NBCU Awards Over $2.4M In Innovation Grants

The NBCUniversal Foundation and NBCUniversal Owned Television Stations today announced a total of $2.475 million in Project Innovation grants for 62 nonprofits located all across the country.

Launched earlier this year, Project Innovation is presented by The NBCUniversal Foundation and NBC and Telemundo owned stations located in 11 markets. For 2018, NBC and Telemundo owned stations have awarded up to $225,000 in Project Innovation grants to a maximum of eight qualified 501 (c)(3) nonprofit organizations in each of their markets: Los Angeles, New York, Chicago, Philadelphia, Dallas/Fort Worth, Washington, D.C., San Francisco Bay Area, Boston, Miami-Fort Lauderdale, San Diego, and Hartford. 

“Our 2018 Project Innovation winners all have a profound dedication for their communities. We’re excited to celebrate the outstanding groups that are standing at the front lines every day, working hard to spur real change in their communities and foster our next generation of innovators. We look forward to working with all the local groups to help move our communities forward,” added Valari Staab, president, NBCUniversal Owned Television Stations.    

Project Innovation applications opened on Jan. 12 and closed on Feb. 2. The NBCUniversal Foundation and local stations convened with local application review panels to select all the local grant winners among three grant categories: Igniting Civic Engagement, Skills for the Digital Economy and STEM/STEAM Youth Programming. The 2018 Project Innovation grant winners feature non-profits that are using mobile technology to mobilize young Latino voters, social media to crowdsource city-wide solutions, hands-on training to help individuals with Autism gain competitive work opportunities, and are providing real-life work experiences to youth in technology/media and STEM fields to prepare them for successful careers, among others.  

“We launched Project Innovation to help meet the changing needs of our communities. Our first-ever group of grant winners are visionaries and champions of their local communities. We applaud their work and tenacity and look forward to working with our community partners in the year ahead to help affect real change in our communities,” said Jessica Clancy, Vice President, Community Impact, Comcast NBCUniversal.

For the full list of this year’s Project Innovation winners, visit nbcuniversal.com.