Two social impact folks using technology are up for a $10K grant

There’s a good number of people in the Greater Philly area who are using technology to bring about social good (stay tuned for our editorial coverage next month focused on “technology”).

Two of them are nominated among five finalists as part of a national program, and one may receive a $10,000 grant to further their efforts.

Dan Rhoton, executive director of Hopeworks ‘N Camden, and Jeremy Peskin, cofounder of Borderwise, are two of the finalists for the 2017 Tech Impact AllStar program, an annual program hosted by NationSwell, a digital media company focused on spotlighting social innovators around the country.

Thrilled that our cofounder is a 2017 @nationswell Tech Impact Allstar! https://t.co/yJiSG2CTCB

— Borderwise (@borderwise_co) July 18, 2017

Here are the three other finalists (who were all selected from self-applying or nominations):

• Felecia Hatcher-Pearson, founder of Miami-based Code Fever
• Kelsey Foster, campaign manager at the Committee for a Better New Orleans who created the online budgeting simulation game “The Big Easy Budget Game“
• Trisha Prabhu, creator of cyberbullying prevention app ReThink

Each of the five finalists will receive, 1) a video to highlight the work that person does, along with a written feature; 2) an all-expenses paid trip to New York City, where each finalist will also speak at the 2017 NationSwell Summit on Solutions on Nov. 2; 3) a marketing campaign.

The grand prize of $10,000 will be awarded to one finalist, who will be chosen after a public voting period sometime this fall.

Just to give a quick recap on both of our area finalists and their orgs: Hopeworks was already recognized this year for its behavioral health-focused tech education programs by the $25,000 award from the 2017 Scattergood Foundation Innovation Award. The nonprofit was also the main subject of a Villanova University student-produced documentary that looked at what Rhoton’s work was doing to support youth in Camden.

Borderwise, the tech startup cofounded by immigration attorneys Peskin and James Pittman, rolled out its immigration advice online platform earlier this year during the height of the presidential administration’s first immigration ban, as part of its mission to make the immigration process less complicated.