NEW
YORK, July 23, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- The Impact
Prize, a one million dollar award
supported by entrepreneur and philanthropist Tom Iovino and the Iovino Family Foundation,
today announced four winning nonprofit organizations, each
exhibiting excellence in advancing economic mobility through
innovative workforce development and technical training
initiatives. In this inaugural year, the Impact Prize focused on
recognizing nonprofit programs with proven outcomes leading to
high-value employment for people from diverse backgrounds.
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"We received an overwhelming response to the 2024 Impact Prize,
with hundreds of strong applicants from 39 states. Each winning
organization, while unique in their approach, shares a collective
and inspiring commitment to provide the communities they serve with
the tools necessary for high quality and sustainable employment,"
Tom Iovino said. "The leaders of
these programs are visionaries who understand how lasting change is
built from the ground up. I am encouraged by the measurable impact
they have had in their communities and feel incredibly fortunate to
support their continuing work."
The 2024 Impact Prize winners sharing in the million dollar
award are:
- Evanston Rebuilding Warehouse (dba Rebuilding Exchange)
One of the only deconstruction workforce development programs in
the Chicagoland area, Rebuilding Exchange collaborates with a
robust set of non-profit partners and building trades employers to
recruit trainees and provide career development job placement
services. These workforce training programs provide transitional
employment and pre-apprenticeship opportunities to support people
with low incomes on a path to a successful building trades career.
In the last year 89 percent of attendees were placed into building
trades jobs earning an average starting wage of $18/ hour upon graduation.
- Lost Angels Children's Project
Lost Angels Children's Project empowers young people ages 18-24
years old with low incomes and facing high barriers in the Antelope
Valley and greater Los Angeles
through vocational training, social enterprise, and outreach
programs. The flagship Work Program offers a 12-week, hands-on
intensive training in industrial arts like welding and composites
design, tailored to the aerospace industry. Of 201 total students,
197 are employed, mostly in high wage earning jobs in manufacturing
and aerospace industries.
- Rise Up Industries
Launched in 2016, Rise Up Industry's reentry program addresses the
needs of formerly incarcerated individuals and those previously
involved in gangs, preparing members for careers in CNC (Computer
Numeric Control) machining, a well-paying trade whose workers are
in high demand. The program boasts a 100 percent employment rate
for graduates, allowing members to successfully reenter society,
thereby reducing gang population and recidivism rate while also
filling a regional labor market gap for CNC operators in
San Diego.
- West Virginia Women Work
For over 24 years, West Virginia Women Work has supported women
seeking to overcome barriers to economic independence with
comprehensive training and support services, focusing on skilled
trades and manufacturing fields, providing a path to achieve
economic self-sufficiency and an opportunity to provide better
lives for their families. The majority of graduates are employed,
earn above minimum wage, and are on growth tracks at work.
The Iovino Family Foundation also recognizes the following six
organizations as Impact Prize finalists: Boston Education, Skills,
and Training Corp, Grace Institute of New
York, Manufacturing Works, Marcy Lab
School, Next Chapter Project, and Revolution Workshop.
The Impact Prize is managed in partnership with Rockefeller
Philanthropy Advisors (RPA), an organization providing advisory,
management, and implementation services for families, foundations
and other philanthropic initiatives.
"I want to extend my sincere congratulations to the four
organizations selected as winners of the Impact Prize. It was a
great honor to work with Tom Iovino
and his team, along with our esteemed Selection Committee, to
recognize those building pathways to economic prosperity for people
in their communities," says Greg
Ratliff, Senior Vice President of Advisory Services at RPA.
"The urgent need for career and skills training in the United States is undervalued and
under-discussed, and supporting innovative, effective programs is
instrumental to changing the status quo."
To learn more about the Impact Prize and the 2024 winners and
finalists, please visit www.theimpactprize.org.
About the Impact Prize & Iovino Family Foundation's
Workforce Initiative
The Impact Prize features those taking
action to drive positive change in today's rapidly evolving
economic landscape: the problem-solvers and innovators bridging
gaps by increasing access to family-sustaining wages, career
progression, and social mobility for people from all backgrounds.
This $1 million open call award is a
cornerstone of the Iovino Family Foundation's dedication to
philanthropy and advancing economic prosperity through quality
employment for more people in the United
States. We see a future where employers, educators,
policymakers, philanthropists and individuals come together to
elevate workforce innovation and ensure there are multiple on-ramps
to financial prosperity.
About Rockefeller Philanthropy Advisors
Rockefeller Philanthropy Advisors (RPA) accelerates philanthropy in
pursuit of a just world. RPA is a global nonprofit at the forefront
of philanthropic growth and innovation, with a diverse team of
experienced grantmakers with significant depth of knowledge across
the spectrum of issue areas. Founded in 2002, RPA has grown into
one of the world's largest philanthropic service organizations and
has facilitated more than $4 billion
in grantmaking to more than 70 countries.
Contact:
Christen Graham
Giving Strong
207-838-0082
Media Contacts
Christen Graham, 207-838-0082
Andrea LePain, 617-894-1153
Jessica Laufer, 310-909-3611
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SOURCE Impact Prize; Rockefeller Philanthropy Advisors