The Innovation Prize supports organizations fighting against the radical progressive Left. A new round of applications are open now.
The fight over the future of America is at a fever pitch. The radical Left is mounting a coordinated attack on American liberties, seemingly never running out of novel ways to assault our freedoms. But novelty aside, at its core, the leftist agenda is aimed at one goal: dismantling American greatness.
The Left is gambling on conservative complacency to advance its mission, which is where the Heritage Foundation comes in. For half a century, Heritage has championed the principles of freedom, opportunity, and innovation that undergird the great American experiment. Those principles have never been in greater danger than they are today, so Heritage is intensifying its efforts to protect them.
Among those efforts is the Innovation Prize, which Heritage introduced last year. The name says it all: as the Left finds new ways to damage our nation, conservatives must come up with innovative ways to fight back. Radicals are attempting to catch us off guard, so we need new leaders ready to go on the offensive to combat radicalism and advance sane, sensible policy solutions.
The Heritage Foundation isn’t working alone in finding those solutions. It is joining forces with organizations that are similarly dedicated to converting conservative ideals into decisive action. The Innovation Prize is a way of providing concrete support (to the tune of $1 million per year) to organizations that are finding new ways to wrest power from corrupt, corrosive political actors and return it to the hands of the American people.
To be eligible for the Heritage Innovation Prize, organizations must be results-oriented nonprofits executing projects involving research, litigation, education, outreach, communications, or leadership development. If your organization fits the bill, apply by February 1 to be considered for a prize.
The prize is intended to spark innovation and creative disruption in the conservative movement, particularly in seven key policy areas: protecting parental choice in education, reversing growing spending and inflation, defending the unborn, securing America’s borders, countering the insidious encroachment of Communist China, exposing Big Tech’s malfeasance, and ensuring elections are free and fair.
2022 Innovation Prize winners included the Defense of Freedom Institute, in support of its efforts to unveil and counter the Chinese Communist Party’s insidious influence on universities and research institutions in the United States. DFI is calling out the Biden administration’s refusal to stop the CCP’s encroachment on American education, and demanding transparency on CCP espionage actions and universities’ complicity.
Heritage also awarded an Innovation Prize to the State Financial Officers Foundation, in support of their direct pushback against the radical Left’s attempt to throttle economic innovation. In the name of sustainability and diversity, the Left has imposed environmental, social, and corporate governance (ESG) standards that sabotage American energy independence and leave us dependent on the CCP. Bureaucrats and cultural elites are jumping at the chance to control the lives of everyday Americans, but SFOF is pushing back, exposing the corrosive effect of ESG on the financial well-being of families, businesses, and state governments.
There has never been a more crucial moment for standing up and returning power to the American people. While conservatives don’t occupy the White House, we can make immense inroads at state, local, and congressional levels of government. In fact, we not only can—we must.
Innovation Prizes are awarded not just to organizations in D.C. The fight against the radical Left’s agenda has to be waged not just in the capital, but across the nation. Through the Innovation Prize, Heritage is ensuring that conservatives are united in pushing back against the encroachment of the tyrannical Left. America’s future depends on it.
The next deadline for Innovation Prize applications is February 1. Applicants must be a 501(c)3 organization in good standing. New or existing groups, and those operating at the state or national level, are welcome to apply. Learn more about the application process and selection criteria at heritage.org/innovationprize.
