Latest news with #ImpactAwards
Business Journals
13 hours ago
- Business
- Business Journals
UTSA faces uphill battle to replicate baseball success amid collegiate sports money race
2025 Impact Awards — NONPROFIT ORGANIZATION The San Antonio Business Journal will host the Impact Awards on Nov. 13, 2025, celebrating the Impact of people and businesses that have made a difference in the community over the past year. Use this form to nominate nonprofit organizations only.
CNA
29-05-2025
- Business
- CNA
Cartier Impact Awards 2025: These remarkable women are using business to drive social change
'With great power there must also come great responsibility" – this line from a Spider-Man comic has become a defining pop culture moment, symbolising the moral obligation that comes with influence. Reflecting on today's interconnected world, the quote rings especially true – businesses wield huge influence, not just over economies, but over societies and the environment. This principle forms the foundation of the Cartier Women's Initiative (CWI), which was incepted in 2006 to recognise and support women entrepreneurs who are using the power of business to become 'forces for good', driving meaningful change and creating impact in their communities. According to Cartier, the programme has supported 330 awardees (known as 'fellows') from 66 countries, providing over US$12 million (S$15.5 million) in funding and nurturing a growing community of more than 500 changemakers. In 2025, the CWI marked another milestone by holding its second-ever Impact Awards, celebrating nine former fellows of the programme whose ventures have significantly scaled their missions over time. The 2025 Impact Awards Ceremony took place on May 22 at the Sakai Performing Arts Centre in Osaka, Japan, coinciding with the official opening week of Cartier's Women's Pavilion at Expo 2025. The first edition of the Impact Awards was held in 2022 at the Dubai Expo 2020. The Impact Awardees are selected across three categories – Preserving the Planet, Improving Lives, and Creating Opportunities, aligning with the UN's Sustainable Development Goals. Fellows from previous editions of the CWI apply for the awards and undergo a rigorous selection process. 'In this edition, when selecting fellows for the Impact Awards, we looked for those who have created extraordinary impact through their businesses. That impact can be measured in terms of breadth – reaching a large number of beneficiaries – or depth, such as introducing a truly innovative model that transforms how we think,' said Wingee Sin, global programme director of the CWI. The nine awardees each received a US$100,000 grant to help further their mission. They will also take part in a one-year fellowship programme designed to enhance their capacity for impact measurement, refine leadership skills, and scale their operational reach. PIONEERING SOLUTIONS The awardees hail from across the globe, with three representatives operating social impact businesses in India representing those from the Asian continent. Namita Banka is an awardee from the Improving Lives Category. She is the founder of Banka Bioloo, a company that provides sustainable water and sanitation solutions across India, including biotoilets, biodigesters and sewage treatment plants. The former jewellery designer was selling ink cartridges and green office supplies to Indian Railways when she discovered that one of their biggest problems is sanitation. 'An estimated 100 million households do not have access to toilets and 60 per cent of people are forced to defecate in the open, posing health hazards, environmental concerns and leading to water contamination," said Banka. With an average 18 million people travelling by train every day, Indian Railways is 'our lifeline', but its toilets were 'in a pitiful state'. Since Banka Bioloo's inception in 2012, it has installed 3,000 biotoilets for Indian Railways and supplied 30,000 biotoilets to rural areas, impacting millions of people by providing them with a clean, safe and hygienic environment to take care of their needs. Banka's goal is to 'bring a toilet to every household in India'. Also in India, Kristin Kagetsu, an awardee from the Preserving the Planet category, is the founder of Saathi, which produces and distributes 100 per cent all-natural, biodegradable sanitary pads made of banana fibre. Conventional sanitary pads on the market contain toxic chemical agents, and women in rural parts of India commonly dispose of them by burning them due to a lack of waste facilities. Saathi converts banana fibre, a natural byproduct of banana farming, into a soft absorbent pad via a patented fibre-processing technology. The pads degrade within six months of disposal. The company also provides subsidised pads for non-governmental organisations (NGOs) committed to improving access to sanitary pads and health education for women. In the Creating Opportunities category, American Jackie Stenson is the co-founder of Essmart, a social enterprise that aims to bridge the gap between life-improving technologies and underserved rural communities in southern India. Recognising that many innovative products fail to reach those who need them the most, Essmart curates a