08 Apr Marquette, WARF announce 2021 ‘Force for Positive Change’ winners
Marquette University and the Wisconsin Alumni Research Foundation (WARF) have announced the winners of the 2021 Force for Positive Change awards. This year’s awards were the fourth time this statewide competition recognized social entrepreneurship as a model for solving social or environmental challenges in a way that is sustainable, just and generates impactful change in Wisconsin. A total of $83,000 in prize money was awarded to 20 organizations.
“This year’s applicants took the competition to a new level. We are thrilled that such high caliber social enterprises, both for-profit and nonprofit, throughout Wisconsin are creating so much impact to benefit our state,” noted event co-producer Laura Heisler, from the Wisconsin Alumni Research Foundation.
The winners were selected from 174 initial applications that were then narrowed to 20 finalists by an expert panel of judges from industry, academia and the nonprofit sector.
Award winners were announced at the end of the virtual Force for Positive Change event. The event featured a keynote from internationally renowned journalist and social entrepreneur David Bornstein, speakers from for-profit and nonprofit organizations across Wisconsin, and a discussion between philanthropists John and Tashia Morgridge and WEDC Secretary Missy Hughes. The program also included special topic sessions focused on pandemic pivots, rural revitalization and racial equity.
See full article with this year’s seven winners, each receiving a cash prize of $10,000, and organizations receiving honorable mentions and a $1,000 cash prize.