Elevate Prize expands to 12 winners in 2023 for strong field

NEW YORK (AP) — The winners of this year’s Elevate Prize include social entrepreneurs who help Detroit children prepare for school, build technology labs in rural Kenya, and improve road safety in India.

The Elevate Prize Foundation announced 12 winners Monday, instead of the usual 10, because there were so many strong candidates the selection committee couldn’t narrow the field further, foundation chairman and founder Joseph Deitch told The Associated Press. Each winner will receive a $300,000 unrestricted grant to continue their work and $200,000 in support services to help them reach a wider audience, as part of the foundation’s goal to “make good famous.”

“I realized I couldn’t not have them all,” Deitch said. “I want to work with them. I want to go on this journey with them. I just want them to reach their potential and they all just have massive potential and passion and purpose.”

Cindy Eggleton, co-founder and CEO of Brilliant Detroit -- a nonprofit dedicated to providing early childhood development programs to kids in their own neighborhoods – said the Elevate Prize comes at a time when her organization is poised for a national expansion.

“We’re at such an inflection point and winning this, literally I was shocked and full of tears,” Eggleton said. “It’s such an honor.”

Brilliant Detroit, which started in 2015 with 50 children under 8 years old, now supports 16,000 people including children and their families in 14 neighborhoods, where they have seen significant improvements in students’ reading levels. The plan is to expand to 24 Detroit neighborhoods next year, while also helping programs start in other cities, including Philadelphia, Chicago, and Cleveland. Eggleton said there are currently 21 cities on the waiting list for her programs, which focus on a...