MacArthur Foundation names $100 million competition finalists
Projects to fight mosquito-borne disease and to bring reporters to American “news deserts” are among the finalists in the MacArthur Foundation’s new competition to give away $100 million.
The Chicago philanthropy on Monday announced the six finalists and their plans in the second edition of its big-ticket funding effort dubbed 100&Change.
They are:
Report for America, which would deploy 1,800 new reporters to U.S. communities that have been hit hard by the decline of the American newspaper industry, a situation it calls “a crisis for democracy.”
World Mosquito Program, which sends mosquitos carrying a specific bacteria into regions hard-hit by mosquito-borne disease, effectively reducing the devastating impact of dengue, for instance.
Clinton Health Access Initiative and the Murdoch Children’s Research Institute, which would arm hospitals in low- and middle-income countries with the necessary tools to fight low blood oxygen, a preventable complicating factor in more than 800,000 annual deaths.
Community Solutions, which touts its data-driven approach to fighting homelessness in the U.S.
National Geographic Pristine Seas, which creates “well-managed, no-take marine reserves that help restore ocean life (and) improve local livelihoods” it says, to combat the damages humans are doing to the world’s oceans.
Project ECHO, which aims to train local health workers in dozens of countries to ensure that treatable medical conditions receive proper care, saving people and aiding the communities in which they live.
As in the first 100&Change competition, in 2017, finalists will share their ideas at a live event, scheduled for spring, 2021. The winner, selected by the MacArthur board, will receive the $100 million over a period of up to six years.
The first winner of MacArthur’s largest-ever grant was a proposal by Sesame Workshop and the International Rescue Committee to educate Middle Eastern refugee children via tactics including new, local editions of the children’s TV show “Sesame Street.”
In addition to bringing one grand idea to the fore, the foundation lauds the competition’s ability to generate other workable, problem-solving concepts.
“It is our hope that these creative proposals will benefit from expert feedback, technical assistance, and increased recognition, exposure, and support,” Cecilia Conrad, MacArthur managing director for 100&Change said in a statement. “We know from the first round of 100&Change, that the competition will produce multiple compelling and fundable ideas to accelerate social change.”
sajohnson@chicagotribune.com
Twitter @StevenKJohnson
———
©2020 the Chicago Tribune
Visit the Chicago Tribune at www.chicagotribune.com
Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.
