Ignite Community Innovation Challenge Accepting Ideas

Sep. 15, 2015

The Greater Des Moines community is brimming with innovative minds and the nonprofit community is no exception. The Ignite Community Innovation Challenge is a grant award designed to encourage nonprofit organizations to re-think, re-frame and re-imagine how they carry out their missions. The Community Foundation of Greater Des Moines is proud to implement the Ignite Community Innovation Challenge along with the following Innovation Investors: Bankers Trust, Bravo Greater Des Moines, John Deere, Kum & Go, Mid-Iowa Health Foundation, Nationwide, Principal Financial Group, Riley Resource Group, Sammons Financial Group and United Way of Central Iowa.

This is not a typical grant program; after all, we are not seeking typical ideas. This opportunity is being issued as a challenge with a top of prize of up to $30,000 and a runner-up prize of up to $15,000. All prizes awarded will be used to ignite the innovative idea and propel it forward. According to Angie Dethlefs-Trettin, the Community Foundation’s vice president of community investment and initiatives, “Ignite is about more than simply granting to an innovative project. It is about challenging the community, funders included, to think differently about how we can create impact by encouraging outside the box approaches.”

Submissions for the Ignite Community Innovation Challenge are being accepted now through October 15, 2015 at www.desmoinesfoundation.org/ignite. Submitters are asked to provide a two paragraph summary of their innovative idea. From there a community panel will select two finalist organizations to make a pitch selling their idea. Ideas should be clear and innovative, create enhancements in practices, create a stronger focus on mission for the organization, have a viable chance of success and provide approaches that could be applicable to other organizations resulting in industry best practices.

The Community Foundation is also pleased to offer two innovation training sessions, facilitated by the Meyvn Group, on September 21 to assist organizations as they think of how to develop an innovative idea and turn it into reality. Visit www.desmoinesfoundation.org/events to learn more.