NONPROFIT INNOVAT ION GRANTSR O U N D 1 , 2 0 1 5

ENABLING LINKEDIN EMPLOYEES TO CHAMPION INITIATIVES THAT ARE READY FOR DEVELOPMENT OR TEST NEW, INNOVATIVE IDEAS FOR SOCIAL IMPACT.

TODAY, WE’RE EXCITED TO ANNOUNCE THE 24 NONPROFIT INNOVATION GRANT SELECTIONS AND THEIR EMPLOYEE CHAMPIONS FOR ROUND 1, 2015.

INTRODUCING…

S A I L F U T U R E

“ I n m y you th , t h ou g h m y f a m i l y ’ s l i m i te d m ea n s p rov i d ed f e w op p o r tu n i t i e s t o sa i l , t h e i d e a o f

sa i l i n g rep re se n ted f re e d om f rom th ose l i m i t s . ” - J ON ATHA N KA R P FEN, EM P LOY EE C HA M P I ON

Empowering youth to make transformative life changes through innovative juvenile justice programs

that challenge the status quo.

H AM I LT O N FAM ILY C E N T E R

“ I a m p a ss i on a te a b ou t p u b l i c s c h oo l s a n d I f e l t i n sp i re d t o g e t i n vo l ved t o h e l p r a i s e th e l eve l o f e d u c a t i on n o t on l y f o r t h e se f a m i l i e s , b u t f o r a l l

c h i l d re n i n p u b l i c s c h oo l s . ” - J ER EM Y S TOV ER, EM P LOY EE C HA M P I ON

Ending family homelessness in the San Francisco Bay Area.

WORLDREADER“ I persona l ly

be l ieve that the poss ib i l i ty o f

lead ing a product ive ,

fu lfi l l ing l i fe i s rooted in

educat ion . For me, be ing ab le to see

the impact and have i t c reate a r ipp le eff ect in o ther p laces i s very impor tant ,

and I th ink Wor ldreader i s do ing exact ly

that .” - C HR I S M EUN I ER,

EM P LOY EE C HA M P I ON

Providing free digital books for education, literacy, and technology in

developing countries.

S W I P E S F O R T H E H OM E L E S S D . B . A S W I P E O U T H U N G E R

“ I fo resee Swipe Out Hunger becoming a

prominent s tudent char i ty a t hundreds o f schoo ls

wor ldwide. I t wou ld prov ide co l lege campuses the oppor tun i ty to become champions o f change.” – J ER EM Y R EYN A R D, EM P LOY EE

C HA M P I ON

Providing University students the opportunity to donate their unused meal

points towards ending hunger in their community.

IREDESCENT

“ I redescen t ’ s cu r r i cu lum suppor t s t eams o f young women f rom a round the wor ld t o

deve lop a mob i l e app and bus iness p l an to address a need w i th in the i r commun i ty. ”

– S A RA H C L ATTER BUC K, EM P LOY EE C HA M P I ON

Inspiring and educating girls and women to solve real world problems using technology.

J O B T R A I N

“ A s a g i r l , I f e l t l i ke I w a s l a c k i n g th e e n c ou ra g em en t a n d g u i d a n c e t o p u r su e a c a re e r

i n c om p u te r s c i en c e . I s t ron g l y su p p o r t J ob Tra i n ’ s e ff o r t t o re a c h ou t t o w om en a n d p rov i d e th e

n ec e ssa ry t oo l s t o m a ke th i s p rog ra m fe a s i b l e f o r a l l . ” - A KA N S HA AG RAWA L, EM P LOY EE C HA M P I ON

Improving the lives of people in our community through assessment, attitude

and job skills training.

“My be l ie f in the success o f fADA l ies in the fact that they be l ieve in ’members

fi rs t ’ ; they are t ransforming the medica l indust ry .” – W ES LEY HEN D R I KS, EM P LOY EE

C HA M P I ON

F O NDAT IO N A I DE DE NTA I R E A F R IQ U E

Promoting dental care in Africa with an emphasis in Rwanda.

