids in care in the country.
Doxa Development is a nonprofit in Michigan that revitalizes lives, families, and cities through community-based entrepreneurship. Their mission is to break cycles of poverty by developing emerging entrepreneurs; pioneering pathways for business growth in the community; incubating value-based expressions of marketplace leadership; and nurturing interdependent relational environments.
A central piece of their work is Doxa Dinners—or community funded micro-grant events honoring and supporting creative ideas, projects and startups in the Michigan counties of Genesee, Saginaw, Bay, and Midland. Attendees from the community donate $5 dollars at the door to hear presentations from 4-5 preselected individuals seeking funding. Participants enjoy food, friendship and networking opportunities and vote for their favorite presentation—with categories ranging from urban agriculture, food, retail, education, technology, and more. 100% of donations are awarded to the entrepreneur with the most votes.
Doxa Dinners is a place where people from diverse backgrounds within the community can come together, share ideas, engage in meaningful conversations and self-fund each other’s ventures. These events tackle localized poverty and economic disparity by equipping community members to invest in under-served entrepreneurs.
Funding from the Pathways Prize will allow Doxa to continue expanding their work throughout Michigan and cities with similar needs outside of the state.
unCommon Construction, a nonprofit based in New Orleans, uses the build process to empower youth with the skills, network, resources, and experience to lead the workforce after high school or college. Youth from different high schools in New Orleans and Minneapolis apply to earn hourly pay and school internship credit by participating in uCC’s program.
Participants in this apprenticeship initiative complete real construction projects from the ground up, learn soft and technical skills, and engage in meaningful networking and mentorship opportunities with employers.
Since 2015, 400 apprentices have participated in uCC programming, collectively earning more than $400,000 in pay and scholarships. Of these participants, more than 75% completed the program, exceeding retention rates of similar programs; and 100% of program completers finished high school on time and enrolled in post-secondary education or attained a job within three months of graduating high school. In addition, 75% reported intentions to pursue careers in construction or related fields.
unCommon Construction will use the Pathways Prize to expand their already successful programming and grow their efforts in new locations.
Congrats to the winners! SPN looks forward to sharing their impact on the individuals and families in their communities in the year to follow. If you are interested in working with one of our winners, learning more about Pathways applicants in your area, or meeting with the winners at our Annual Meeting, please reach out to Elyssa Webber, Director of LaunchPad Identification, at elyssa@spn.org.
