ADL And Natan Fund Announce "Innovate Against Hate" Prize

NEW YORK, Jan. 5, 2017 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The Anti-Defamation League (ADL) and the Natan Fund are teaming up to launch an innovation prize intended to catalyze grassroots approaches to counter online hate speech.

The Innovate Against Hate prize will be awarded to nonprofit organizations or individuals such as programmers, students, academics, journalists, artists and social entrepreneurs who devise new approaches to uncovering and countering anti-Semitism and other forms of online hate speech.

"The latest innovations in technology are always seized upon by racists and anti-Semites to disseminate their hate, something we have seen across new social media platforms," said Jonathan A. Greenblatt, ADL CEO.  "To counter this hate, we need to innovate against it.  I am excited to see what creative students, engineers and coders can come up with to help ADL fulfill its timeless mission to fight anti-Semitism and advocate for equal justice for all."

"Natan is proud to partner with ADL to provide this innovation prize to inspire creative individuals and small nonprofits to join us in tackling the growing problem of hate online," said Felicia Herman, Executive Director of the Natan Fund. "ADL has been the leader in fighting anti-Semitism and all online hate, and Natan has more than a decade of experience funding social innovation. We are banding together with this prize to engage and energize new people in carrying out and supporting this critical work."

Proposals should seek to do one or more of the following:

• Develop positive, constructive efforts to understand, expose and undermine some form of online hate, such as harassment, extremism or cyberbullying;
• Educate diverse audiences about the contours and dangers of hate online, particularly those that chill the ability or willingness of people to use social media;
• Build awareness of existing tools available on various social media platforms to tackle hate and encourage not only their active use, but also ways to improve them;
• Encourage counterspeech initiatives that bring Jewish and other ethnic and religious communities together to speak out against and overwhelm hate speech online.

Applications will be accepted starting immediately through February 20, 2017. The entries will be screened by the ADL and the Natan Fund, and finalists will be notified soon thereafter.

Finalists will be notified by the end of March and each of the finalists will be required to appear at a public event where they will present a 10-minute "fast pitch" to a panel of judges, who will then award the grants.  The first-place winner will receive a grant of $35,000; the runner-up will receive a grant of $15,000.

The Natan Fund inspires philanthropists to engage actively in Jewish giving by funding innovative initiatives that are shaping the Jewish future. Over the last decade nearly 200 philanthropists have actively participated in Natan's grant-making process and events, and Natan has allocated $11.6 million to more than 200 innovative Jewish and Israeli social entrepreneurs and startup nonprofits around the world.

The Anti-Defamation League, founded in 1913, is the world's leading organization fighting anti-Semitism through programs and services that counteract hatred, prejudice and bigotry.  Follow us on Twitter: @ADL_News

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SOURCE Anti-Defamation League

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