This contest recognizes anyone’s ability to step up and affect greater change in their community.

Hi, we are the Long Island Center for Environmental Activism - but you can just call us LICEA. After experiencing years of political mayhem and a pandemic to boot, we put together a plan to bring our communities together to help solve climate change.

At The Big Garden, we cultivate food security by building community gardens, creating opportunities to serve, and providing education on hunger related issues. In 2018, we began planting community orchards as well hoping to produce more fresh produce for those in need.

Speak for the Trees, is a nonprofit dedicated to improving the size, health, and equity of Boston’s urban forest. We work with residents to plant or giveaway trees, engage and educate diverse communities about urban forestry, and improve tree survivability.

Replate is a national technology-driven nonprofit, which aims to reduce food waste produced by restaurants, food distributors, offices and corporations by matching those businesses with organizations who need support, and delivering surplus food.

HOT is an international team dedicated to humanitarian action and community development through open mapping. We work together to provide map data which helps with disaster management, to reduce risks, and contribute to achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals.

350 Colorado is a group of thousands of volunteers, supported by a small but powerful staff. We are Colorado’s largest grassroots network of everyday people taking action to stop climate change and protect our communities from fossil fuel pollution!

Renew is building durable community power around the U.S. to fight for climate action, racial justice, and economic justice at the state level. Through relational organizing, direct action, public education, collaborative policy development, and more, we are empowering communities to win a healthy, sustainable, and equitable future for their neighborhoods, states, and the country as a whole.

The Harlem Community Fridge serves people in our underserved Harlem Community, which now with the Pandemic, is much harder affected by food insecurity which have led to more health disparities within a growing food desert. The Free Food Community Fridge, which is accessible 24/7 to everyone in our community provides fresh produce and prepared meals that otherwise would go to waste by organizers with a focus on food rescue.

Since 2009 Planting Justice has built over 550 edible permaculture gardens in the San Francisco Bay Area, worked with five high-schools to develop food justice curricula and created over 40 green jobs in the food justice movement for people transitioning from prison.

NCWC is a registered non-profit & grassroots organization that has provided more than $600k of support to Flint, Newark, Jackson, Austin, Houston & the Bahamas. We've developed a short & long-term relief plan for residents experiencing a water crisis.

Mutuo Soccorso Milano was born in 2020 as a response to the health and social crisis caused by the Covid-19 pandemic, and in the past year, we have grown into a volunteer community feeding Milan's vulnerable population and engaging them to reciprocate with mutual aid.

CHFGMA’s Groceries & Essentials Fund provides food-insecure neighbors in Clinton Hill and Fort Greene with essential household items and food, removing a source of chronic stress and promoting mental and physical wellbeing in our community.

LifeSeeds International is fighting injustice in relation to hunger.

In 2020, working in partnership with approximately 285 different community leaders across the northeast, we were able to facilitate the giving away of 33,459,000 pounds of fresh food to those in need.

Community Fridge 120 is a free food fridge in Harlem offering access to nourishing foods and supportive health programs for the local community. We’ve also created a distribution network that feeds fellow community fridges throughout NYC.

At The Big Garden, we cultivate food security by building community gardens, creating opportunities to serve, and providing education on hunger related issues. In 2018, we began planting community orchards as well hoping to produce more fresh produce for those in need.

Replate is a national technology-driven nonprofit, which aims to reduce food waste produced by restaurants, food distributors, offices and corporations by matching those businesses with organizations who need support, and delivering surplus food.

Refood works to address the injustices of food insecurity of indigenous groups in Canada by diverting food that grocery stores would otherwise throw away to our First Nations Food Bank. We prepare and deliver food hampers to families who need them.

The Ladies of Hope Ministries, which is founded and led by women who are impacted by the justice system, works to end poverty and incarceration of women and girls by providing housing security and reentry services.

The Greensboro Community Fridge aims to reduce food insecurity and food waste. Installing community fridges will promote equal access to healthy food, by way of public refrigerators, that are used to share food and connect neighbors.

We provide culturally responsive initiatives in South Oak Cliff to liberate the community from systemic oppression, create a culture of education, and increase social mobility and social capital. We are a free hub for all ages to improve life outcomes.

Known among our neighbors as “The Red Door,” Bessie Green Community has been serving the underprivileged 1978. Providing hot meals, clothing, and bags of food, we seek to fulfill our mission: "Feeding, clothing, and supporting our neighbors with compassion and dignity".

The Harlem Community Fridge serves people in our underserved Harlem Community, which now with the Pandemic, is much harder affected by food insecurity which have led to more health disparities within a growing food desert. The Free Food Community Fridge, which is accessible 24/7 to everyone in our community provides fresh produce and prepared meals that otherwise would go to waste by organizers with a focus on food rescue.

We are a group of organizers and volunteers delivering groceries, prescriptions, and other necessities to those most vulnerable, including the elderly, immunocompromised, sick, people with disabilities, and people experiencing food insecurity.

HelpBerkeley is a grassroots volunteer-run initiative delivering food to those food-insecure. We received a Bay Area Jefferson Award for Public Service, a City of Berkeley proclamation, and were featured in local magazines and TV stations.

