i2 Grantee, Somali Family Service of San Diego: One of 5 Finalists for XPRIZE

Since being awarded Alliance’s Innovation Initiative (i2) $1 Million Challenge Grant in 2017, Somali Family Service of San Diego (SFS) has not only developed the intended Virtual Reality (VR) educational experience to reduce refugee vaccination hesitancy, they have also gone on to demonstrate value and potential to the international community of XPRIZE.

The XPRIZE Rapid Reskilling program is a $5 million, 30-month competition to quickly reskill under-resourced workers for the digital revolution and the future of work.

Announced February 28, Somali Family Service of San Diego has advanced in the XPRIZE Rapid Reskilling competition and is among five finalists out of 118 entrants from 20 nations that began the competition in June 2020. Its program for the competition, called SHIFA360, is a San Diego based team comprising health and wellness, education and data experts from Somali Family Service of San Diego, Scripps Clinic and UC San Diego. Read the full press release here.

To say that we’re excited for SFS and the SHIFA360 Team is an understatement.
CONGRATULATIONS SHIFA360 TEAM!

Other grantee news

The Center for Employment Opportunities (CEO) is hosting advocates across the country on April 26th at 6pm ET at Returning Strong: a Rally for Reentry Cash Assistance in support of the direct cash payments to individuals returning from prison through its initiative, Returning Citizens Stimulus, representing more than $24M in cash to 10,000 people coming home from incarceration. The cash was effective and empowering, and paid for:

• long, overdue medical treatments and services
• interview clothes
• housing application fees, and
• other vital documents that were never received while incarcerated

What’s inspiring us

The San Diego Foundation launches $10M fund for housing:  To help accelerate the production and preservation of housing that is equitable, sustainable and community-focused, while supporting good jobs, The San Diego Foundation (TSDF) recently announced a $10M commitment to seed a new housing impact fund. In collaboration with multi-sector partners, the goal is to build 10,000 affordable new homes for purchase throughout the San Diego region.

LGBT Center’s Dining Out For Life:  If you are hosting organizational meetings on April 28th and need to order food, or are just going out to eat for yourself, consider visiting one of the restaurants participating in LGBT Center’s Dining Out For Life – all these generous restaurants dedicate significant proceeds from that day to the Center’s HIV/AIDS services.

The Brink receives grant to be Inclusive Innovation Hub:  One of our i2 Innovation Affiliates, The Brink San Diego and Imperial Small Business Development Center at the University of San Diego, recently received a $250k grant to be an Inclusive Innovation Hub. This is a grant and designation, by the CA Office of the Small Business Advocate, which aims to accelerate tech and science-based firms with strong outreach to diverse founders and underserved geographies. Congratulations The Brink!

Mission Driven Finance graduates to the IA 50 Fund Manager List:  After surpassing three years of track record and $25M in assets under management, Mission Driven Finance has been selected for the ImpactAssets 2022 50 Fund Manager list. This is a prestigious category for experienced impact fund managers. Congratulations MDF! See press release.