Announcing the 2018 Camelback Semi-Finalists
The increase in Camelback applications has been exponential. Year one: 46. Year two: 80. Year three: 180. Year four: 530. We'd like to give a shout-out to our team and to all of the volunteer evaluators who shared their time to help us review each and every application carefully and respectfully.
We know that there are many more innovative leaders, some who applied and some who did not, that were outside of our focus area but whose work we admire: trailblazers in media, healthcare, politics, environmental sustainability, responsible manufacturing, and more. Whether you take our application numbers as any indication, know that there is no pipeline problem. We're out here -- and we see y'all out there doing the good work, too. We wish we were able to support more ventures; these decisions are so hard for us to make.
We are excited to share the 130 semi-finalists who will be moving onto Round 2. In this selection are innovative school models that recognize the specific needs of their student bodies, for-profits that envision an equitable educational future while still creating the opportunity for financial freedom, and nonprofits that are dedicated to reshaping not just cities or regions, but the country. We will continue to share updates and spotlights throughout this process. Thank you to all applicants for sharing their work with us, and congrats to those who were accepted into Round 2.
For more information about the rest of our application process, click here.
View For-Profits & Hybrids | View Non-Profits | View Schools
All organizations listed alphabetically within their categories.
We have included a brief description and websites, both as provided by candidates.
FOR-PROFITS & HYBRIDS
A.M. Money - We help high-performing, low-income college students afford college.
BabyNoggin - BabyNoggin is a digital village that allows parents to track their kids' milestones at home & their pediatricians to get reimbursed for it.
Be A Maker Club - We are like Kumon or Mathnasium but for making with hi-tech devices. Like the Geek Squad our mobile maker labs go onsite to client locations
Brown Bird - Brown Bird is a social food enterprise that creates opportunities for wealth and business ownership for low income residents of New Orleans.
Brydge4Schools - Brydge4Schools is web and mobile app solution designed to engage parents with academic content to reinforce student learning at home.
CapWay - CapWay increases the financial health of the underserved via financial literacy, products, and services.
Civic Eagle - We help organizations improve their policy advocacy outcomes.
Cognitive ToyBox - Cognitive ToyBox develops an early childhood platform for kindergarten readiness.
Courtroom5 - Courtroom5 is an intelligent, tech-enabled service that helps average people navigate the civil justice system.
Culpability App - We help empower communities by capturing, storing & sharing non-emergency incidents thus creating safety, transparency and accountability.
Diversity Talks - Diversity Talks provides student-led professional development grounded in the cultural competencies of diversity, equity and inclusion.
Eat Your Words Learning Tools, LLC - Eat Your Words is an Early Literacy Curriculum designed for Pre-K to 2nd grade students to make connection with food, literacy, and play.
Floop Edu - Floop helps teachers support every student with meaningful feedback, faster.
Flow Publishing LLC DBA Langston League - Langston League provides culturally responsive curriculum, professional development, and student workshops for scholars of color.
Go Together, Inc. - Schools use our technology to make it easy for parents to carpool and to reduce traffic on campus.
Goals Genius - Goals Genius adds collaboration and intelligence to the required paperwork in special education.
Innovare - Social Innovation Partners - Our user-centered products enable our partners to improve and innovate as a network.
Involve Board - Involve Board is one stop shop connecting Denver high school students to the numerous opportunities and programs available to them.
LeaderLync - Leaderlync helps students grow, track, and communicate their interpersonal and leadership skills.
madeBOS - madeBOS (made by own self) is an, AI driven, career pathing platform that empowers employees to drive their own career development.
Melanites - Melanites designs diverse toys, storybooks, and games that celebrate Brown Boyhood.
Metas - The Future List is an online marketplace for workers in manufacturing and logistics.
Mixer - Mixer is family engagement and school enrollment mechanism that builds multi-racial family teams and diversifies classrooms.
NaTakallam - NaTakallam provides income to refugees through the gig economy by connecting them to users worldwide for language related services online.
NextBillion.org - NextBillion.org is a social enterprise that connects students with disabilities to personal mentors in the tech industry.
Possip - Possip uses relationships and an engagement platform to give schools a pulse on parent thoughts, building trust and transforming schools.