The Ishtar Collective is a nonprofit organization dedicated to supporting the intersectional issues of sex work with LGBTQIA+, race, class, gender, and disability equity. We are run by current or former sex workers, and survivors of human trafficking.

We create tiny house communities in Chicago that provide the homeless with safe, cost-effective housing and integrated support services. Our outreach program takes vital supplies to our vulnerable neighbors living in tent cities or under bridges.

HOT is an international team dedicated to humanitarian action and community development through open mapping. We work together to provide map data which helps with disaster management, to reduce risks, and contribute to achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals.

The Ladies of Hope Ministries, which is founded and led by women who are impacted by the justice system, works to end poverty and incarceration of women and girls by providing housing security and reentry services.

Farming Hope is a garden-to-table job training nonprofit that offers paid, empowering transitional employment in their garden and kitchen to formerly incarcerated or unhoused neighbors.

On Mother’s Day 2016, I witnessed what could have been an awful tragedy. A few children were riding their bikes down the sidewalk of Fremont Avenue where four brownstones were being demolished. The demolition site was filled with debris, gaping holes about six feet deep, and no gate to prevent site access. I witnessed the danger of these unsafe conditions such as a child falling into this unsecured debris. That day started my effort and research into the Fight Blight Bmore initiative.

Middle Georgia Justice (MGJ) was started in 2017 in an attempt to bridge the "Justice Gap" by helping with the huge unmet legal needs in our community. We help people with civil (as opposed to criminal) legal issues, and also help with criminal records.

Hudson/Catskill Housing Coalition is a Black-led initiative that empowers public housing and low-income tenants to fight for housing justice by providing community members with tangible resources, legal support, and local housing policy advocacy.

We are an art & media production, post-production and exhibition company founded by Juan Carlos Zaldívar in NYC in 1986. We are now also in Miami Beach, Florida, and Los Angeles, CA.

Mobile Mission 2 is addressing the injustices falling under the Homes fund, by connecting those experiencing houselessness with access to showers, laundry, hot meals, emotional support, and valuable services in your area.

City Net has partnered with the City of Riverside for the past year to operate a Pallet Shelter village to help people experiencing homelessness into a safe place for up to 90 days, receive case management, life skills workshops, community, and hot meals 3x times a day.

The Dine Healers Relief provides essential products such as traditional healthy food, traditional medicine, firewood, and water to families in the Navajo Nation.

They will partner with the ICAN Project who has partnerships in both regions of the Navajo Nation and the Oglala Lakota Nation in Pine Ridge South Dakota. This partnership will ensure families in both the Navajo Nation & on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation are supported.

We are re-entry program that helps people get their lives back on track once they overcome challenges of incarceration, homelessness, drug treatment, etc. We help them with employment, housing, and any other support that they would need to help them become successful, and work with them to share their story to different audiences.

The Empowerment Project was founded by Teneishae Coleman. Throughout her career, she wondered how she could use her gift of understanding math and numbers to give back to the community. She believes that everyone should have access to quality financial knowledge.

I am Joia Thornton, National Policy Strategist at the Southern Center for Human Rights. Death row exonerees have the least amount of resources available upon release. There is a huge gap in reentry services for death row exonerees.

Free to Thrive empowers survivors of human trafficking to be free from exploitation by providing them with legal and supportive services. FTT helps clients achieve their full potential by breaking down barriers and building opportunities.

Defy Ventures is helping individuals with criminal histories eliminate barriers to employment through innovative “inside-out” prison reentry programs that build personal and professional capacity for long-term success.

We place the voices of formerly incarcerated women and LGBTQ+ people at the forefront of the movement to end mass incarceration while working to restore safety, dignity, and respect in correctional facilities and reduce barriers to successful reentry.

The Ladies of Hope Ministries, which is founded and led by women who are impacted by the justice system, works to end poverty and incarceration of women and girls by providing housing security and reentry services.

Farming Hope is a garden-to-table job training nonprofit that offers paid, empowering transitional employment in their garden and kitchen to formerly incarcerated or unhoused neighbors.

We are a grassroots, membership organization run by returning citizens who are dedicated to ending the disenfranchisement and discrimination against people with convictions.

My name is Jason and I am the founder of FreeWorld. I’m also an ex-felon. I was incarcerated for a 1st degree felony (Aggravated Robbery) at the age of 15. I was given a 12-year sentence at a maximum security prison in Texas.

Georgia signed into law a Voter Integrity Bill that aims to reduce the possibility for voter fraud. Now registered GA voters must prove their identity with an approved form of Identification to request and vote via an absentee ballot.

Middle Georgia Justice (MGJ) was started in 2017 in an attempt to bridge the "Justice Gap" by helping with the huge unmet legal needs in our community. We help people with civil (as opposed to criminal) legal issues, and also help with criminal records.

H4J is an innovative approach to help incarcerated and formerly incarcerated young minority men and women. Using basketball, group therapy and subsistence support, we provide transformative experiences both inside facilities and in the community.

