Seven semifinalists, including four Providers’ Council members, will compete for up to $200,000 in grants at the Arc Tank 2.0 competition scheduled to take place on Tuesday, Nov. 27th at the John F. Kennedy Library and Museum in Boston.
The Arc Tank was developed by Northeast Arc to find and fund innovative ideas that will positively disrupt services for persons with disabilities. The semifinalist present their projects, including cost of implementation, to a panel of judges who can award up to $200,000 to one project or several. Three projects were awarded grants totally $195,000 at the inaugural competition in 2017. The funding comes from Northeast Arc’s Changing Lives Fund, which was established with a $1 million donation from philanthropist Steven P. Rosenthal.
“The second year of the Arc Tank competition has brought forward new and innovative ideas to challenge the status quo and to positively disrupt the system of services, all leading toward the goal of improving the lives of individuals with disabilities,” said Jo Ann Simons, CEO of Northeast Arc. “The Arc Tank 2.0 is sure to continue the wave of bringing creative out-of-the-box thinking and problem solving that will change the way services are delivered to those with intellectual disabilities and autism.”
The 2018 semifinalist member projects include:
- ASSERT – Autism Spectrum Support Emergency Response Teams, submitted by the May Institute.
- Can Social Impact Bonds Drive Employment Outcomes for Individuals with Disabilities, submitted by WORK Inc.
- Leveraging Data: Optimizing Community-Based Health Advocacy for People with Intellectual Disabilities (ID), submitted by HMEA.
- Professional Development for First Responders, submitted by The Arc of South Norfolk’s Autism Law Enforcement Education Coalition (ALEC).
Rounding out the seven are Red Road Ventures of Indianapolis, Ind.; New Star of Chicago Heights, Illinois; and Interactive Media Institute of San Diego, Calif. You can learn more about the seven semifinalists here.
This year’s judges are entrepreneur Ralph James; Kennedy Merchant Partners Founder Matthew Kennedy; Boston Globe columnist Shirley Leung; Department of Youth Services Security Officer Matthew Millett; and EOHHS Secretary Marylou Sudders. For the second straight year, the Providers’ Council is a Community Partner for The Arc Tank.
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