SCE Announces 2024 Catalyst Awards
Each year, our staff and board nominate several organizations to receive Catalyst Awards: one-time contributions made as part of our year-end giving. These organizations typically work on issues beyond our primary program areas. What unites them is their distinct and promising approaches to chronic social problems.
In a year marked with profound challenges, the work of these 22 organizations feels urgent and critical. We’re proud to support their exemplary work.
Arts and Culture
Fred Rogers Productions: Fred Rogers Productions (FRP) builds on the legacy of Fred Rogers by creating quality children’s media that models an enthusiasm for learning and earns the trust of parents and caregivers. Since 2012, FRP has launched six new series on PBS KIDS that promote social-emotional learning and build excitement about STEM. These programs reach a monthly broadcast audience of more than 5 million viewers and include more than 80 million videos on streaming platforms. They’ve inspired educational games and apps, summer camps, and resources for parents and preschool teachers.
Community and Economic Development
Ladder Up: Ladder Up is a Chicago-based nonprofit that provides low-income, underserved communities with free financial services that help address many of the systemic inequities that can hold people back from realizing economic stability. Services include Tax Assistance Program, Legal Tax Clinic Help, and Financial Aid for College, and Financial Literacy. During 2023, Ladder Up served over 27,000 individuals and their families with an economic impact of $45.5 million dollars to the communities it serves.
Pullman Tech: Workers skilled in the rehabilitation of historic buildings are in short supply in Chicago and across the nation. Many systemic barriers to accessing trades training programs still exist, including accessibility to a diverse and under-represented audience. Pullman Tech Workshop (PTW) is a nonprofit social enterprise formed by local area residents with a passion for preservation, education, and community revitalization to address these needs. With programming like the preservation literacy initiative, transitional employment, and porch build program, PTW hopes to fill this specialized gap in the construction industry through work-based education and community revitalization.
Working Credit: Working Credit is a nonprofit organization that partners with individuals and communities to interrupt the effects of structural racism by providing credit building education, one-on-one counseling, and access to the products people need to thrive financially. The programs help participants to achieve and sustain the prime credit score and establish a safety net of at least $1,000 in available credit for emergencies. In 2023, Working Credit worked with 48 employers and other systems-level partners to impact the lives of over 3,000 people through workshops and counseling.
Education
3G Workshop: The 3G Mentoring Program is an ongoing experiment in building intergenerational connections, created by members of the Sesame Workshop Alumni Network. Experienced adults, high-school and college students, and preschool children engage in joyous, meaningful experiences that create bonds, develop skills, and expand perspectives. The program is powered by joyous Sesame Street videos whose rich content sparks discussions that speak to all three generations.
YouthTruth: YouthTruth harnesses student perceptions to help K12 school leaders, school system leaders, and foundation leaders accelerate improvements so all students can learn and thrive. Through its research-based surveys, wraparound support, and tailored advisory services, it partners with schools, districts, states, and funders to enhance learning for all students. YouthTruth has surveyed nearly 3 million students and 750,000 school staff and families across 39 states.
Environment
Gardeneers: Gardeneers works with Chicago’s South- and Westside schools and communities to contribute positively to the larger food system. It does this by supporting youth in its school garden and farm programs to build their own knowledge, skills, and habits to become leaders who care for themselves, their environment, and their communities. The organization supports 19 schools and a community of 200+ volunteers.
Glass Half Full: Glass Half Full recycles glass “waste” into sand and gravel for coastal projects, disaster relief and prevention, construction, new glass products, and more. Before Glass Half Full was created in 2020, there were no glass recycling facilities in New Orleans. The organization offers free drop-off hubs across the city and converts glass into sustainable sand and gravel. The organization has processed over seven million pounds of glass which is used for coastal restoration and disaster relief and integrated into new glass products.
Health and Human Services
Centro Sanar: Centro Sanar’s mission is to accompany adults and families in their journey to heal and thrive by providing high quality mental health support to community members on Chicago’s southwest side. Founded in 2020, Centro Sanar has served nearly 1,000 clients through mental health, case management, community organizing activities, research initiatives and consultation services.
Dollar For: Medical debt is the top cause of bankruptcy in America. Dollar For works to reduce medical bills by helping patients navigate hospital financial assistance programs. The organization empowers patients and advocates on their behalf by helping clients understand if they qualify for charity care, preparing applications, and working with hospitals to secure debt relief. 188 million Americans are living on the edge of poverty. Medical debt pushes people into poverty more than anything else. Every $1 donated results in $25 in debt relief for a patient in need.
Inseparable: Inseparable envisions a world where mental health is treated as a critical and equal piece of overall health, and where systems are designed with their impact on mental health in mind. Inseparable utilizes a campaign-style approach that results in fast and meaningful progress. The approach effectively deploys the following strategic approaches: Run Campaigns, Release Reports, Champion Lawmakers, Build Hope, Empower Activists, and Shape Narratives.
