Call for the (WIN) Competition 2025 is Open Now !!!
The Workplace Innovation Now (WIN) Challenge is a new initiative led by the Aspen Institute and supported by Pivotal, a group of organizations founded by Melinda French Gates. It’s focused on discovering and scaling innovative ideas in the face of a rapidly changing workplace. The foundational vision, backed by research, is that when women succeed, the benefits are shared—across families, communities, and the economy at large. Launched in 2025, the bedrock of the initiative is a $60 million grant competition open to eligible organizations, such as nonprofits in the United States. As workplaces are quickly changing, the WIN Challenge is an opportunity to find creative, actionable, and scalable solutions with forward-looking impact that address workplace barriers and support everyone—especially women—across a wide variety of industries and career phases. Successful applicants will offer a novel or breakthrough solution that nurtures the tension between innovative and evidence-based approaches. Each of the following three WIN Challenge pillars has $20 million to support up to eight applicants who will receive a grant of either $2.5 million or $5 million each.
Get the Youth Opportunities iOS App here for the fully-funded opportunities.
The total funding pool is divided equally across three distinct challenge pillars, with up to eight awardees in each pillar receiving grants of either $2.5 million or $5 million each. The three pillars are:
- Culture & Practices: Seeks evidence-based, scalable approaches to improve workplace norms, models, and policies (e.g., flexible work arrangements, enhanced caregiving support).
- Artificial Intelligence: Focuses on leveraging AI to build equitable workplaces, either through AI-powered solutions that directly assist women or by developing tools to mitigate bias within AI.
- Narrative: Aims to reshape societal stories and norms around work and workers to advance new, positive narratives that help women thrive and challenge outdated perceptions of leadership
Youth Opportunities invites you to join your preferred channel to get the latest updates directly to your messenger inbox.
- Youth Opportunities: https://m.me/j/AbZTmgEzD1UchDte/
2. Fully Funded Conferences: https://m.me/j/AbZTfhFTiPCnXf2D/
3. Full Scholarships: https://m.me/j/AbbrjbkOMM6I68Cs/
4. Paid Internships/Jobs: https://m.me/j/AbaAskb6jFFnRser/
5. Circle: https://m.me/j/AbY0vVKSPJULUnE4/
Awards will be announced in fall 2026. Each awardee will enter into a direct and separate grant agreement with the Aspen Institute and will be required to report progress towards milestones and other goals. In fall 2026, Aspen Digital will host a summit to uplift the solutions and changemakers sourced through the WIN Challenge. The knowledge curated will be shared widely across industries, the philanthropic community, and decision-makers committed to reshaping workplaces with forward-looking ideas so everyone can thrive. In the final year of the WIN Challenge initiative, Aspen Digital will focus on providing programming for the awardees and supporting their journeys. Successful applicants will put forward a plan to scale their solution and its benefits, backed with evidence-based practices and compelling reasons why those innovations can be replicated. In essence, the WIN Challenge is a digital call to action intended to generate tangible, positive change in the physical workplaces across the United States.
Benefits
- Winning organizations receive significant grant funding, ranging from $2.5 million to $5 million each, intended for scaling their innovative solutions.
- Winners gain national exposure and credibility by being publicly announced by major organizations like The Aspen Institute and Pivotal Ventures.
- Top solutions are included in a searchable database shared with industry leaders, philanthropists, and decision-makers, increasing the chance of wider adoption and further funding.
- Awardees get an opportunity to participate in an exclusive summit or event hosted by Aspen Digital, facilitating high-level networking and collaboration with influential leaders in the future of work.
- Winners are recognized as thought leaders in gender equity and workplace innovation, enhancing their ability to attract mission-aligned partners, talent and public interest.
Eligibilities
- The Lead Organization must have received a tax determination letter from the Internal Revenue Service (“IRS”) confirming that they are described under section 501(c)(3) and 509(a)(1) or (2) of the Internal Revenue Code (“IRC”), provided such tax determination letter remains in effect.
- Private foundations based in the United States and/or U.S. territories that have received a tax determination letter from the IRS confirming that they are described under section 501(c)(3) of the IRC are also eligible, provided the letter remains in effect.
- Fiscally-sponsored projects are eligible if their nonprofit fiscal sponsor is based in the United States and/or U.S. territories and is described under section 501(c)(3) and 509(a)(1) or (2) of the IRC.
- A U.S. tribal government treated as a State pursuant to IRC Section 7871 is an eligible Lead Organization.
Application Process
- You must first choose one of the three challenge pillars that best aligns with your proposed solution: Culture & Practices, AI, or Narrative.
- All prospective applicants must complete the mandatory online registration first. The registration deadline is 4:59 am (UTC+0) on December 12, 2025.
- After registering, you must prepare a comprehensive proposal which includes a detailed narrative of your solution, evidence of its potential impact and scalability, organizational information and a proposed budget for the $2.5 million or $5 million grant you are seeking.
- The final application must be submitted online through the official portal. The final submission deadline is 09:59 pm (UTC+0) on January 27, 2026.
Application Deadline: December 12, 2025
Application ClosedOfficial link
