Ignite Cincinnati looking for a few good YP ideas

Have you ever sat around with friends, or caught a story on the news, and come up with a great idea to solve a local problem?

If you can explain how your idea would work and how it could energize the city’s young professionals, you could get some dollars and some support to make that idea a reality.

A new initiative, Ignite Cincinnati, gives thinkers an outlet for their ideas. Ignite is a spinoff of Give Back Cincinnati, a service-oriented volunteer group that has dedicated more than 40,000 hours of community service to the Cincinnati community.

Ignite Cincinnati will award $500 to $5,000 to community organizations, coalitions, individuals and non-profits. There are some broad parameters to the initiative, but the idea should be in its initial concept stage, have an impact on young professionals (aged 18-40) and be previously unsupported. The organization isn’t looking to fund for-profit or business ideas, and the concepts should be geared toward community building, education, diversity or the environment.

“We don’t want an event that’s been happening for a decade, and we want it to either be run by young professionals or for young professionals,” said Jay W. Hummel, former Board President of Give Back Cincinnati and part of the Ignite Cincinnati team.

Ignite Cincinnati will take applications year round, and each month will review submitted ideas. Have one? You can fill out an application here. According to Hummel, the idea doesn’t have to be intricately detailed but should give a solid explanation of what it is, and how it benefits the YP community. If an idea seems doable, applicants will have a face-to-face meeting with the Ignite team before a final determination is made on funding it.

Along with the financing, Ignite Cincinnati will offer a mentor who’ll help get the projects off the ground and running. Ignite Cincinnati is a way for any person to tap into the connections and experience that Give Back Cincinnati offers.

“We have a young professional board that has great experience in running successful events, and we can help other people run successful events,” Hummel said.

Ignite Cincinnati is co-sponsored by Give Back Cincinnati, Haile/US Bank Foundation, and Mayerson Foundation.

Writer: Feoshia Henderson
Source: Jay W. Hummel, Former Board President of Give Back Cincinnati