Filipino Young Leaders Program Awarded Booz Allen Foundation Innovation Fund Grant
Caretaker Project selected to receive funding for innovative solution to pressing issue caused by COVID-19 pandemic
September 17, 2020: The Booz Allen Foundation, a 501(c)(3) organization dedicated to convening diverse stakeholders to solve challenging social issues, today announced the recipients of nearly $1 million in grants from the Booz Allen Foundation Innovation Fund.
The Filipino Young Leaders Program (FYLPRO) was selected to receive a grant ($25,000) for its groundbreaking proposal – the Caretaker Project.
Established to support the development of creative solutions that address the wide-ranging impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Booz Allen Foundation Innovation Fund was open to individuals, nonprofit organizations, and eligible small businesses to apply from April 30 to June 5, 2020. Nearly 3,000 applications were submitted, coming from all 50 states, four U.S. territories, and Washington, DC.
“We are excited and honored to receive this generous grant from the Booz Allen Foundation to launch our Caretaker Project to provide vital services to our kababayans during COVID-19,” said FYLPRO President Joshua Ang Price. “This grant is absolutely huge for FYLPRO and the Fil-Am communities we serve, which is a population prone to service gaps and misinformation. Our COVID-19 Task Force envisioned this project as a way to help fill those gaps and address the unique needs of our communities as we all weather this pandemic together.”
The 21 winners—including FYLPRO—selected to receive grant funding are each working to develop new solutions, systems, technology, and approaches that help build lasting community resilience by protecting vulnerable populations and frontline workers or support the safe return to work.
“In this unprecedented time, we asked applicants to provide their best and brightest ideas to solve the most pressing issues caused by the pandemic—and help those vulnerable populations most impacted,” said John M. Murdock, President and co-founding board member of the Booz Allen Foundation. “The Booz Allen Foundation is honored to provide funding to a diverse set of winning teams developing high impact solutions that will not only change the world, but also provide hope.”
The Caretaker Project will be launched as a virtual help desk to connect Filipinos with vital, culturally relevant services such as wellness resources and legal assistance; debunk misinformation and warn against fraud and scams; and improve collection of data to better serve the community. This project aims to fill gaps in services for the most vulnerable social groups — seniors, frontline workers, and the unemployed. The anticipated rollout will take place in October 2020 through a proprietary web-based platform, Tayo, with initial focus on the Los Angeles area.
The Caretaker Project was developed by FYLPRO’s COVID-19 Task Force, which is chaired by FYLPRO board member, program director, and spokesperson Leezel Tanglao. Project leadership also includes FYLPRO board member Tiffany Batac, who serves as project manager, as well as product manager Dexter Ligot-Gordon, project operations coordinator Pia Besmonte and product designer Jiggy Villanueva, all of whom lend their talents from Kalibrr, Southeast Asia’s highest rated job search application. FYLPRO board members Joshua Ang Price, Krystle Canare, Melissa Palma, Donny Rojo, TJ Simba-Medel, and FYLPRO alumni Mark Calaguas, Frederick Docdocil, and Ireneo Reus III round out the Caretaker Project team.
Innovation Fund grant applications were reviewed by over 150 individuals during a multi-tiered evaluation process. From 3,000 applications, 30 semi-finalists were selected to virtually pitch their projects to a team of external evaluators with backgrounds in innovation, grant making, and entrepreneurship. The 21 winning teams were then evaluated and approved by the Booz Allen Foundation Board.
More information on FYLPRO and the Caretaker Project is available at fylpro.org.
For a full list of Booz Allen Foundation Innovation Fund winners, visit https://boozallenfoundation.org/innovationfund/winners/.
About the FYLPRO COVID-19 Task Force
In response to the ongoing crisis of the COVID-19 pandemic, FYLPRO formed the COVID-19 Task Force in April 2020 to tackle the specific needs of Filipinos in the diaspora and back home. As part of the formation of this task force, the COVID-19 Relief Fund was created to support these efforts.
The FYLPRO COVID-19 Task Force is looking to identify other opportunities for collaboration both in the United States and the Philippines. If you are aware of potential partner organizations or prospective beneficiaries for FYLPRO’s COVID-19 regional relief program, please complete our information request form. Donations to the FYLPRO COVID-19 Relief Fund are also being accepted at fylpro.org/support. For additional questions, please email [email protected].
About the Filipino Young Leaders Program (FYLPRO)
The Filipino Young Leaders Program (FYLPRO) is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization of high-performing, next-generation leaders that have a passion for advancing the Philippines and the Filipino people.
FYLPRO was established in 2012 by the Philippine Embassy in Washington, DC in cooperation with the Ayala Foundation, Inc. (AFI) to annually identify outstanding young professionals in the Filipino communities across the United States and provide the delegates with invaluable community, business, and government insights and access to distinguished network captains of industry and government. For more information about FYLPRO, please visit fylpro.org.
About The Booz Allen Foundation
The Booz Allen Foundation was formed in 2017 as an independent 501(c)(3) tax-exempt organization. It serves as a convener of diverse stakeholders from the private, public, academic, and social sectors to solve challenging social issues through innovation and technology and build community resilience from the ground up. For more information visit boozallenfoundation.org.
PRESS CONTACTS
Filipino Young Leaders Program
Leezel Tanglao, [email protected]
Booz Allen Foundation Innovation Fund
Amanda Allison-Martini, [email protected]