Social Innovations Journal presents
2027 Greater Philadelphia Social Innovation Awards
Finding, recognizing and investing in the region's most passionate changemakers across Bucks, Chester, Delaware, Montgomery and Philadelphia counties.
2027 Sponsors: thank you!
Meet the sponsors and the county Selection and Nomination Committees.
Sponsors and committee →Vision
An equitable society, recognizing that we do not all start from the same place.
Imbalances must be acknowledged and corrected. To achieve a more just and equitable society, ecosystems need formalized processes to identify authentic changemakers, and then a way to invest in them.
We inspire leaders to dream by tapping into their own creativity, to test and grow their ideas, and to become better versions of themselves.
Read more →Purpose
Find, recognize and drive financial capital to authentic changemakers.
We celebrate and honor our region's most passionate social innovators, entrepreneurs and changemakers whose work and social impact too often goes unacknowledged, yet whose efforts are what make our communities thrive.
From 2027 the Awards do more than recognize. Every finalist is offered a free place in the Social Innovations Institute, a year of leadership development and peer learning alongside changemakers from across the region. Recognition becomes the beginning of something rather than the end of it.
Anyone doing community-rooted, innovative work can be nominated. There is no budget requirement.
This year, priority will be given to individuals and teams from community-based social sector organizations with annual budgets under $1 million, and to independent changemakers working under a nonprofit fiscal sponsor or fiduciary. Individuals and teams from larger organizations are welcome too, especially when the nominated work is community-driven, locally rooted, and within the spirit of innovation.
How it works
A public nomination and voting process, led by a Selection and Nomination Committee in each county. See the 12 categories.
- 1
Nominate
Anyone in the public can nominate a changemaker in one of 12 categories.
- 2
County review
Nominations are grouped by county: Bucks, Chester, Delaware, Montgomery and Philadelphia.
- 3
Finalists chosen
Each county's Selection and Nomination Committee picks 1 to 2 finalists per category.
- 4
Public vote
Six finalists per category, representing their county, go on a slate for public voting.
Every nominee is recognized. All nominations, whether or not they move to the finalist stage, are recognized for their work and impact on their local ecosystems.
A new finalist benefit: the Social Innovations Institute
Every 2027 finalist is invited to join the Institute's founding cohort, completely free. It's optional, and it's a chance to keep growing long after the ceremony: each session pairs leadership development with a Learning Hub in the finalist's own field, where leaders working on similar challenges learn directly from one another.
Six leadership competencies
- 1Accountability and GovernanceIntegrity. Oversight. Impact.
- 2Human-Centered Design and Community ValidationListen. Co-create. Solve.
- 3Making Nonprofit Markets WorkMission. Resources. Results.
- 4AI-Enabled Leadership and Organizational CapacityAutomate. Augment. Focus on what matters.
- 5Systems and Policy ChangeFrom insight to impact.
- 6Political Astuteness and Organizational TransformationNavigate. Mobilize. Lead change.
What the Hubs surface does not stay in the room. Promising practices become practitioner case studies published in the Social Innovations Journal, and the barriers participants identify become policy briefs presented to county health and human services leadership across the five counties.
Nominating someone? Let them know that, as a finalist, they'll get the option of a free year of leadership development and a network of peers across the region.
Timeline
- NowNominations open
- November 22, 2026Nominations close
- December 7, 2026Public voting opens
- January 10, 2027Voting closes
- January 28, 2027Awards Ceremony, 2:00 to 5:00pm
- March 2027Social Innovations Institute begins
The strategy for more equitable ecosystems
Traditional ecosystem strategies recognize and support innovative organizations by teaming up passionate people and partners. The Social Innovations strategy goes further: it engages the public in nominating and voting, creating the conditions for an ecosystem to identify and invest in legitimate changemakers, and fostering relationships among investors and actors.
What makes an ecosystem
A social sector ecosystem is a community (a city, region or state) with these fundamental supports working in tandem:
- Financial capital Grants, crowdfunding, venture capital and debt, generated from community foundations and other organizations
- Culture and community of support Success stories and societal norms
- Market demand Beneficiaries, partners and networks
- Human capital and talent
- Policy and regulatory environment A strong one
- Supports Legal, accounting, bankers, training and education
As outlined by Daniel Isenberg, Babson College.
Our definitions
An equitable society creates a path from hope to change.
It is one in which all community residents can participate and, as a result, prosper, with a pathway for all to reach their full potential.
The public is anyone who lives in the geographic location of the defined ecosystem.
Six Social Innovation Ecosystem Principles
Six elements of a social sector ecosystem working toward a more just and equitable society. Each is outlined in phases, since an ecosystem will be at different stages at different times and there is always space for growth.
- 01
Equitable representation of government, private sector, foundations, intermediaries, academia, not-for-profits, service recipients and community leadership.
- 02
Clearly defined categories that reflect the ecosystem's primary social challenges, documented by verified data and trends.
- 03
Engagement of the public in identifying and nominating an ecosystem's most passionate social innovators, entrepreneurs and changemakers.
- 04
Engagement of the public in a voting process where votes are cast on the merit of the innovation and impact.
- 05
Engagement of ecosystem investors to listen to community voices and invest in new and emerging changemakers.
- 06
Fostering new relationships among funders and an ecosystem's most passionate social innovators, entrepreneurs and changemakers.
Principles, guidelines and standards: how we use the terms
Principles translate values into actionable choices, strategies and practices. They are a set of recommended guidelines that must be adopted and followed to ensure quality and reliability.
Guidelines are recommendations that can be adopted and practiced.
Standards are established norms or requirements.
The Social Innovations Institute is how that investment is sustained beyond the moment of recognition, giving each year's finalists the chance to become a standing community of practice across the region.
Achieving a more just society
Innovating ideas, revolutionizing realities.
ACHIEVING A MORE JUST SOCIETY
Innovating ideas, Revolutionizing realities