I started Huma House in Los Angeles, we represent artists who are formerly incarcerated and put on art shows to de-stigmatize prison and use art as a transformative tool to fight injustice.

The Ishtar Collective is a nonprofit organization dedicated to supporting the intersectional issues of sex work with LGBTQIA+, race, class, gender, and disability equity. We are run by current or former sex workers, and survivors of human trafficking.

The Community has 2 arms: Pre-entry (inreach) + Correct the Narrative Campaign (outreach). These prepare incarcerated people for success and transform societal stereotypes and fears about this demographic so preparation meets opportunity prior to and upon release.

Opportunity Port is a record sealing program managed by Columbus City Council in partnership with the Drug Enforcement Policy Center of The Ohio State University and Legal Aid Society of Columbus in the State of Ohio.

FSH is committed to Overcoming Hunger, Strengthening Families, & Building Communities. We offer support to individuals that are transitioning back into society. We empower the individual to see their potential and motivate positive changes that lead to self-sufficiency.

At Code Tenderloin, we transform people’s lives! We remove barriers to get people living wage jobs and careers. We provide services with reentry, housing and jobs. To date, we have reached over 10,000 community members with a 93% job placement rate.All of our services are free. In addition to wrap-around case management services, we provide free Job Readiness Training, Computer Programming, and Computer Literacy Classes and non-tech related classes such as our Community Health Worker program.

The Empowerment Project was founded by Teneishae Coleman. Throughout her career, she wondered how she could use her gift of understanding math and numbers to give back to the community. She believes that everyone should have access to quality financial knowledge.

Be Compelled is a 501 (C) (3) organization that was formed in 2016, which originated out of the need for leadership and mentoring in the urban community of Atlanta, focusing on the moral development of youth through athletic platforms.

We are a diverse group of people who share a love for humanity. We are teachers, RNs, doctors, firefighters, police, and businesspersons. Two of our members have learned firsthand how illiteracy affects lives as they volunteer at Kairos, a men’s prison ministry.

Atlanta Angels seeks to walk alongside the foster care community through intentional giving, relationship building, and mentorship on a TBRI (Trust Based Relational Intervention) model, which utilizes healthy relationships to heal trauma.

We are an international team of 10 volunteers, all based in Berlin. We represent 10 countries and work in various fields from business, tech, art or diplomacy. What brings us together is our love of reading and willingness to have a positive impact.

#FinalNotice is an interactive map app that exposes climate change, environmental racism & historical erasure on the Brooklyn waterfront

Renew is building durable community power around the U.S. to fight for climate action, racial justice, and economic justice at the state level. Through relational organizing, direct action, public education, collaborative policy development, and more, we are empowering communities to win a healthy, sustainable, and equitable future for their neighborhoods, states, and the country as a whole.

Middle Georgia Justice (MGJ) was started in 2017 in an attempt to bridge the "Justice Gap" by helping with the huge unmet legal needs in our community. We help people with civil (as opposed to criminal) legal issues, and also help with criminal records.

Hollaback! fights the injustice of youth harassment by providing anti-harassment bystander training to young people, particularly those from marginalised or at-risk groups. We firmly believe that we all deserve to be who we are, wherever we are

My name is Emerald Snipes and I am the Founder of We Can’t Breathe Inc. We Can’t Breathe Inc. is a non-profit organization that focuses on alleviating the injustices associated with poor housing conditions, socio-economic circumstances, and police brutality.

Uplyft's goal is to connect underserved students with people and opportunities which can help them succeed. In just two months, we've impacted thousands of students, developed a web application, and built a diverse team of experienced professionals.

Shamrock Education has created machine-learning algorithms to help match kids with their potential careers. They run regular workshops and events with parents and kids, and also help kids into internships in their chosen fields.

Children of incarcerated parents are on six times more likely to become incarcerated than their peers. This statistic drives us to empower girls of incarcerated mothers to break the cycle of mass incarceration through education, compassion, and community support.

My name is Kathleen Hurd. I am the mother of 3 adults and 6 grands (2 of my grands are bonus grands). My organization's goal is simply "to fill the need," and at this point in this pandemic, our children are the most in need of our attention and support.

We believe every student, regardless of their socioeconomic status or background, should have the opportunity to attend college and feel supported to earn a degree and become the future innovators, lawyers, doctors and leaders of this country.

My name is Kendra White Buffalo and I run after-school care on the Rosebud Indian Reservation, together with a group of around ten volunteers. We believe in creating a space where kids can be kids, and indigenous children can learn and celebrate our unique culture.

Dreamerscorp is fighting an injustice where youth from economically disadvantaged backgrounds cannot compete in a world dependent on technology.

Our mission is to inspire and empower black and brown youth to become creators, producers, and innovators of technology.

Giftmart believes every child deserves a quality education regardless of where they live. Sadly, there are many examples of school boundaries that leave schools on one side funded much better than others, limiting the opportunities of some students.

Our volunteers are unemployed and underemployed young people of color who enter the Hospitality Academy and are trained for good-paying union jobs in the hospitality industry. We conclude our program with a Community Dinner. Tasks include knife skills and food prep.