As we enter a post-COVID-19 recovery phase, the free-access platform aims to spark the creation and funding of technologies to address our most urgent social issues mapped to UN Sustainable Development Goals.
SEATTLE, WA, September 17, 2020 –X4Impact, a market intelligence platform for social innovation, launches during the 2020 UN General Assembly to support innovation and collaboration between U.S. nonprofits and social sector organizations in the wake of COVID-19 with free access for all, thanks to Microsoft and other partners.
X4Impact offers insights to create and scale technology for the public interest (Tech4PI). Built on Microsoft Azure, it uses the 17 United Nations Sustainable Development Goals framework to aggregate challenges, ideas, solutions, over $2 Trillion in money flow, and 80+ million pieces of aggregated knowledge from trusted sources.
“The technology sector has mastered the fundamentals of matching and networking technologies, powered by AI to help us find a driver, a book, a place to stay, or people to meet. Yet the process of identifying systemic social problems, understanding the friction points, having access to trustworthy sources of information or an understanding of the economic and human impact is still done manually for the most part,” said Shelly Kurtz, co-founder of X4Impact.
“X4Impact fills a critical gap in the social impact space by creating a single online destination to support over one million charitable organizations with the technology solutions they need to address complex social issues,” said Justin Spelhaug, Microsoft VP and Global Head, Tech for Social Impact. “The rich data intelligence and collaboration tools allow social entrepreneurs and technologists to harness the power of the cloud to become global citizens, working side by side with the nonprofits, local governments, and academic institutions.”
One of the environmental impact opportunities of our time is eliminating single-use plastic. Thanks to Footprint, this dream can be a reality. “We are proud that X4Impact and Microsoft are highlighting Footprint’s work to create a healthier planet as a catalyst for positive change,” said Troy Swope, CEO, Footprint. “Using the platform also helps us gain visibility among the nonprofit sector and understand the addressable opportunities ahead.”
About
Footprint
Footprint has a clear vision: eliminate
single-use and short-term use plastics. Footprint designs, develops and
manufactures technologies that are biodegradable, compostable, and recyclable.
We make it easy for companies to switch out of plastic to preserve our future. We love our oceans and
our planet, that's why we are revolutionizing industries to eliminate plastic
pollution. The company was founded by former Intel engineers Troy Swope and
Yoke Chung and employs more than1,200 people. In 2019, Footprint was announced
a winner of the prestigious NextGen Cup Challenge for its Plant-based
alternative manufacturing process for making cups and lids. It has already
helped eliminate over 60 million pounds of plastic. The company is based in
Gilbert, Ariz. For more information and a complete portfolio of Footprint
solutions visit www.footprintus.com.
About X4Impact
X4IMPACT is your market intelligence platform for social innovation with insights to create and scale technology
for the public interest - #tech4pi, with headquarters in Seattle, WA.
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Media Contact
Shelly Kurtz, CMO, X4Impact
206-999-9030
shelly@x4i.org
www.x4i.org