Solutions to real-world problems sought for MacArthur Foundation’s $100 million grant

The MacArthur Foundation is inviting proposals for 100&Change, a new competition for a single $100 million grant to a project that will help make significant progress toward solving a major problem affecting people, places, or the planet.

The competition is open to organizations working in any field of endeavor anywhere. Applicants must identify both the problem they are trying to solve, as well as their proposed solution. Competitive proposals will be meaningful, verifiable, durable, and feasible.

“Solving society’s most pressing problems isn’t easy, but we believe it can be done,” said Julia Stasch, president of the MacArthur Foundation. “Potential solutions may go unnoticed or under resourced and are waiting to be brought to scale. Every three years, we plan to award $100 million to help make one of these solutions a reality.”

100&Change will consider applications from across the United States and around the world. Non-profit and for-profit organizations can apply, subject to eligibility rules. The competition will not accept applications from individuals or government agencies.

Proposals will be assessed by a panel of expert judges. Information about the judges and the competition’s evaluation methodologies are available on the competition’s website.

The registration deadline for the contest is 11 a.m. (Central Time) on Friday, Sept. Applications will be accepted through Monday, Oct. 3, at 11 a.m. (Central Time). Semi-finalists will be announced in December 2016 and finalists in the Summer of 2017. A group of Finalists will present their solutions during a live event in the fall of 2017. Selection of the final award recipient rests with MacArthur’s board of directors.

For more information, visit the 100&Change website.