5 innovations to receive $100,000 from Reconstruct Challenge; community invited to showcase event

Render, a public benefit corporation focused on creating impact through innovation, in collaboration with program partners Access Ventures and the UofL Health Equity Innovation Hub, launched an application process in February for a second national prize competition through the successful Reconstruct Challenge platform. This $750,000 iteration focuses on addressing barriers to employment in the United States, specifically in our tri-county region.

Five innovations have been selected to receive $100,000 each from Access Ventures to implement their solutions in the Louisville and Southern Indiana region over the next 12-18 months. After this period, one of the five innovations will have the opportunity to receive an additional $250,000 to further scale.

Over 50 organizations submitted for this iteration of the Reconstruct Challenge focused on removing barriers to employment, with ideas and solutions coming from across the country. Each proposal was reviewed by an evaluation panel, composed of national and local stakeholders. The top 12 finalists were then interviewed by a selection committee who chose the 5 grant recipients based on 4 qualities: impactful, scalable, enduring, and feasible.

The five grant recipients will be introduced for the first time to the community on Thursday, August 25th, 2022 at West Sixth Brewery in NULU from 4 pm-6 pm at our showcase event hosted by Access Ventures and the Metro United Way. In addressing challenges low-income individuals and families face surrounding employment, these solutions range from HR benefits, financial tools, access to transportation, innovations in the healthcare space, and reducing barriers for formerly incarcerated individuals. Anyone interested in meeting these innovators and learning more about Reconstruct Challenge is encouraged to attend. Free food and craft beer will be provided to attendees who register at reconstuctchallenge.eventbrite.com.

Render believes in the impact of innovation. Oftentimes the solutions to our community’s most significant challenges are just waiting for someone to take a risk on them. Traditional processes are engineered for those most familiar with the process, not always those most familiar with the problem, and thereby, the best ideas to solve these community challenges. Through the Reconstruct Challenge’s risk-tolerant approach, we have funded innovation that has unlocked significant impact for our community.

The inaugural Reconstruct Challenge launched in 2019 focused on finding creative solutions to the affordable housing gap in the United States and granted six innovations with $300,000 each. Like the new competition, winners participated in a proof-of-concept phase where they tested their innovations in the Louisville and Southern Indiana region. Winners included Padsplit, Working Your Way Home, Urban Institute, Nesterly, Haven Connect, and mRelief, of which the latter three received $350,000 (mRelief), $100,000 (Nesterley), $100,000 (Haven Connect) in follow-on capital to further scale. Through the first program iteration alone 20,785 lives have already been impacted, over $50,000,000 unlocked for families, and a 21X return on impact realized through these 6 innovative solutions and we will continue to see these numbers increase as they deepen their work within our region over the coming years. We are so excited to grow this impact with our new cohort.

For more information on the program please visit the newly updated reconstructchallenge.com.