catalogue of over 350 cleantech and agricultural tools – such as solar dryers and battery-powered sprayers – and distributes them through a network of more than 5,000 local retailers. ROLE MODELS AS BUSINESSES FOR GOOD Other awardees leading innovative companies include Kresse Wesling from the UK. Wesling is the founder of Elvis & Kresse, a company with a mission to convert waste products into luxury goods. It turns industrial and commercial waste, including fire hoses, coffee sacks and scrap leather into luxury bags and other accessories. Hailing from Armenia, Mariam Torosyan created Safe YOU, a mobile application that provides women suffering gender-based violence with emergency support, access to relevant resources and a safe online community. Yvette Ishimwe from Rwanda is the founder of IRIBA Water Group, which created a smart self-service water ATM that makes purified water available, accessible and affordable for low-income communities across Africa. For many awardees, the true value of the Impact Awards goes beyond visibility and funding. It lies in the recognition and affirmation of their efforts to build businesses that drive positive change, said Sin. 'A big part of the initiative is to drive the idea that business is an important force for good. Not only is it possible, but many people are already doing it. Highlighting these individuals as role models is important to us,' Sin shared. CONTINUING THE MISSION Cartier will hold the 20th edition of the CWI in 2026, which will culminate in a global awards ceremony to be held in Bangkok, Thailand. It will spotlight 30 women impact entrepreneurs, selected as top three candidates across nine Regional Awards alongside the Science & Technology Pioneer Award. Singapore's presence in the CWI is steadily growing. In recent years, two fellows have been inducted into the programme. They include Mint Lim, founder of inclusive learning centre School of Concepts, who was a fellow from the 2023 edition. In the 2024 edition, Singapore surgeon Dr Lynne Lim, founder of medtech start-up NousQ, took home the top prize in the Science & Technology Pioneer category. Cyrille Vigneron, chairman of culture and philanthropy at Cartier, emphasised Singapore's important role in advancing Cartier's philanthropic efforts in the region. 'Singapore's strategic location and global connectivity position it as a key regional hub for collaboration and scaling social impact. By forging partnerships with local and regional institutions, such as social enterprises, cultural foundations, and universities, Cartier can amplify its impact across Asia-Pacific,' Vigneron commented. 'The upcoming 2026 Cartier Women's Initiative in Thailand underscores the region's growing role in fostering social change, with Singapore poised to lead in shaping and advancing these efforts,' he concluded.
RTÉ News
26-05-2025
- Business
- RTÉ News
Vivid Edge founder wins 2025 Impact Award from Cartier Women's Initiative
Tracy O'Rourke, the founder and CEO of Vivid Edge, an Irish climate action impact company, has been presented with a 2025 Impact Award by the Cartier Women's Initiative. Vivid Edge helps medium and large organisations transition to low-carbon operations through its "efficiency-as-a-service" model. The company provides fully funded, turnkey energy upgrades, removing traditional financial and operational barriers for customers, while its approach delivers fast-track carbon reductions without upfront capital investment. Vivid Edge is headquartered at NexusUCD in Dublin and is supported by Enterprise Ireland as a client company. The Cartier Women's Initiative (CWI), founded by Cartier in 2006, is an international entrepreneurship programme that aims to drive change by empowering women impact entrepreneurs. Ms O'Rourke is one of nine international female entrepreneurs and business leaders and the only Irish entrepreneur, who were presented with their Impact Awards during an event held at Expo 2025 in Osaka in Japan. The CWI Impact Awards, presented only for the second time since 2020, are dedicated to former CWI fellows whose ventures have demonstrated "extraordinary" long-term impact aligned with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (UN SDGs). Tracy was one of three awardees in the Preserving the Planet category, which recognises innovations advancing climate action and environmental sustainability. Tracy O'Rourke, founder and CEO of Vivid Edge, said it was a great privilege to be included among this group of inspirational female entrepreneurs who are driving social and environmental change around the world through their companies. "At Vivid Edge we are on a mission to make it easy and financially rewarding for large energy users to decarbonise, bringing energy expertise, delivery capability and capital," she said. "In terms of impact, we estimate that the projects we have delivered to date for clients have avoided over 36,000 tons of carbon emissions, equivalent to planting over 100,000 trees and saved over 119 GWh of energy," she said. "Vivid Edge's work is making measurable contributions to global climate goals, and we are proud to be delivering measurable impact contributing to a better future for people and the planet," she added.