WA R C H I L D U K

“When I read the real stories of kids they helped and when I talked with the organization, I saw how passionate

they are, so I believe in War Child.” – N A ZL I OG UZ, EM P LOY EE C HA M P I ON

Supporting children affected by war through programs that mitigate psychological impact of conflict to provide a sense of stability, structure and hope for the future.

FOUN DAT I ON FOR L EAR N I NG EQUAL I T Y (FL E)

“Learn ing equa l i ty bu i lds an open-source so ftware p la t fo rm, KA l i te , that ’s low cost

and easy to insta l l where no - o r low-bandwidth connect ions are educat iona l

barr iers .” – A LEXS A N D RA M C M A HA N, EM P LOY EE C HA M P I ON

Enabling every person in the world to achieve a quality basic

education through open educational resources.

D N T N D A Y N G H E N G H E N G H E NH A N V I E T – V I E T A R T I S A NS

“ We h a ve b e e n op e ra t i ve f o r 3 ye a r s a n d f a c ed so m a n y c h a l l e n g e s . Ye t , w e s ta y c om m i t te d a n d ove rc a m e

th e se d i ffi c u l t i e s . ” – L I LY P HA N, EM P LOY EE C HA M P I ON

Promoting the talent pool of Vietnamese designers and sharing the richness of

Vietnamese culture and heritage.

UNITY CARE GROUP

“The ar ts have the power to he lp hea l k ids who have been hur t by pa in fu l

exper iences in the i r young l ives . ” - T I M M U I N D I, EM P LOY EE C HA M P I ON

Creating quality youth and family programs for the purpose of creating healthier

communities through lifelong partnerships.

P E A C E P L AY E R S I N T E R N AT I O N A L

“ Pe a c e P l a y e r s i n t e rn a t i o n a l u s e s a y e a r ro u n d l i f e - s k i l l s a n d b a s ke t b a l l c u r r i c u l u m t o u n i t e , e d u c a t e a n d i n s p i re y o u n g

p e o p l e i n d i v i d e d c o m m u n i t i e s b a s e d o n t h e s i m p l e p re m i s e t h a t ‘ c h i l d re n w h o p l a y t o g e t h e r c a n l e a rn t o l i v e t o g e t h e r. ’ ”

– J EF F L A N T Z, EM P LOY EE C HA M P I ON

Uniting, educating and inspiring young people in divided communities

through basketball.

R O B O T I C S L E A R N I N G ( M ) S D N B H D

“ Th e v i s i on o f rob o t i c s l e a rn e r i s t o e n a b l e a l l you n g p eop l e , f rom a l l

p a r t s o f t h e c ou n t ry , t o h a ve a c c e ss t o t h e w o r l d ’ s l e a d i n g a n d m os t

re l e va n t ed u c a t i on exp e r i e n c e s . ” - J EA N O ’ BR I EN, EM P LOY EE C HA M P I ON

Providing and supporting students and teachers in Malaysia with the world’s leading educational robots

and educational solutions.

I N T E RAC T I O N D E S I G N A S S O C I AT I O N

“The devot ion and pass ion emanates throughout the IxDA

communi ty , w i th the core s t rength coming f rom the most

ded icated vo lunteers , our board , and leaders . ” – K I M LEN OX,

EM P LOY EE C HA M P I ON

Improving the human condition by advancing the discipline of Interaction

design – individual initiative, contribution, sharing and self-

organization.

S U P P L I E S F O R DR E AM S

“Through my invo lvement w i th the young pro fess iona l ’ s board , I

know that w i th proper fund ing these young pro fess iona ls can

l i f t th i s idea off the ground and make i t in to rea l i ty.” – M I C HELLE

ZHA N G, EM P LOY EE C HA M P I ON

Providing Chicago Public Schools students with critical resources and extra-

curricular opportunities.

BOY S & G I R L S C LU B O F T H E P E N I N S U L A

“We’re thr i l led to in t roduce BGCP s tudents to the concept o f

des ign ing for soc ia l purpose, through the use o f 3D pr in t ing

techno logy. ” – BR I A N R U M AO, EM P LOY EE C HA M P I ON

Providing low-income youth of our community the opportunities that enable them to graduate ready to

succeed in college and career.

