Each team proposes a bold solution to drive meaningful change on a global scale

Chicago, IL, April 30, 2025 – Today, the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation and its nonprofit affiliate, Lever for Change, announced five Finalists for the third round of 100&Change, a global competition awarding a single $100 million grant to help solve one of the world's most critical social challenges. The selected Finalists represent transformative projects that have the potential to drive meaningful and lasting change on a global scale. The Award Recipient will be announced later this year.

Each of the five Finalists responds to the moment in a distinctive and complementary way. Their collective work serves communities in every region of the world—including those most marginalized due to factors such as race, gender, socioeconomic status, and disease/illness. The Finalists represent a range of globally pressing issues—from investigative journalism and information accessibility to public health and children’s learning. While their fields may differ, the Finalists share a commitment to expanding access to quality interventions and strengthening accountability mechanisms to ensure long-term implementation into the future.  

The five Finalists are:

• Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project (OCCRP): OCCRP seeks to globally scale its investigative journalism model that connects reporters across borders and gives them resources and skills to report safely and effectively on crime and corruption, facilitating accountability and reform.
• Pratham USA: Pratham and partners seek to help 25 million children across Asia, Africa, and Latin America acquire foundational reading and math skills by scaling the Teaching at the Right Level approach in partnership with governments and communities.
• Sentinel: Sentinel seeks to transform infectious disease surveillance and response through cutting-edge technology, global collaboration, and local empowerment. Sentinel’s mission is to detect, prevent, and preempt outbreaks to save lives and strengthen global health security.
• Texas Children’s Hospital: Texas Children’s Hospital’s project seeks to integrate essential sickle cell disease care into primary health services across Africa and save millions of affected children from relentless pain, disability, and preventable death.
• The Wikimedia Foundation: Abstract Wikipedia seeks to remove barriers between 300 Wikipedia language versions and supercharge access to reliable information. As threats like misinformation undermine knowledge integrity, Wikipedia is scaling reliable knowledge to billions globally.

“Now is the time to dream big, collaborate deeply, and develop new solutions to change the world,” said MacArthur President John Palfrey. “Our 100&Change Finalists want to scale ambitious ideas that will help millions of people. Today, we hope the sector finds inspiration in these important projects and joins us in celebrating this milestone in the competition.”

100&Change received 869 valid applications from organizations and collaborations worldwide, with each proposal identifying a problem and presenting a compelling solution that is impactful, evidence-based, feasible, durable, and just. The competition is unique in its unrestricted, flexible funding model and commitment to transparency—every applicant receives feedback from both peers and expert evaluators or ‘Wise Heads’.

Since its inception, 100&Change has leveraged an additional $868 million for participants—including but not limited to the Finalists—demonstrating the potential of high-impact philanthropy to fund systemic change. The competition has influenced the philanthropic sector by encouraging funders to adopt expansive, collaborative approaches to problem solving.

Past awardees illustrate the profound impact that a single, large-scale investment can have:

• 2017 Award Recipient: Sesame Workshop and the International Rescue Committee received $100 million to launch Ahlan Simsim, the largest early childhood intervention in the history of humanitarian response. The initiative has reached over 27 million children across the Middle East and North Africa with educational programming and services.
• 2021 Award Recipient: Community Solutions was awarded $100 million to accelerate an end to homelessness in 75 U.S. communities. Through Built for Zero, over 60 communities have achieved quality data enabling measurable reductions in homelessness combined with increased access to affordable housing, setting the stage for a future where homelessness is rare and brief.

In 2024, MacArthur again partnered with affiliate Lever for Change to manage 100&Change, leveraging its expertise in identifying high-impact solutions. Since its launch in 2019, Lever for Change has influenced over $2.5 billion in funding and supported more than 500 outstanding organizations tackling urgent global problems, including gender equity, economic opportunity, and climate change.

“With 100&Change, we set out to spark innovation and inspire philanthropy at an unprecedented scale,” said Cecilia Conrad, CEO of Lever for Change. “The Finalists announced today embody the bold vision and transformative potential we hoped to see when we first launched this competition. We look forward to seeing how the work of these five teams will shape a better future for communities around the world.”

The Finalists will receive additional resources and support as they refine their proposals in the coming months. The final Award Recipient will be selected by MacArthur’s Board of Directors and announced later this year. Beyond the single $100 million award, Lever for Change will continue working to connect top-ranked projects from 100&Change with additional funders who share a commitment to scalable, sustainable impact.

For more information on the competition and the five Finalist organizations, visit www.100andchange.org.

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MacArthur Foundation

The John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation supports creative people, effective institutions, and influential networks building a more just, verdant, and peaceful world. MacArthur is placing a few big bets that truly significant progress is possible on some of the world’s most pressing social challenges, including advancing global climate solutions, promoting local justice reform in the U.S., revitalizing local news, and reducing corruption in Africa’s most populous country, Nigeria. In addition to the MacArthur Fellows Program and the global 100&Change competition, the Foundation continues its historic commitments to the role of journalism in a responsive democracy as well as the vitality of our headquarters city, Chicago.

Lever for Change

Lever for Change is a nonprofit affiliate of the MacArthur Foundation that creates equitable access in the world of philanthropy, enabling donors to discover and invest in organizations with transformative potential.

Through its inclusive open call approach, Lever for Change invites organizations of all sizes from around the world to showcase their big ideas, and receive donor funding and resources to make it happen. To date, Lever for Change has influenced over $2.5 billion in grants and worked with more than 500 organizations worldwide. Its transparent and expert-led review process ensures that every participant benefits, and every donor finds confidence in something new.