Premedly - Provide microlearning opportunties for students to compete for real jobs in health care.
Pro:Up - Pro:Up is an opportunity and talent discovery platform for high school students and the organizations seeking to recruit them.
Project 99 - We deliver a data driven curriculum leveraging empathy and design thinking to help companies engage and retain their millennials of color.
Project Fashioneer - Project Fashioneer approaches traditional STEM learning from a creative perspective, we link the creative and technical to empower students.
Quartolio - Quartolio is KaaS platform that makes it easier to connect, discover, and manage scientific Big Data.
Sachi Tech Inc DBA PikMyKid - PikMyKid is a Comprehensive School Safety Platform that ensures Student Safety, Increases Teacher efficiency while engaging >85% parents.
Schtudy - Schtudy pipelines large companies to technically-qualified students.
Science With Sophie - Science With Sophie is a science comedy series that provides strong, positive female science role models to the next generation of leaders.
Sidekick Education - Sidekick is a digital assistant that makes it easy for high school teachers to turn current company problems into engaging in-class projects
Skool - Skool guides first-gen and low-income students through the college application process to increase their chances of college matriculation.
Sown To Grow - Using Sown To Grow, students become empowered learners. They set goals, self-track, and reflect on what learning strategies work for them.
STEMulate Learning - We promote and develop the love of math by training teachers, educating parents and engaging students.
TasselTurn - We help foster youth graduate!
Teach X - In order to better equip and prepare black students for college and career, Teach X provides relevant context for learning by supporting teachers
The Parent "Advocators" - The Parent Advocators partner with parents and schools to elevate parent voice and create strong, collaborative school communities.
The Soule Foundation - The Soule Foundation is non-profit purposed with promoting the educational advancement of LGBTQ Youth of color.
Thinker-Tinker - Thinker-Tinker stimulates childhood development through toys that are creative, customized and physically interactive.
thinkLaw - thinkLaw helps educators teach critical thinking to all students.
Tiltas - Connecting the formerly incarcerated to resources, information and job opportunities.
What's Your Revolution? - The What's Your Revolution Project provides the tools and resources for young men of color to be the healthiest version of themselves.
Woke Girls - Woke Girls uses books and toys to rewrite the narrative and wake girls up to their power.
WriteBrained - WriteBrained provides spaces for students to explore themselves and their creativity.
NONPROFITS
#NYCEDU - #NYCEDU convenes collective impact leaders to create & scale education innovation so that ALL of our young people are equipped to flourish.
Adventure Girlz - Adventure Girlz provides a sisterhood for girls that is filled with literacy-based activities, mentorship, and adventure sports.
Atlantic Impact - We use local and global travel experiences to increase college enrollment and persistence among students attending high poverty high schools
Basta - Basta bridges the gap between employers and an under-tapped talent pipeline - first generation students of color - for first jobs.
Black Teacher Collaborative - BTC trains and supports Black teachers to improve pedagogical practices and maximize their impact on Black students at Black schools.
BridgeYear - BridgeYear provides underserved communities hands-on career fairs that link to employment and education opportunities for economic mobility.
Chicago United for Equity - CUE is a racial justice organization working to rebuild Chicago's government to be more just, ethical, and effective.
Club HABERDASHE - Club HABERDASHE is a platform delivering a skills-based curriculum to address gender pay equity, leadership development & sexual harassment
Code2College - Code2College equips traditionally underrepresented HS students with technical and professional skills to enter and excel in STEM careers.
Creative Reaction Lab - Creative Reaction Lab trains Black and Latinx youth to address systemic racism impacting their cultures and communities.
Dibia DREAM, Inc. - DREAM facilitates field experiences, meaningful exposure to academic rigor, and community mentorship to increase student outcomes.
DIFFvelopment - DIFFvelopment exposes college students of African descent to entrepreneurship as a viable career option.
Discriminology - Discriminology is a structured decision-making tool, used by communities to engage schools to be more responsive to their children's needs.
Educate ME Foundation, INC. - We recruit prospective and current minority educators to serve in urban school districts and charter school networks.
