Ben Garrison and Christine Francis at Causeway
Applications for the next Causeway Challenge will be open from April 30-May19, seeking ideas that address the question: How can we make Chattanooga a city where people of all backgrounds live, work, play and learn together?
“Diversity is an issue that has come up over and over again in our conversations with Chattanoogans in the last year. It’s really rising to the top as one of the issues facing our community and the country, and we see tackling the challenge as a big opportunity for Chattanooga to lead the way in fostering a strong sense of inclusion and opportunity,” said Abby Garrison, Causeway’s executive director. “We know that diversity–whether that is race, income, gender, age, orientation or simply ways of thinking–carries concrete benefits for our neighborhoods, fuels workplace innovation, fosters creative learning, and is simply more interesting and fun.
As Causeway grows the social entrepreneurship movement in Chattanooga, we think it is crucial to support ideas that develop a city-wide culture of dynamic perspectives.”
The Challenge is open to anyone; nonprofits, for-profits, individuals and groups from Chattanooga can apply. "Causeway aims to attract a broad range of innovative ideas from local residents, planners, entrepreneurs, artists, activists, technologists, academics, students, startups, nonprofits, businesses, governments and individuals," officials said.
This is Causeway’s second Challenge. Last fall, Causeway awarded 20 projects $2,500 each to support ideas to create a more connected city. This time, Causeway is ramping up its offerings. Causeway will offer up to five winning ideas $10,000 to support themselves and their project, as well as a four-month experience in their incubation program. Incubation services include a 24/7 workspace at Causeway, a paid one-on-one consultant with experience related to the project, the support of a cohort of other people working on similar ideas, specialized workshops planned according to the needs of each cohort, access to Causeway’s network of pro-bono advisors and increased visibility through Causeway’s network of local investors, supporters, and experts. Winners must commit 20 hours per week to their projects from June 18-mid October.
“We realized through the last challenge that these ideas could really benefit from a more intensive support system,” said Causeway’s Managing Director Heather DeGaetano. “Our approach this time will give the Challenge winners specific guidance and advice to really strengthen their projects, and will allow them to launch with a solid team of supporters in their corner.”
To get the conversation started, Causeway will host a Speaker Panel where four local speakers, Keri Randolph, Marcus Ellsworth, Harlan Breaux and Enoch Elwell, will share their unique perspectives on where our city currently stands and where we could be on the issues of diversity and inclusion. The event will be Thursday, May 7 at the Bessie Smith Cultural Center. Free dinner and drinks will be available at 6:30 p.m., and speakers will begin at 7 p.m.
“Our speakers have a lot of compelling thoughts on what’s next for Chattanooga in terms of diversity,” said Causeway’s program director James Chapman. “Because they’re all local community members, they will be able to share not only their insights, but their personal experiences on the topic. That context will really help to set the stage and rally the troops around this important issue.”
Causeway will host open office hours on May 4, 11 and 18 from noon-1 p.m. in their workspace at 16 Patten Pkwy. to answer questions from potential applicants. They will also be doing extensive community outreach during the application period.
Applications for this round of the Causeway Challenge will be open from April 30-midnight on May 19 at causeway.org/challenge. In late May, Causeway will select a small group of semifinalists to provide additional information on their ideas through a day-long interview and prototyping process. Up to five final winners will be announced on June 4. There is a mandatory orientation for winners on June 18 from 4-8 p.m.