J.M. Kaplan Fund Selects 2025 Innovation Prize Winners, Marking a Decade of Supporting Bold Ideas

Record 3,790 Applications Reflect Growing Demand for Early-Stage Philanthropic Support

NEW YORK, Nov. 20, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- A decade after launching a philanthropic venture designed to help bold new ideas take root, the J.M. Kaplan Fund today announced the ten recipients of its 2025 J.M.K. Innovation Prize. The biennial award provides multi-year, unrestricted support for early-stage projects tackling urgent issues in social justice, the environment, and heritage conservation.

This milestone year drew an unprecedented 3,790 applications, an 18% increase from the previous cycle and more than triple the 1,100 applications received when the Prize launched in 2015. The surge in interest underscores both the urgency of America's social and environmental challenges and an outpouring of practical creativity and civic spirit across every state and sector.

"At a critical moment in our nation's history, the J.M.K. Innovation Prize reminds us that progress often starts with people who see a problem and decide to do something about it," said Julia Bator, Executive Director of the J.M. Kaplan Fund. "Our 2025 awardees' determination to confront our toughest challenges with optimism and ingenuity is both inspiring and distinctly American. We are honored to support them as they carry this work forward."

"The past decade of the Innovation Prize has deepened our conviction that philanthropy's highest calling is to champion creativity and civic courage," said Peter W. Davidson, Chairman of the J.M. Kaplan Fund Board of Trustees. "This year's awardees embody that spirit, leading work that strengthens communities, protects our planet, and upholds the ideals that have guided our Fund for four generations."

The 2025 J.M.K. Innovation Prize awardees are:

• Better Data Center Project – Catherine Casomar and Sarah Friedman
• Center for Land Economics – Greg Miller
• Entry Points – Kyle Daniel-Bey and Jonathan Rajewski 
• Plantaer – Manuel Benitez Ruiz
• Redemption Earned – Chief Justice Sue Bell Cobb
• Rooted Futures Lab – Sanjana Paul
• South Dakota Native Tourism Alliance – Sarah Kills In Water and Rhea Waldman
• TransYOUniting – Dena Stanley
• United Stateless – Karina Ambartsoumian-Clough
• Unmio – Jesus Torres

Each organization will receive $150,000 in unrestricted funding over three years, plus $25,000 in technical assistance. Beyond financial support, awardees gain access to strategic counsel, peer learning opportunities, and annual convenings with their cohort of fellow innovators.

"This cycle, we're proud to have engaged our largest group of volunteers yet—and to welcome fellow funders the 1772 Foundation, Burnham Family Foundation, and Trinity Church Wall Street to learn alongside us from the innovators on the front lines of social and environmental change," said Justin Goldbach, Program Director of the J.M.K. Innovation Prize. "The creativity we're seeing doesn't come from big institutions alone—it's emerging in small towns, Tribal communities, and grassroots networks across the country. Together, we're finding new ways to connect promising applicants with partners who can help them grow."

This year's selection process exemplified the collaborative spirit that defines the Prize. A group of 568 volunteers—including nonprofit professionals, academics, and wide-ranging "smart generalists"— led the first-round evaluation, ensuring that each application was reviewed at least three times. From there, 263 applicants advanced to a second round, where 33 subject-matter experts conducted in-depth evaluations. Fifteen finalists traveled to New York City in October for interviews before the J.M. Kaplan Fund's trustees selected the ten awardees.

Find more information and profiles of the 2025 awardees at JMKFund.org. Those interested in learning about projects from the 3,790-applicant pool are invited to contact the J.M. Kaplan Fund.

About the J.M. Kaplan Fund

Established in 1945 by philanthropist and businessman Jacob Merrill Kaplan, the Fund has championed visionary innovation for 80 years. Across four generations of family engagement, the Fund has invested more than $300 million in efforts focused on human rights, civil liberties, equality and justice, the arts and literacy, and the conservation and enhancement of the built and natural worlds. The J.M.K. Innovation Prize continues this legacy, providing early-stage support for entrepreneurs developing 21st-century solutions to urgent social and environmental challenges. Learn more at JMKFund.org.

Contacts: 
Valerie Silverman Kerr
[email protected]
914-806-6647

SOURCE The J.M. Kaplan Fund