C A R E E R V I L L AG E

“ G row i n g u p i n S F w a s h a rd , so I u n d e r s ta n d th e s t ru g g l e s i n n e r- c i t y you th a n d l ow - i n c om e s tu d e n t s

h a ve . C a re e r V i l l a g e h a s b ee n a n a m a z i n g a ven u e f o r m e to sh a re m y c o l l e g e s t ru g g l e s a n d m y c a re e r su c c e sse s . S p en d i n g a f ew m i n u tes a n sw e r i n g a

q u e s t i on , c a n c h a n g e th e c ou r se o f on e s tu d en t ’ s l i f e a n d th a t i s t h e m os t re w a rd i n g f e e l i n g i n t h e w o r l d . ”

– V I V I A N URATA, EM P LOY EE C HA M P I ON

Democratizing access to the career advice and guidance underserved

youth need to create professional and personal goals.

S U A S E D U C AT I O N A L D E V EL O P M E N T

“ I a m p a ss i on a te a b ou t S u a s b ec a u s e th e y f oc u s on

su p p o r t i n g e d u c a t i on f o c u s on su p p o r t i n g e d u c a t i on f o r t h e m os t d i sa d va n ta g e d g rou p s

a n d c h a m p i on i n g h i g h q u a l i t y e d u c a t i on . ”

– L I N US W ELLEN, EM P LOY EE C HA M P I ON

Supporting children and young people in disadvantaged settings to realize their rights and achieve their full potential

through education.

A U S T R A L I A N I N D I G E N O U S M E N T O R I N G E X P E R I E N C E CO R P O R A T I O N

“They t ru ly care about the educat ion and wel lbe ing o f each s tudent invo lved. I am

confi dent that th i s team’s proven, cons is tent , and pass ionate leadersh ip w i l l make th is new

in i t ia t ive a resounding success .” – KA S EY M C D ON A LD, EM P LOY EE C HA M P I ON

Seeing every Indigenous high school student finish school and transition

to further education and employment.

S E L F H E L P AF R I C A

“Self Help Africa is disrupting trading cycles for farming

produce in Africa, by ensuring that more of the value of a crop goes to the smallholder farmer

who produced it.” - C ON OR D OYLE, EM P LOY EE C HA M P I ON

Ending hunger and poverty in rural sub-Saharan Africa using economic empowerment.

T R A N S L A T O R S W I T H O U T B O R D E R S ( T W B )

“ TW B t r a i n s t r a n s l a to r s w h e re th e n ee d i s g rea te s t – t h ey t r a n s l a te

c r i t i c a l i n f o rm a t i on th a t c a n l i t e ra l l y sa ve l i ve s . ” – EL I ZA BET H L I EBER,

EM P LOY EE C HA M P I ON

Increasing access to knowledge using language.

L A B O RAT O R I A

“ I cannot th ink o f two ind iv idua ls more capab le to dr ive a b ig dream l ike th is in to rea l i ty. They are

capab le , hardwork ing , and have a s t rong pass ion to he lp young peop le ach ieve the i r dreams through educat ion and techno logy.” – R OBERT O A N D RA D E,

EM P LOY EE C HA M P I ON

Training underserved women to code and connecting them with companies in need

of their talent.

F O U N D A T I O N F O R P R A DE R - W I L L I R E S E A R C H

“As my daughter grows, her needs and

deve lopment i ssues grow more complex and the

foundat ion prov ides too ls and resources fo r

fami l ies l i ke mine that want to he lp the i r

ch i ldren l i ve a normal ch i ldhood . ”

– W EN DY KOS M A K, EM P LOY EE C HA M P I ON

Eliminating the challenges of Prader-Willi syndrome through the

advancement of research.

T H E P O S S E F O UN DAT I O N

“ Posse e n s u re s s tu d e n t s a re su p p o r te d a n d p re p a re d t o b e

l e a d e r s on c a m p u s a n d b e yon d . ”– JA S M I N E TAY LOR, EM P LOY EE

C HA M P I ON

Posse identifies, recruits and trains incredible young leaders and sends them in supportive, multicultural

teams – Posses – to top colleges and universities across the country.