15 organizations in contention for $100,000 award In “Big Ideas, Bright Cities Challenge”

The Big Ideas, Bright Cities Challenge, honors teams of nonprofits, education organizations, and cities working with the business community to create innovative programs that help prepare young people for meaningful careers. For the next year, all 15 Finalist will be part of an incubator program to share leading practices and connect with business and city leaders invested in youth skills development. The Skills Friendly Cites Network will help their ideas to grow and inspire others.

This is the second cohort of winners in the Challenge, run by the Global Business Coalition for Education, a movement of businesses committed to ending the global education crisis. The initiative is made possible by support from Dell Technologies and Deloitte.

“With this Challenge, we’re spotlighting groundbreaking work across the country to nurture skills in young people and help set them up for success,” said Justin van Fleet, executive director of the Global Business Coalition for Education. “This is our way of encouraging youth-serving nonprofits, companies and cities to work together, building skills for the next generation.”

The Big Ideas Bright Cities Challenge provides local nonprofit leaders the opportunity to work with some of the world’s leading companies and organizations, including businesses focused on digital transformation. This year, the challenge drew hundreds of applicants from 24 states. They had to show collaboration among nonprofits, city leaders, young people, and businesses. Winners were selected based on 10 Standards for Creating Skills-Friendly Cities.