Young Leaders: SCI Youth Grant Pitch Contest 2023

SCI Social Capital Inc. held its second annual Youth Grant Pitch Contest during the spring of 2023 with the goal of empowering young people to identify and address pressing needs they see in the community. 

On Saturday, April 1st, SCI Social Capital Inc. hosted a live pitch contest where $10,000 of grant funds were awarded to 8 participating youth groups from across the Greater Boston area who presented compelling ideas to address community needs.

Over six weeks corporate volunteers from companies like Microsoft, Santander, Movement Mortgage, Zander Realty Group and The Reading Cooperative Bank have dedicated their time and expertise to coach these young people in how to develop and present their pitches to a panel of judges. Youth teams from Cambridge, Chelsea, Dorchester, Lynn, Stoneham, Wakefield, Winchester and Woburn made their pitch presentations at the event. 

The projects being developed address a variety of community and mental health needs that the youth have identified as a priority. Groups like La Colaborativa pitched an idea to fund and host a podcast that challenges inequities they see in their Chelsea community and in the local school systems.  Boston Project Ministries sought funding to design and paint a mural in Dorchester with positive affirmations as well as a QR code that will lead observers to a link that provides mental health resources for young people. 

The SCI Youth Grant Pitch Contest is a program initiative that was piloted in 2021 and was designed to engage community-focused youth-led groups in a process of developing projects that respond to community needs. 

Learn more about this program and the projects funded on our SCI Youth Grant Pitch Contest Page!