The Pitch Delivers Impact, Excitement and Inspiration
Watch the Intro Video
Heart-pounding competition. Tear-jerking origin stories. An unmistakable feeling of hope. On Wednesday, April 29, change-makers from across our community came together to experience it all at The Pitch, presented by Goldman Sachs and powered by PNC.
We’re so grateful to the nearly 1,000 community-minded North Texans who came out to cheer on our five competitors—finalists from our Social Innovation Accelerator—who pitched their bold ideas for improving access to education, income and health. The energy, excitement and impact were unforgettable.
Read on to learn more about North Texas’ biggest night in innovation and meet this year’s big winners.
And the winners are
$60,000
$30,000
$20,000
$20,000
$15,000
$25,000
To learn more about this year’s competitors and the impact they’re driving in North Texas, read our Q&A with the finalists.
Why Social Innovation?
Social innovation is a simple yet powerful concept. It refers to any idea that creates change, performs better than existing solutions or provides most of its value to society, according to the definition from Social Impact Architects.
Social innovation is an important part of our strategy, helping us drive progress toward our Aspire United 2030 community goals, which include:
- Increase by 50% the number of local students reading on grade level by third grade
- Increase by 20% the number of young adults earning a living wage, adding nearly $800M in wages per year to the North Texas economy
- Increase to 96% the percentage of our neighbors with access to affordable health care insurance
Through programs like the Social Innovation Accelerator and Social Innovation Incubator, we invest in the people already developing and implementing promising grassroots solutions in their communities. This enables us to dramatically accelerate progress in our focus areas of education, income and health.
The Reach of the Accelerator Continues to Grow
In the 13 years since we launched the Accelerator, the results have been remarkable. To date, 103 fellows have completed the program and gone on to:
- Serve more than 579,000 North Texans
- Raise nearly $80 million to expand their work
- Form 2,783 partnerships across the community
Through the Accelerator and The Pitch, United Way invests $545,000 in seed funding annually and provides more than 1,500 hours of mentorship and coaching to help fellows grow their impact.
By empowering local innovators, United Way and our partners and supports are fueling new solutions that drive progress toward our Aspire United 2030 community goals. Together, we’ll ensure that North Texas is the best place to live, work and raise a family—for all.
Support Social Innovation in North Texas
You can support the grassroots impact of local social entrepreneurs by investing in United Way of Metropolitan Dallas. A donation of any amount can expand our collective impact through programs like The Pitch and the Social Innovation Accelerator, creating positive change that our community will feel for years to come.
Become an Accelerator Fellow
Are you an entrepreneur with a bold idea to improve education, income or health in North Texas? Are you seeking support to get your social venture off the ground, or transform your big ideas into reality?
The Social Innovation Accelerator provides mentorship, expert instruction, seed funding, powerful connections and more. Our fellows are empowered to refine their business plans, build capacity and scale their ventures to drive impact in education, income and health across North Texas.
Each year, we invite up to 10 organizations to become fellows of the Accelerator—and you could be part of our next cohort! Applications are open now through May 9.
Tags
Invest in Social Innovation
By investing in social innovation at United Way, you’ll fuel real change that our neighbors will see and feel every day. Together, we can ensure all North Texans have the opportunity to thrive.