Eight Million Stories - We seek to transform the lives of disconnected youth (16-18 years old) through education, skills training, employment and relationships.
Family Engagement Lab, LLC - We help teachers engage families in learning through SMS two-way communication with translation and pre-scheduled academic content.
Fascinate Inc. - The Magic Cool Bus aims to excite youth about STEM by providing access to interactive and culturally relevant educational technology.
Floodgate Academy - Floodgate Academy provides high quality technical training and access to jobs to people from underrepresented backgrounds.
Freedem Foundations Inc - We partner with other entrepreneurs and formerly incarcerated who are interested in supplying mentoring and job placement for our youth.
Freyomi Education Solutions - Our mission is to eliminate adult illiteracy in the United States through initiatives that support treatment, prevention, and awareness.
HBCU 20x20 - We prepare and connect HBCU students and graduates to job and internship opportunities through direct engagement strategies.
HBCUvc - We train students at black colleges for a career in venture capital.
ImmSchools - Through policy action, professional development, and community efforts, we will create safe and welcoming schools for immigrant communities.
InterAction Initiative Inc. - We harness counter-stories to drive inclusion & equity on campuses for marginalized students through education, theater, and advocacy.
JOURNi - We use EDtech as a medium with other discipline to build a confidence to create in our youth while addressing other socio-economics issues.
Kids in Tech, Inc. - We empower children to use technology, promoting a positive environment, and fostering lifelong interest through afterschool programs.
Latinas in STEM - We inspire and empower parents and K-12 students to pursue STEM, and to help college students and professionals thrive in their careers.
Leap Year - Leap Year is creating a movement of first generation college educated changemakers through a community service gap year program.
LitLab - LitLab's product kidappolis is a mobile platform for early learners and their parents that turns using any device into quality learning time
Made in Brownsville - Increase economic mobility for youth through STEAM apprenticeship that increases relevant experience in the innovation economy.
Men's Story Project - Local groups create public storytelling productions where men share life stories that challenge masculinity norms & promote gender justice.
MindWorks Collaborative, Inc - We equip SPED leaders of color to create and advocate for equitable programs and services for diverse students with disabilities.
MyHealthEd, Inc. - Real Talk is a mobile app that uses real stories by real teens to help middle school students learn about sex ed topics.
oneTILT - We grow education managers from a place of equity and innovation so that all students see themselves in their leaders.
Operation Restoration - The OR works to increase access to education for incarcerated and formerly incarcerated women and girls.
Pennez - Pennez creates innovative products and services to help youth in Kindergarten through Eighth grade to improve how they read.
Project 18 - Project 18 supports youth who age of the foster care system at 18 years old in Louisiana.
Project Peaceful Warriors - Project Peaceful Warriors equips learning communities with trauma-informed yoga and mindfulness strategies.
ProjectHEAL Inc. - 1. Trauma-Informed Professional Development 2. High School Expressive Writing as a Positive Coping Mechanism Fellowship
Raheem AI - Raheem AI offers a secure, anonymous, and easy way for reporting and reviewing police encounters.
Remake Learning Bay Area (RLBA) - RLBA supports Title I school teams to surface inventive ideas and connect & collaborate with industry partners to deepen student learning.
RepresentEd - RepresentEd prepares high-potential nontraditional students of color for leadership roles through training, mentorship and internship.
Rising Sons/ Ones Up - To help young adults uncover their passions and gain transferable job skills while transforming their communities.
Scarlet Capital - Scarlet Ventures is an incubator that provides the resources needed for returning citizens to launch profitable, legal & scalable ventures.
ScholarCHIPS, Inc. - ScholarCHIPS provides college scholarships and mentorship to support youth with incarcerated parents in their college education.
Scholars' Latinx Initiative (Sli) - Sli raises the social consciousness and develops the leadership of Latinx youth from rural North Carolina as they prepare for college.
Seven Generations - Seven Generations is a racial and healing justice movement organizing system-impacted communities to end ed inequity and mass incarceration.
Spectacular Vernacular - Spectacular Vernacular promotes English language development by infusing the study of non-standard English dialects into the classroom.
STEM to the Future - Offer kids space to develop critical thinking skills to see the world around them & use human centered solutions in the 21st Century.
