Podcasts Culture Portraits in Color Próspero: Creating Opportunities for BYMOC

Próspero: Creating Opportunities for BYMOC

Published: Jan. 21, 2020, midnight

What are the possibilities when community-based organizations have the space to be creative and innovative with funding? In this episode of Portraits in Color, you will hear about an interesting collaboration between city government, philanthropy, and nonprofits that create economic opportunities for boys and young men of color (BYMOC).

Próspero represents a unique approach to grant making. Instead of releasing a highly-prescriptive request for proposals (RFP), the Albuquerque Community Foundation, in collaboration with the City of Albuquerque and the Obama Foundation, decided that they wanted to create a fund that allowed nonprofits and social enterprises to freely test innovative ideas without restrictions. Five organizations received a share of $100,000 in prize money as part of a community-wide "pitch competition", along with additional capacity-building support.

Joining the show to discuss the impact of Próspero are Joanna Colangelo from the Albuquerque Community Foundation, Charles Ashley III from Cultivating Coders, and Maria Gallegos and Jacob Olaguir from Working Classroom.