United Way of the Greater Capital Region (UWGCR) is shining light on social innovation through the Luminosity Collaborative, a fellowship and grant program that supports community-based organizations in identifying and uprooting systemic problems to produce social change. The two-phased program invites leaders of community-based organizations who aim to make an impact in education, health and economic well-being to collaborate with UWGCR  and ignite long-term change.

In Phase 1, SPARK, fellows will participate in a learning process to collaboratively brainstorm and develop an action plan to tackle systemic structural causes that keep social problems in place. Fellows will gain access to resources and cohort-based action learning. Grants of $10,000 will be made to each organization in recognition of the time, energy and resources required to creatively problem solve. 

Fellows will then apply for Phase 2, SHINE, by submitting detailed pilot innovation plans. Up to two organizations will be selected to receive a two-year grant of $100,000 to continue their systems change work.

The Brightest Light is from the Energy of Many

Over a six-month period, UWGCR hosted a social innovation lab-like experiences to ponder the best way to address the root causes that hold presenting problems in place, seemingly indefinitely. Out of this process, we affirmed that social innovation is a necessary lens for understanding—and producing—lasting positive change. 

UWGCR supports new ways of thinking about old problems to fundamentally transform the broader economic, cultural and policy constructs that hold problems in place. The Luminosity Collaborative differs from traditional grants in creating an opportunity to contemplate the larger system in which advancement takes place.