Eligibility
You have an idea for a technology-based social innovation and the ability to make it happen? Terrific!
Read on for our eligibility requirements and how to apply.
1) The applicant must be a start-up organization. Our mandate is to support the creation and development of new institutions that fill gaps or demonstrate innovative strategies within their fields. In many cases we will be an organization's first funder, although we will also support applicants with other seed funding who are in the first 1 to 2 years of organizational development. We also will consider funding new replications in New York City of exceptional organizations that exist elsewhere in the United States or around the world.
We do not support new programs of existing institutions and we do not fund organizations that are more than 2 years old.
2) At least one member of the founding leadership team must be based in New York City. We’re an incubator and we like to house organizations in our offices in their early years.
3) The applicant’s work must fit with Blue Ridge’s interest in social and economic mobility. This means an applicant must show that it will tangibly broaden the life options of the people it serves, or that it will build the capacity of other organizations to do so. Proposals should indicate how an organization will connect people from high poverty communities to the opportunities, resources, and support they need to fulfill their full potential.
4) NEW – The use of Internet-based technology must be core to the organization’s model. In other words, if the web did not exist, the organization’s strategy for achieving its intended impact would not be possible.
Blue Ridge does NOT currently provide support for the following types of organizations:
• New schools (e.g. charter schools or private school)
• Theater groups
• Filmmaking organizations
• Sports/athletic organizations
• Organizations that only provide services to constituencies outside the United States
HOW TO APPLY
Blue Ridge accepts very few new organizations into our portfolio each year and so we try to make the early stages of our application process as non-burdensome as possible. Since most applicants won’t advance beyond the initial inquiry stage, we don’t want them to spend lots of up-front time on their proposals.
If you are interested in joining Blue Ridge’s portfolio, please submit:
1) No more than three pages of narrative that answer the following questions:
a. In one sentence, describe your proposed organization.
b. The problem. What is the social problem that you are attempting to address? Be specific.
c. The idea. What will your organization do to address this problem? Be sure to connect your insights about the problem to the particular solution you are proposing.
d. The people. Why are you / your founding team qualified to lead this organization?
e. The metrics. What are the most important measures for you to track to assess your progress and impact?
f. The innovation. Name up to three efforts most similar to what you propose to do. How are you different?
g. The possibility. Tell us the significance of what you are proposing. If it works, what will be the result? Answer this question however you wish. For example, you might want to share your vision for how deeply it will impact individuals; how broadly it might scale; how it might influence its field.
2) Resumes of key staff.
3) A two-year budget, including actual and projected revenue sources (e.g., individual giving, foundation giving, earned income, etc.) .
Submit these materials to apply@brfny.org with the name of your proposed organization in the subject line.
You can submit anytime. We review materials on a rolling basis. Within a month of your submission, we’ll let you know either a) we don’t think there is a fit with Blue Ridge or b) we need more information.In the cases of “we need more information,” we’ll ask you to submit more detailed materials.
