SAN JOSE, CA – (May 20, 2021) – NBC Bay Area / KNTV, Telemundo 48 Area de la Bahia / KSTS and the Comcast NBCUniversal Foundation today announced that 12 local nonprofits will receive a total of $315,000 in Project Innovation’s 2021 grants. The winning organizations feature programs that are addressing local issues through innovative solutions in the areas of community engagement, culture of inclusion, next generation storytelling and youth education and empowerment. This is the fourth consecutive year that NBC Bay Area and Telemundo 48 along with the Comcast NBCUniversal Foundation recognize local nonprofits with Project Innovation grants.
“These 12-recipient organizations have shown resilience and have continued to move their communities forward during a challenging year,” said Stacy Owen, President and General Manager of NBC Bay Area and Telemundo 48. “From providing nutritious meals to our vulnerable neighbors to creating safe spaces for youth of color, these organizations are leading the change we want to see in our Bay Area communities.”
Project Innovation is presented by the Comcast NBCUniversal Foundation and the NBC and Telemundo owned stations located in 11 markets, including in the Bay Area. Grant applications opened January 8 and closed on February 12. The stations created and gathered community panels to review grant applications and select final grant recipients. This year, the program funding levels increased in each participating market to $315,000 up from $225,000 and to $3.475 million across the 11 markets, up from $2.475 million.
Local Project Innovation 2021 grant recipients include:
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Techbridge Girls – $50,000
Techbridge Girls (TBG) is an organization bringing science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) education to girls in the Bay Area and across the US. Their mission is to excite, educate, and equip girls from marginalized communities to leverage their STEM education as a path towards economic mobility. The Project Innovation grant will allow TGB to double the number of girls they serve in the Bay Area from 1,500 to 3,000 each year. Funding will equip the organization to continue pioneering virtual, flexible, and responsive STEM programming throughout the pandemic in 2021, supporting schools and families as they navigate challenging educational circumstances.
Ryse Inc. – $50,000
Local
RYSE creates safe spaces grounded in social justice for youth of color ages 13-24 across Richmond and West Contra Costa County to love, learn, educate, heal, and transform lives and communities.
Youth Radio – $50,000
Youth Radio’s work is fueled by their mission to provide young content creators from historically marginalized groups with an experiential media arts education and a national platform to use their voices for good – now and in the future – as the next generation of media industry leaders.
Project Open Hand – $25,000
Project Open Hand's mission is to connect and educate the community by providing nutritious meals to the sick and vulnerable, improving health outcomes and quality of life.
Hispanic Foundation of Silicon Valley – $25,000
The Hispanic Foundation of Silicon Valley is dedicated to inspiring community philanthropy and engaging people to invest in the educational excellence, leadership development, and convening and engaging the Hispanic community to improve the quality of life for Latinos and the Silicon Valley region.
St. Francis Center of Redwood City – $25,000
The St. Francis Center's mission is to provide the opportunity for families living in North Fair Oaks, Redwood City, and surrounding communities to live with dignity while accessing essential services and becoming self-sufficient members of the community. SFC offers direct services, such as free food and groceries, free clothing, shower and laundry for the homeless, immigration counseling, and affordable low-income housing.
Project Invent – $20,000
Project Invent empowers high school students to invent technologies that make a difference. Their mission is to empower the next generation of fearless STEM leaders and problem solvers, through invention. They train educators in design thinking, engineering, and entrepreneurship to lead student invention teams.
Next Generation Scholars – $20,000
Next Generation Scholars addresses educational inequity and social injustices by ensuring access to higher education for low-income, first-generation students. In doing so, students are provided the resources and support needed to disrupt systems of poverty and oppression that might otherwise define their futures.
CatchLight – $20,000
CatchLight is a visual-first nonprofit media organization borrowing from the practices of art, journalism and social justice. They leverage the power of visuals to inform, connect and transform communities. CatchLight is building a collaborative model to reseed local visual journalism; partnering community-based visual journalists with news media to improve audience and community engagement.
Oakland Public Education Fund - $10,000
The Oakland Public Education Fund leads the development and investment of community resources in Oakland public schools so that all students can learn, grow, and thrive. OPEF raises money for all Oakland public schools and has raised $200+ million for Oakland students, placed 10,000 volunteers in classrooms, and fiscally sponsored 150+ education projects.
Upwardly Global - $10,000
Upwardly Global’s mission is to eliminate employment barriers for skilled immigrants and refugees, and integrate this population into the professional US workforce. They envision an equitable, more welcoming nation where everyone — including immigrants, refugees, and asylees — can fully contribute and thrive.
Girls Leading Girls Inc. - $10,000
Girls Leading Girls' mission is to train girls ages 5-17 in leadership and life skills through soccer with all female coaches. Their free after school soccer program helps to improve mental and physical wellness, self-worth, dropout rates of girls in sports and school, lack of representation of women in leadership, and generational poverty by keeping girls in school, providing them with a safes pace to learn and grow, and employing an innovative community-centered approach.
Project Innovation 2021 grants were presented to eligible nonprofits in select markets including New York (WNBC, WNJU), Southern California (KNBC, KVEA), Chicago (WMAQ, WSNS), Philadelphia (WCAU, WWSI), Dallas-Fort Worth (KXAS, KXTX), Boston (WBTS, WNEU, necn), Hartford, CT (WVIT, WRDM), Washington, D.C. (WRC-TV, WZDC), Miami-Fort Lauderdale (WTVJ, WSCV), San Francisco Bay Area (KNTV, KSTS), and San Diego (KNSD, KUAN).
For a list of all Project Innovation 2021 winners, click here. Follow on social at @NBCUFoundation and #ProjectInnovation.
About NBC Bay Area / KNTV
Owned by NBCUniversal, NBC Bay Area / KNTV is the Bay Area’s investigative station located in the heart of Silicon Valley. The station is committed to providing continuous, in-depth journalism with unique personalities. Along with broadcasting NBC’s award-winning daytime, prime-time and late night programming, NBC Bay Area produces more than 32 hours of news programming each week. The station can be seen locally on Comcast 3 and 703 and over-the-air on 11. COZI TV, the station’s digital network, offers a full schedule of America’s most beloved and iconic television series, hit movies and original programming. COZI TV can be seen locally on Comcast 186 and over-the-air on 11.3.
About Telemundo Telemundo 48 / KSTS
Telemundo 48 / KSTS is Telemundo’s local television station serving the Spanish-speaking community throughout the Bay Area. Owned by NBCUniversal, the station is committed to providing viewers with breaking news and in-depth journalism with their award-winning team of reporters, offering the most up-to-date local news, weather, sports and entertainment headlines through a variety of platforms, including online at TelemundoAreadelaBahia.com and via mobile and social media channels. The station can be seen locally on Comcast 18 and 718 and over-the-air on 48. TeleExitos, the station’s digital network, offers exciting action and adventure programming in Spanish. TeleExitos can be seen locally on Comcast 194 and 1198 and over-the-air on 48.2.
About Comcast NBCUniversal Foundation
The Comcast NBCUniversal Foundation works to advance initiatives at the cross-section of societal needs and Comcast NBCUniversal’s priorities. The Foundation supports programs and organizations that strive to move communities forward. NBCUniversal is one of the world’s leading media and entertainment companies in the development, production, and marketing of entertainment, news, and information to a global audience. NBCUniversal owns and operates a valuable portfolio of news and entertainment television networks, a premier motion picture company, significant television production operations, a leading television stations group, world-renowned theme parks, and a suite of leading Internet-based businesses. NBCUniversal is owned by Comcast Corporation.
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