Axios
03-04-2025
- Business
- Axios
Edwins' Brandon Chrostowski wins first-ever James Beard Impact Award
Brandon Chrostowski, the founder and CEO of Edwins, will receive an inaugural James Beard Foundation Impact Award. Why it matters: This will be the first James Beard Award for Chrostowksi, who was a semifinalist in 2022 and finalist in 2023 in the Outstanding Restaurateur category. It's also Cleveland's first James Beard Award since 2015, when Jonathon Sawyer won Best Chef in the Great Lakes region. State of play: The new Impact Awards recognize individuals and organizations "actively working to push for standards that create a more equitable, sustainable, and economically viable restaurant industry," per the James Beard Foundation. Catch up quick: Chrostowski founded Edwins in 2007 as a jobs program for returning citizens and opened the restaurant on Shaker Square in 2013. It recently relocated to the former Nighttown space on Cedar Road. What they're saying: "This award is a recognition not only of the work we do at Edwins but also of the power of belief — that everyone, no matter their past, deserves dignity, opportunity, and a seat at the table," Brandon Chrostowski said in a press release.
Yahoo
12-03-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
The Playing for Change Foundation is Changing the World ‘One Heart and One Song at a Time'
During the 2024 Rio Grande do Sul floods in Brazil, 183 people died and over 600,000 Brazilians were displaced. Staff and faculty at the Instituto Playing For Change in Curitiba, Brazil jumped into action, leading an emergency response effort that mobilized millions of dollars in medical supply donations, with over 60 emergency helicopter and plane rescue aircraft delivering much needed supplies, and is now building houses for those permanently displaced. In rural Nepal, a group of mothers from Tintale village wanted to change their daughters' futures in a society that openly discriminates against girls. Many of the girls, as young as 12, were married and not allowed to attend school when menstruating, and were not allowed to hold significant positions of power in the region. Over 15 years, this brave band of mothers walked countless hours from village to village, using drama and music to portray their experiences and change the hearts and minds of their neighbors. Now, their community is a hub and a beacon of gender equity and education, and the Tintale Village Mother's Society is a regional force that has changed the lives of Nepalese girls. More from Spin: The Professor Will Now Unpack — Billie Eilish's 'Birds of a Feather' Metallica Unveil Concert Film With Apple Vision Pro Billy Joel Postpones Eight Shows Following Surgery These are just two examples of the impact the Playing for Change Foundation (PFCF) has had since its founding in 2007, creating positive change in the lives of marginalized youth in low-income communities around the world through music and arts education. Stories like these, along with recognizing musicians and organizations that are actively working to make positive social change on a global scale, are the focus of PFCF's upcoming 2025 Impact Awards. The event will take place on Saturday, March 15, 2025 at the Rubell Museum in Miami, Florida, with an after-party at Superblue Miami. PFCF started the Impact Awards in 2019, with Pharrell Williams as its first honoree. Over the last six years, it's grown to be the premier awards event for artists and their philanthropy, says PFCF's CEO Jake Groshong. 'We honor these musicians, who have made incredible contributions to the world for their music, but they also have made incredible contributions to the world through their philanthropy and giving back,' he says. 'And we highlight that. It's been spectacular, honestly.' Through the Impact Awards, says Groshong, PFCF has celebrity partnerships with major artists throughout the world, such as DJ Khaled in Miami, Ellie Goulding in Jordan, and Shakira in Columbia. Founded by Mark Johnson and Whitney Kroenke Silverstein, PFCF has developed 18 music and education programs spanning 50 locations in 13 counties. Johnson and Silverstein initially created the foundation as a way to give back to the communities that participated in Songs Around the World, a video series that showcases musicians from around the world performing together to promote hope and understanding through music, as part of Playing for Change (PFC), an organization the partners founded in 2001. 