Salt Lake City, Utah –– On Friday, February 14th, the Community Foundation of Utah showed its love for Utah nonprofit organizations at the First Annual Utah Fund Social Investors Forum held at Westminster on the Draw. Social entrepreneurs The Green Urban Lunchbox and the Salt Lake Bicycle Collective were each given $20,000 in capital to expand their innovative, high impact and sustainable business models.
Of note, the Green Urban Lunchbox received twice the amount requested, underscoring the investment nature of this program
. The Social Investors Forum is the first of its kind in the nation, and another first for the Community Foundation of Utah, fast becoming known as a pioneering grantmaker.
In January, the Community Foundation of Utah received 150 responses to a Call for Investments. In stark contrast to a typical grant application, the Call was only one page long and did not specify a grant amount. Fraser Nelson, Executive Director of the Community Foundation of Utah explained, “The responses are a barometer of the needs of our state, and the entrepreneurial spirit that Utahns bring to solving social problems.”
A group of experts reviewed the requests and narrowed the field to six finalists whose projects demonstrated a compelling new idea, a novel approach to solving a social problem, and a commitment to a sustainable funding model. These finalists pitched their ideas 17 representatives from the venture capital, philanthropic, corporate, entrepreneurial and social sectors in front of an audience. The finalists were: AAA Fair Credit Foundation, Canyonlands Field Institute, The Green Urban Lunch Box, The Salt Lake City Bicycle Collective, Spy Hop Productions and the Utah Nonprofits Association.
The Green Urban Lunch Box was awarded $20,000 in support of their Fruit Share program, which gathers fruit from urban trees, and shares the bounty three ways: one third of the fruit is given back to the tree owner, one third to food banks and one third is used to produce jams sold at local farmers markets, sustaining the organization. The Salt Lake City Bicycle Collective received $20,000 for their Earn-A-Bike program. Here, youth earn their bike by building it. Reconstructed and repaired bikes are also sold to the public, creating a revenue source for the Collective.
Jeramy Lund, Board Chair of The Community Foundation of Utah, stated, “We are pleased to be able to support these social enterprises. They share our commitment to sustainability, impact and innovation, and demonstrate a new way to meet social needs.”
In addition, the Community Foundation of Utah is encouraging others to invest in these and other efforts uncovered through the Call for Investments. Lund added, “True to what the Community Foundation of Utah is all about, we look to leverage our charitable giving expertise and help connect philanthropists with projects that have the potential to change our community. We would love to all these worthy projects funded.”
A compendium of all requests for support has been made available on the Community Foundation of Utah’s website (www.utahcf.org) , informing government, foundations, investors and the community about both needs and the social innovators dedicated to meeting them.
About The Community Foundation of Utah
The Community Foundation of Utah is a catalyst for philanthropy that is visionary, diverse, and inclusive. The Utah Fund is the grant-making fund of the Community Foundation of Utah, built by and for the people of our state. It leverages the giving of many individuals to support programs and services are hard to find, unique, and selected for their innovation and impact. You can support the Utah Fund by making a donation at www.utahcf.org.
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Contact:
Fraser Nelson, Executive Director
Community Foundation of Utah
(801) 559-3005
fraser@utahcf.org