Night Ministry: The Night Ministry is a Chicago-based organization whose mission is to provide human connection, housing support, and health care to members of our community who are unhoused or experiencing poverty. In 2023, The Night Ministry served more than 5,100 individuals who were unhoused or experiencing poverty. Nearly 1/3 of Chicago’s unhoused young people were provided housing.
Share Our Spare: Share Our Spare seeks to disrupt cycles of generational poverty by collecting new and gently used essentials for children ages 0-5 including diapers, wipes, baby care items, baby gear, clothing, books and toys. They then redistribute these items across Chicago and the surrounding counties through a network of over 80 agency partnerships, reaching over 6,000 children each year. 96% of families served have reported being less stressed about providing essentials for their children.
Journalism and Civic Engagement
Movement Voter Fund: Movement Voter Fund invests in grassroots groups working to advance democracy, equity, and sustainability in the United States. In 2023, MVF worked to move or advise more than $15 million in 501(c)3 funding to support 318 partner organizations in 41 states. It also helped its partners register hundreds of thousands of voters; win structural advances in voting rights and election administration; develop thousands of volunteer leaders; and build stronger alliances and statewide organizing ecosystems.
Open to Debate: A nonpartisan, nonprofit organization, Open to Debate addresses a fundamental problem in America: the extreme polarization of our nation and our politics. Open to Debate promotes civil discourse and critical thinking by facilitating structured debates on important societal issues. Its mission is to empower individuals to engage thoughtfully with diverse perspectives, enhancing understanding and reducing polarization within public discourse. Success for Open to Debate is evident when participants demonstrate improved critical thinking skills, increased willingness to engage in discussions, and a greater appreciation for differing viewpoints.
Prison Journalism Project: Prison Journalism Project (PJP) is an independent, non-partisan, national initiative that enables incarcerated and formerly incarcerated writers to become journalists and publish their stories. Active in 175 prisons across several states, PJP trains and supports individuals in the criminal justice system to become correspondents, reporting on the issues affecting the system, and it distributes those stories to mainstream news outlets. PJP has published 1,500 stories from 500 writers across 175 prisons, and distributes those stories to mainstream news outlets. It continues to expand through several initiatives aimed at training and supporting incarcerated writers to foster greater transparency on mass incarceration and enact policy change.
Protect Democracy: Protect Democracy is a nonpartisan, nonprofit group dedicated to defeating the authoritarian threat, building more resilient democratic institutions, and protecting our freedom and liberal democracy. Protect Democracy experts and advocates use litigation, legislative and communications strategies, technology, research, and analysis to stand up for free and fair elections, the rule of law, fact-based debate, and a better democracy for future generations.
Trust for Civic Life: The Trust for Civic Life supports the people and organizations transforming their communities through the work of everyday democracy. Through grantmaking, networking and learning, the Trust reinvents American democracy by supporting local efforts that bring residents together to solve the challenges they decide are most critical for their community to thrive. The Trust invests in regions that are full of opportunities for impact but are often overlooked by national philanthropy. A community-led nomination process enables local leaders to help identify and direct resources where they are needed most.
Social Justice
Ameelio: Ameelio is a tech nonprofit that is committed to transforming prison communications. Through free letters, postcards, and video calling, Ameelio supports meaningful connection between incarcerated people and their loved ones outside. Its educational technology platform also expands access to education, vocational training, and reentry resources. By virtually connecting incarcerated people with support networks and vital resources, Ameelio cuts recidivism and sustainably reduces prison populations. Ameelio currently works with over 29 prisons, allowing communication access to more than 40,000 incarcerated individuals.
Youth Development
Build4Good: Build4good, an initiative of New America, is a paid mentorship program that matches post-secondary students who are majoring in computer science, integrated digital media, UI/UX design, or other technology-related fields to mission-driven nonprofit organizations with technology-specific project needs. This mostly remote summer internship program aims to inspire a network of future leaders to develop socially minded technology, discover public service-oriented careers, and help nonprofits harness the power of technology for social good.
Give Us The Floor: Give Us The Floor helps LGBTQ+ youth deal with distress through inclusive, innovative and unique online peer Supportive Group Chats that provide constant contact and anonymity in a safe youth-only community, breaking the isolation and shame cycles they are experiencing. Trained youth facilitate the confidential groups and participants help each other with prevalent mental health and social issues such as depression, isolation, anxiety, identity, discrimination, bullying, relationships, domestic violence, and body image.
In Tandem: In Tandem bridges the gap between youth and organizations, fostering collaboration to create impactful, youth-centered solutions. It can help organizations who are interested in engaging young people at any stage of the Research & Design process, including co-designing projects and facilitating youth focus groups. In Tandem handles the logistics of cultivating a community of young people, including coordinating sessions, managing parental consents, and proctoring sessions, ultimately preparing both youth and organizations for authentic participation.