We are so thankful that United Way Dallas allowed Reading to New Heights to participate in their 12-week program designed to help foster early-stage social ventures led and staffed by women and people of color. Known as the Social Innovation Incubator, we, alongside other participants, had the opportunity to:
- Utilize personalize leadership coaching to empower participants as they develop their venture and grow their leadership
- Access seed funding and compete in a pitch competition for additional funding of up to $5,000
- Prioritization for future programs through United Way of Metropolitan Dallas
Last week, United Way Dallas granted us two awards—the Sustainability Awards and the Audience Choice Award–after a successful pitch.
“We are honored to be a part of this program not only because of the professional development and support but also because it provides endless opportunities to move our mission forward and create a safe place for adults to learn and improve their literacy skills. Everything we do is with current and future learners in mind,” says Deidra Mayberry, Reading to New Heights’ Executive Director and Co-founder.
Founded in 2020, Reading to New Heights is still in the startup phase. Focusing exclusively on startups led and staffed by women and people of color, the Social Innovation program fosters greater equity in the local social innovation sector. The program works to intentionally address historical barriers to success that many women and people of color encounter when launching a startup, including opportunity and resource gaps, as well as systemic racial and gender inequities.
“Social innovation is an exciting area because it’s all about leveraging more effective, efficient, sustainable, or just solutions to our community’s biggest challenges,” said Alexis Snow, senior manager of innovation at United Way of Metropolitan Dallas.
Thank you, United Way Dallas!