'We had been traveling, making the Songs Around the World videos for about five years when it became just very apparent that there was an opportunity to make a difference in the communities that we were visiting while making the videos,' says Silverstein. 'On a visit to Gugulethu, South Africa, the film crew asked a local musician who was helping us how we could leave this community better than we found it, in a way that would matter. And he just said, 'A music school. If you could help us to have a place that was safe for kids to come learn music, express themselves, and connect with each other, that would be meaningful to us.' That was the first conversation of many conversations within the Paying for Change Foundation universe that enabled us to do something meaningful to the local community, and we ended up building the very first PFCF music school on the grounds of this gentleman's home, just outside of Cape Town.' PFCF provides youth around the world opportunities for creative expression through their own culture, guided by mentors who know them best. All of the programs are free of charge, targeting youth from some of the most marginalized neighborhoods in the world, from hip-hop on the Pine Ridge Reservation in South Dakota to art therapy for young victims of sexual violence in Guatemala City to traditional Intore dance in Rwanda. This year's Impact Awards will honor the Marley family, as well as international superstars JUANES and Anitta, who, like the foundation, use music as a tool for worldwide social change. Skip Marley, Young Musicians Unite (YMU), Hip Hop Kidz, and Grammy-nominated Afro-Cuban rockstar Cimafunk will perform live. Legendary music producer and Island Records founder Chris Blackwell will also attend as a special guest presenter to honor the Marleys with their award, recognizing their enduring contributions to music and social impact. Through the Bob and Rita Marley Foundation—led by Cedella Marley and Rohan Marley—the Marleys have empowered communities worldwide through global initiatives in education, healthcare, and community development. Colombian solo artist JUANES is being honored for his nonprofit, Fundación Mi Sangre, which empowers communities across Colombia by nurturing life skills, leadership, and social entrepreneurship—helping individuals become the driving force behind a more just and peaceful society. Anitta, a cultural ambassador for Brazil, is renowned for her work supporting youth and education through initiatives such as Instituto Playing For Change in Cajuru, Curitiba. PFCF recently partnered with Dhammajarinee Witthaya School in Thailand, and reach over 1,000 orphaned and disadvantaged girls in the Bangkok region, and will soon launch multiple music education programs in India. PFCF has begun a major study of its work around the globe in partnership with the University of California, Irvine, starting with its new program at the Samueli Academy for kids in foster care in Santa Ana, California. 'Playing For Change was born out of the idea that no matter how many things in life divide us, they will never be as strong as the power of music to bring us together,' says Johnson. 'Back in 2001, Whitney and I officially started Playing For Change and took our mobile studio and cameras to the streets, subways, and parks across America and eventually to over 65 countries creating Songs Around the World. We were building a global family through the music and supporting the next generation through the work of our Playing For Change Foundation. We change the world one heart and one song at a time.' Sponsors for the 2025 Impact Awards are Capital One Entertainment, Tiffany & Co., Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino, and SPIN. To buy tickets, visit 2025 Impact Awards website. By the way, the majority of PFCF's funding comes from individual giving. So, if you're looking for ways to help the foundation create social change through music and the arts, the PFCF accepts online donations. To see our running list of the top 100 greatest rock stars of all time, click here.
