LGBT Aging Project selected as Root Cause Social Innovator

Non-profit research and consulting firm Root Cause has selected the LGBT Aging Project as a Social Innovator for the group's 2011-2012 Social Innovation Forum. The LGBT Aging Project is one of six Greater Boston non-profits selected by Root Cause to receive more than $100,000 in cash and capacity-building services from Root Cause and its partners.

More than 70 social issue experts from the business, government, non-profit, and philanthropic sectors reviewed over 100 applications to select this year's Social Innovators. The LGBT Aging Project was chosen for its in-depth work and commitment to ensure that lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender older adults and caregivers have equal access to the life prolonging benefits, protections, services and institutions that their heterosexual neighbors may take for granted.

The Social Innovation Forum brings non-profits, philanthropy, government, and business together to support the spread of emerging social innovations in greater Boston. According to the organization, Root Cause believes that social innovation often starts with an individual idea, but it takes a vast community of stakeholders to spread the ideas that work. At the Social Innovation Forum, local non-profits will be able to access opportunities to build the capacity of their organizations, and to build connections with leaders from philanthropy, government, and business who are committed to offering their own skills, networks, and resources.

The LGBT Aging Project joins TEMPO Young Adult Resource Center; Cooking Matters MA, a program of Share Our Strength;WorkExpress, a program of Father Bill's & MainSpring; the Science Club for Girls; and InnerCity Weightlifting as Root Cause's selected Social Innovators.

Each group will receive $10,000 cash; a package of Root Cause consulting, executive coaching, and other in-kind services valued at over $100,000; a second Root Cause consulting engagement 18 months out from the Showcase valued at $10,000; support from the Social Innovation Forum staff on performance tracking and relationship building; and the Social Innovation Forum's growing network of nonprofit, business, government, and foundation leaders.

All of the six Social Innovators will present social impact models to leaders from Boston's public, private, and non-profit sectors at the Social Innovation Forum's Showcase event on Thursday, May 3, 2012.