PITTSBURGH – May 6, 2025 – The BNY UpPrize Social Innovation Challenge, an annual competition to promote entrepreneurship that advances solutions with long-term benefits to Southwestern Pennsylvania, is returning for an eighth year. Administered by Innovation Works and fully funded by BNY the competition provides funding and educational resources to help nonprofits, local entrepreneurs, and other competitors bring their ideas from concept to reality.
A launch event will be held at The Assembly in Pittsburgh on May 8, 2025, at 6 p.m. for interested applicants to learn more about the program’s resources and ask questions before applying. Registration is required.
This year’s challenge introduces an innovative two-track structure to support entrepreneurs at different stages of development. The early-stage track is intended for emerging ventures with promising ideas, while the advanced-stage track is geared towards established ventures ready to scale their impact.
“The BNY UpPrize Social Innovation Challenge has evolved into a platform for identifying and accelerating mission-driven entrepreneurs attempting to solve meaningful problems,” said Ven Raju, President and CEO of Innovation Works. "The program provides founders with practical tools, peer feedback, and strategic insight to clarify their value proposition, understand their customers, and strengthen their path to growth."
Since its founding in 2015, the UpPrize Social Innovation Challenge has allocated more than $3.4million in investments, grants, and educational assistance to nonprofits, entrepreneurs, and other participants based in Southwestern Pennsylvania. Previous winners include Astria Biosciences, which develops therapeutic solutions for cerebrovascular disease; BlastPoint, which creates AI-powered insights for businesses; Farm To Flame Energy, which creates renewable energy through a proprietary combustion process; Honeycomb Credit, a local business investment platform; and 412Food Rescue, which brings surplus food to communities in need. This year, the top two finalists per track will receive a combined $300,000 in prize monies and accelerator assistance to launch or expand startups using technology to benefit the local community.
Early-stage track:
Advanced-stage track:
“BNY’s long-standing support of the UpPrize Social Innovation Challenge reflects our belief in innovation as a force for good in local economies,” said Eric Boughner, Chairman of BNY Pennsylvania. “As the initiative grows to reach more entrepreneurs, we’re committed to helping those ventures advance their efforts to bring groundbreaking ideas to life.”
Applications are open from the launch event onMay 8 through June 26, 2025, at 11:59 p.m. Register now to attend the launch event.
About Innovation Works
Innovation Works is one of the most active early-stage investors in the country and the most active in Pennsylvania. Since its inception of the seed fund in 1999, Innovation Works has invested in over 780 companies that have gone on to raise $3.3 billion in follow-on funding. Portfolio companies have generated and retained over 20,000 jobs in Pennsylvania. Innovation Works is part of the Ben Franklin Technology Partners network, which has catalyzed economic growth over the last 30 years by providing access to capital and networks that help foster innovation and technology-based economic development in Pennsylvania. Learn more at innovationworks.org.
About BNY
BNY is a global financial services company that helps make money work for the world – managing it, moving it and keeping it safe. For more than 240 years BNY has partnered alongside clients, putting its expertise and platforms to work to help them achieve their ambitions. Today BNY helps over 90% of Fortune 100 companies and nearly all the top 100 banks globally to access the money they need. BNY supports governments in funding local projects and works with over 90% of the top 100 pension plans to safeguard investments for millions of individuals, and so much more. As of March 31, 2025, BNY oversees $53.1 trillion in assets under custody and/or administration and $2.0 trillion in assets under management.
BNY is the corporate brand of The Bank of New York Mellon Corporation (NYSE: BK). Headquartered in New York City, BNY employs over 50,000 people globally and has been named among Fortune's World's Most Admired Companies and Fast Company's Best Workplaces for Innovators. Additional information is available on www.bny.com. Follow on LinkedIn or visit the BNY Newsroom for the latest company news.
Contact:
Jane Joseph
Innovation Works
(412) 722-8474 mobile
Lexie Capperella
Gregory FCA for Innovation Works
The BNY UpPrize Social Innovation Challenge was developed to bridge the gap between the nonprofit and entrepreneurial communities as well as to increase the number of impactful technology-based solutions targeted to address critical social challenges.
