Explore Competitions
Lever for Change is committed to openness and transparency in its competitions as well as providing value to each participant. We do this is by publicly sharing information about the competition process, including the timeline, evaluation criteria, and judges. We also ensure that as many applicants as possible receive feedback on their proposals. During Lever for Change competitions, all valid proposals move through a process of increasing levels of review, feedback, and diligence. You can explore current and upcoming competitions below and learn more about our Competition Process here.

Launched on March 8, 2022—International Women’s Day—the Maternal & Infant Health Award, sponsored by The Patchwork Collective, is a $10 million grant competition to help improve maternal and infant health outcomes around the world.

On April 7, 2021, the MacArthur Foundation announced a $100 million grant to Community Solutions to accelerate an end homelessness in 75 U.S. communities in five years. MacArthur’s Board selected Community Solutions from the six finalists in 100&Change, the Foundation's global competition to fund a single proposal that promises real and measurable progress in solving a critical problem of our time.

Launched on February 16, 2022, the $143 million (900 million Danish Kroner) Build A World Of Play Challenge will support bold and impactful solutions focused on early childhood. With this Challenge—which celebrates the LEGO® brand’s 90th year—the LEGO Foundation will fund transformative ideas to help solve the biggest global challenges facing children from birth to age six.

Launched on March 25, 2021, the $22 million Stronger Democracy Award will fund bold solutions to strengthen democracy in the U.S. The award is sponsored by Additional Ventures—with additional support from philanthropists Cipora and Vlado Herman and an anonymous donor in the ICONIQ Impact community—and will help drive structural reforms to improve political representation and increase the participation of all citizens in the United States’ democratic process.

Launched on October 13, 2020, the Racial Equity 2030 Challenge will award $90 million to help build and scale actionable ideas for transformative change in the systems and institutions that uphold racial inequities. The Challenge aims to unleash transformative solutions to improve the lives of children, families, and communities across the world.

On July 29, 2021, the Equality Can’t Wait Challenge announced four projects that will be awarded a total of $40 million to support their bold ideas to expand women’s power and influence in the United States by 2030: Building Women’s Equality through Strengthening the Care Infrastructure, Ada Developers Academy’s Changing the Face of Tech, Girls Inc.’s Project Accelerate, and The Future is Indigenous Women.

On June 22, 2021, Lever for Change announced the Renewable Thermal Collaborative (RTC) as the recipient of the $10 million 2030 Climate Challenge, an award sponsored by an anonymous donor to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in the U.S. RTC is jointly managed by the Center for Climate and Energy Solutions, David Gardiner and Associates, and World Wildlife Fund. This funding will help RTC slash industrial thermal emissions 30% over the next decade.

On June 15, 2021, Lever for Change and Lyda Hill Philanthropies announced that Meadows Mental Health Policy Institute was selected as the $10 million recipient of the Lone Star Prize, a Texas-based competition launched in early 2020 to improve the lives of Texans and their communities. The Meadows Institute’s “Lone Star Depression Challenge” will improve quality of life and mental health care access for communities across the state.

On May 4, 2021, Lever for Change and ICONIQ Impact announced that Resourcing Refugee Leadership Initiative was selected as the $10 million recipient of the Larsen Lam ICONIQ Impact Award, a competition to secure a brighter, more durable future for refugees globally. The Award sponsors successfully raised a total of $24.25 million in funding to distribute to all five finalist organizations dedicated to improving the lives of refugees around the world.

On December 15, 2020, premier technology workforce development organization Per Scholas was announced as the awardee of the $10 million Economic Opportunity Challenge. The “Proven Pathways to Transformative Careers in Tech” project will improve economic opportunities for low-income individuals within the United States.