AT&T accepting applicants for $100K innovation grant

Does your company or non-profit organization have a great idea that could improve the lives of students? AT&T wants to help you bring it to life.

From now until Feb. 7, AT&T is accepting applications for its annual AT&T Aspire Accelerator program. In its third year, the Aspire Accelerator’s mission is to support technology-driven innovations that help students across the country and around the world achieve bright, successful futures.

Winning applicants will receive a $100,000 initial investment from AT&T – plus an additional $25,000 to cover the operating costs of the programs.

“We believe that education is the most important investment we can make and tech is our business. When you marry up education with technology you can start to make amazing change,” said Nicole Anderson, assistant vice president, Social Innovation at AT&T. “I’m excited to work with the 2017 class to bring more game-changing solutions to scale for students and teachers across the country.”

Last year, six winners were selected. They included: Bitzbox, a monthly subscription service that teaches children how to code; Cogent Education, an organization that designs and distributes interactive courses that tackle the most challenging concepts in high school biology classes; CommonLit, an educational resource that delivers high-quality, free literacy development tools for students grades 5-12; Couragion, a career exploration tool that introduces young students to jobs in STEM fields; TalkingPoints, an SMS-based application that helps teachers stay connected to their students’ parents; and The Graide Network, a mobile network that connects veteran school teachers with qualified teaching assistants.

“I’ve loved the opportunity to work with the Aspire Accelerator startups and serve as a mentor for the founders as they continue to grow their organizations and bring new initiatives and products into the ed-tech space,” commented Kimberly Bryant, founder of Black Girls CODE, a member of AT&T Aspire’s Class of 2015. “I know this year’s class will bring more innovative ideas to the table and I look forward to continuing to collaborate with AT&T to help the ventures succeed.”

The Aspire Accelerator is open to any venture working to develop technology to support students’ educational and career success. Potential areas of focus may include: mobile apps that drive education outcomes; platforms for teachers, students and/or parents; learning and curriculum management tools; assessment and outcome tracking platforms; education distribution (online instruction, courses, etc.); and increased access for existing best practices.

This year, solutions for students at-risk of dropping out of school will receive special consideration.

To learn more, and to apply, you can visit AT&T Aspire’s website by clicking here.