Posted on October 3, 2012
Deadline: November 16, 2012

Gates Foundation Launches College Knowledge Challenge App Competition

The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation has provided $2.5 million to fund the College Knowledge Challenge, a competitive grant initiative for free and low-cost Facebook applications designed to make the college-going process more transparent, collaborative, and easy to navigate for low-income and first-generation students. The competition is administered in partnership with College Summit and other organizations.

The challenge is open to for-profit and nonprofit organizations from any field.

Developers are invited to submit technology solutions that support high school students and/or students currently enrolled in college (especially community college). Successful apps will address one or more of the top three roadblocks to college success by 1) helping students build, test, and implement personal academic pathways that grow out of college-career aspirations and are supported by informed decision making; 2) helping students build social capital and a college-going peer group; and 3) rectifying information asymmetries in college admissions, financial aid, and college selection processes that disadvantage low-income and first-generation students.

A primary objective of the challenge is to move college support tools from simple Web sites that focus on information aggregation and basic FAQs to adaptive tools that provide students with personalized, actionable strategies for navigating through college.

Investment funds will be distributed in grants of between $50,000 and $100,000, depending on the scope of the project. Approximately thirty winners will be funded. Winning apps then will be launched on Facebook as well as other platforms.

Visit the College Knowledge Challenge Web site for the complete Request for Proposals and submission procedures.

Contact:
Link to Complete RFP

Primary Subject: Education
Geographic Funding Area: National

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