The 1881 Institute of Technology - 1881 is a workforce development initiative that prepares students to work as apprentices for engineering companies by age 16.
The Gray Matter Experience - Expose youth to entrepreneurship and provide them access to the tools and resources necessary to build businesses that impact communities
The Juror Project - The Juror Project reforms the criminal justice system through the jury box by increasing the diversity of jury panels.
The Little School Project - We offer a culture-rich, community-centered project, service, and problem-based curriculum model for urban homeschooled kids ages 10-16.
The Renaissance Project - The Renaissance Project listens to people and transforms their insights into program design solutions for equity.
The Village Mentoring, Incorporated - Our organization fosters a big brother program that connects local college men with high school male, minority students.
Think of Us - Think of Us leverages innovative technology to improve the lives of youth in and existing foster care.
ThinkLexic - We teach low income students of color with dyslexia and other language based learning disabilities how to read in (Los Angeles County)
Together America - Together America's fellowships teach underserved teens specialized career skills through real-world projects they lead and complete.
UnCommon Law - We provide trauma-informed counseling to people who are in prison for serious crimes, allowing them to safely return home.
Visionary Philanthropic Media Arts Foundation-STEP IT UP! - Various outreach activities, workshops, and events which include: Entrepreneurship, Leadership, Community Service, Goal Setting, Job Readiness
Visions Performing Arts Company - We are an after-school program for student-performers dedicated to preserving African and Latino American performing arts.
Wise Young Builders - WYB introduces under-served youth ages 8-12 to construction through hands-on activities. We visit owners, we build projects, we teach math.
SCHOOLS
5280 High School - 5280 High School is a project based learning school that focuses on comprehensive wellness and includes a program for students in recovery.
Academy for Creating Excellence - ACE is an educational partnership focused on project based and experiential learning.
Achievers Early College Prep Charter School - Achievers is dedicated to putting underrepresented students in STEAM careers via early exposure, skills acquisition, and college access.
Adinkra NOLA - Adinkra NOLA prepares young people today for a realistic adult life by providing a technologically and culturally relevant education.
Birch Academy Charter School - We empower and educate each girl to excel in the high school, college, and career of her choice.
Community Micro Schools - We are micro charter school network that focuses on inquiry based learning with small classroom sizes, as an achievement model.
Excelencia Charter Academy - Excelencia prepares students in TK-8 for academic and personal excellence, leading to success in high school, college, and life.
Generation Success - We create thinkers, doers, and social change agents by teaching them to self advocate and grow from strengths not deficits.
HigherUp Academy - HUA provides transformational outcomes for high school students focused on college and career preparedness and financial stewardship.
I Dream Academy - We customize purposeful, self-directed learning opportunities driven by each child's passions, curiosities, and dreams.
Imani Learning and Leadership, LLC - We provide STEM-based programs to students in low-income areas.
KUUMBA Education LLC - At KUUMBA Academy we do as much as we can, in the way we can, to leave our community better than we inherited it. How? Ask the community.
Lyceum Schools, Inc. - We offer a free and equitable education for young men in New Orleans that will allow them to transform the communities in which they live.
New Orleans Freedom School - We use a 21st century model of yesterday's Freedom and Native Schools to co-create social justice warriors of tomorrow.
Rebound, Inc. - Create education, advocacy and rehabilitation programs to move Black youth away from justice system involvement & toward their potential!
ScholarMade Achievement Place - ScholarMade grows children academically and increases their social and emotional intelligence while actively engaging parents.
The Greenhouse Academy of Professional Partners (GAPP) - The GAPP is a micro-school power by teachers who tailor a learning environment to meet the individual needs of the students.
The Social Justice School - The Social Justice School prepares students to interrupt systems of inequality by becoming designers of solutions to real world problems.
Transforming Our Practice Schools and Innovation Center (T.O.P.S.) - T.O.P.S. creates, nurtures , and sustains networks for school improvement and learning environments for underserved students.
Youth Empowerment Broadcasting Organization (YEBO) - YEBO prepares youth for careers in the media arts through centers and mobile media labs that connect students to their communities.