Doubling Our i2 Investment for Transformational Community Change

• $1 Million Innovation Initiative Milestone-based Challenge Grant (i2)

• Two nonprofit organizations awarded $1 million each 

• • Paddle for Peace: Healing through connection, culture, and the ocean.
  • First Gen Scholars: Bridging the gap between college access and career readiness.

Following a final pitch from five exceptional finalists, months of one-on-one coaching, and hours of thoughtful deliberation, the Alliance Healthcare Foundation (AHF) was faced with the question: “How can we accelerate the greatest good for our community, given the outstanding opportunities presented by these five strong and deserving candidates?”

For the second i2 cycle in a row, the board chose to double its investment for this funding cycle—awarding two $1 million Innovation Initiative (i2) grants to Paddle for Peace and First Gen Scholars. Each organization will receive continued mentorship and up to $1 million in milestone-based grants to advance their transformative models.

AHF’s mission is to advance health and wellness for marginalized and underserved communities in the region. Through its Innovation Initiative (i2) Milestone-based Challenge Grant, the foundation invests in bold, community-grown solutions designed to close equity gaps and achieve lasting, positive change.

“This year’s cohort demonstrated the power of community-inspired innovation,” said Sarah Lyman, Executive Director of AHF. “The Innovation Initiative is designed to take risks on big ideas with high potential for impact. Some years, it’s hard to identify one clear solution capable of transformative change. This year was different. When faced with multiple outstanding models capable of driving real, systemic change, it was clear that advancing more than one would accelerate our shared impact.  We’re thrilled to stand behind two remarkable organizations that reflect the best of community vision and leadership.”

“This was an incredibly rewarding process,” added Dale Fleming, Chairperson of the AHF Board of Trustees. “We’re grateful to every candidate for their passion, creativity, and commitment to building a healthier, more equitable future. I also want to recognize our Resident Leaders, whose lived experiences brought essential perspective and wisdom to our evaluation process.”

Following a public call for proposals in November 2024, the i2 Challenge launched its nine-month coaching and entrepreneurial education journey in February 2025. From a pool of more than 60 applicants, 25 organizations were selected to enter the i2 educational cycle—a guided program led by Innovation Partner Nex Cubed. Each organization received capacity grant funding to support their time and participation in each phase of the program.

After presenting early business models in May, ten teams advanced to the next phase, focusing on validating their solutions with customers and partners to demonstrate early traction and product–market fit. In June, they delivered in-person presentations to AHF Program Committee members, Resident Leaders, and Nex Cubed advisors, resulting in the selection of five finalists for the final stage. Over the remaining three months, each finalist received customized, one-on-one coaching from Nex Cubed advisors thoughtfully matched to their specific goals and models.

“We were inspired by the adaptability, collaboration, and bold thinking shown by all five finalists,” said Maggey Hoffmann, Program Director at Nex Cubed. “Many reimagined their business models midstream for greater impact, proving that true innovation is as much about learning and evolving as it is about launching.”

While Paddle for Peace and First Gen Scholars received the 2025 Innovation Initiative grant, AHF continues to explore opportunities for connection and collaboration with all five finalists.

2025 i2 Challenge Grant Awardees

 

Paddle for Peace is pioneering a transformative approach to healing, empowerment, and connection for underserved youth through its Blue Prescription model—a culturally grounded, trauma-informed framework that connects healing with the ocean. By blending nature immersion, physical activity, mindfulness, and community connection, the program fosters resilience, self-worth, and emotional well-being. Delivered by trained facilitators and youth mentors, the Blue Prescription spans across a continuum of programs—from Surf & Science and Coastal Ninja Academy to Rising Tides Youth Leadership and Healing Currents—bringing ocean-based healing and environmental education to BIPOC, low-income, and justice-involved youth across San Diego County, even reaching those in hospitals and juvenile facilities.

First Gen Scholars is redefining equitable access to higher education and career success for first-generation, low-income students through its iterative innovation, Classroom to Boardroom (C2B). Building on five years of impact—guiding over 1,000 Scholars, securing $60 million in scholarships, and establishing 35 student-led First Gen Clubs—C2B bridges the gap between college access and career readiness. This data-informed, community-driven ecosystem integrates First Gen Clubs that foster college and career culture, Capstone Projects that link students to real-world employers and community challenges, and Nexus, a proprietary data platform that tracks student progress from classroom to career. Together, these components create a scalable model that transforms education into empowerment and equity into lasting prosperity.

Additional 2025 i2 Finalists 

 

• Boys & Girls Clubs of Northwest San Diego. Transforming opportunities for at-promise youth through paid internships, a comprehensive Culinary Arts program, and job readiness skill-building, while also delivering free, nutritious meals to more than 3,000 youth experiencing food insecurity.
• Chicano Federation of San Diego County. Advancing healing and empowerment through a community-driven initiative that helps immigrant and diaspora families process identity-based trauma, strengthen resilience, and build collective power to promote interpersonal and regional peace.
• The David’s Harp Foundation. Empowering young people facing systemic barriers to transform creativity into opportunity through paid internships, youth-led enterprises, and academic pathways within a community-based creative hub that fosters belonging and growth.

The Innovation Initiative (i2) was launched in 2010 when the Alliance Healthcare Foundation recognized the need to inspire innovation to achieve its mission. At the time, poor health outcomes and the growing share of national spending on “sick care” systems were becoming increasingly unsustainable. The i2 initiative was founded on the belief that innovation capital is needed to transform this high-cost, poor-outcomes paradigm.

“Our commitment to progress calls us to be bold,” said Alliance Board Trustee and Chairperson Dale Fleming, “Today a significant portion of our budget is deployed towards seeking, seeding and scaling innovation. In our view, innovations must reduce costs, improve quality and increase access to health and wellness with an emphasis on our most marginalized.”

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About the Innovation Initiative (i2). The Innovation Initiative (i2) funding challenge seeks market-based and/or transformational systems-change solutions with the potential to improve access, quality and health outcomes; increase capacity; reduce costs for the most systemically marginalized and under-resourced populations in San Diego. For more information and to see a list of previous winners, visit https://alliancehf.org/innovation-initiative-i2/.

About Alliance Healthcare Foundation. We work to advance health and wellness for the most vulnerable in San Diego and Imperial counties through collaborative funding, convening and advocacy. For more information, visit www.alliancehf.org.

About Nex Cubed (i2 Innovation Partner). Nex Cubed is a global accelerator that invests in diverse founders that are solving problems that matter. We provide early-stage capital, corporate relationships, and access to a global ecosystem that empowers startups, investors, corporates, and governments to bring new technologies to market, help rising companies scale, and provide paths to liquidity – the power of three. https://www.nex3.com/