Prudential Emerging Visionaries Awards

Scholarship Sponsored by Prudential

Eligibility Criteria

For an individual to be considered eligible for participation, the following criteria must be met:

• Applicants must be between the ages of 14 and 18 at the time of application and must not exceed the age of 18 by the end of the entry period, which concludes on November 2, 2023. Please note that group or partnered applications are not accepted.
• Applicants must be legal residents of the United States or Puerto Rico.
• The project in question must have been initiated on or before June 1, 2023.
• Winners are required to bring along a chaperone to the in-person event scheduled for April 20-23, 2024.
• Only one application is permitted per individual.
• All applications must be submitted in English.
• Previous honorees of Prudential Emerging Visionaries and Prudential Spirit of Community, both at the national and state level, are not eligible to apply.
• Employees, their children, and grandchildren of Prudential, Ashoka, Financial Health Network, or its affiliates, as well as those of participating advertising and promotion agencies, are not eligible to apply.

Evaluation Criteria

The selection committee will be assessing applicants based on their ability to provide comprehensive and compelling responses to a variety of questions about their initiative, its operation, and their personal journey as a changemaker.

Applications will be evaluated based on the following criteria:

• Innovation – Does your approach to building financial health and resilience or addressing social issues within your community demonstrate innovative thinking?
• Potential to Scale – Do you have a forward-thinking vision? Will your innovation have a significant impact, and does it have the potential to scale beyond your immediate community?
• Connection – Do you demonstrate a profound understanding of the problem or obstacle you are attempting to address, and do you have a strong connection to the community to which you are bringing your solution?
• Changemaker Quality – Are you driven by a passion to effect positive change, ready to demonstrate leadership or take action to solve a problem, and eager to inspire others?

In addition to the above evaluation criteria, winners will be chosen to represent the diversity of applications received. This diversity may be reflected in the target audience of a project, its partners, or the individual or team representing it. Diversity considerations will include gender, accessibility, ethnicity, race, age, and geography.

Awards

All eligible participants will receive:

• Peer feedback through the program's online platform, including the opportunity to view, review, and connect with other Prudential Emerging Visionaries applicants and their submissions.
• Access to on-demand trainings to support your journey as a changemaker.
• A digital certificate of participation.
• The opportunity to be selected for one of two Early Entry Awards ($1,000 each) if your application is submitted by Thursday, September 28, 2023, at 11:59 PM ET.

Winners will receive:

A cash award of up to $15,000, distributed as follows:

• 25 winners will each receive $5,000 — 20 of these winners will be selected from the Societal Solutions category and five winners from the Financial Solutions category.
• The five winners from the Financial Solutions category will be invited to participate in a pitch-off at the Prudential Emerging Visionaries Awards Summit at Prudential's headquarters. From this group, one Financial Solutions Grand Prize Winner will receive an additional $10,000 award, for a total of $15,000.
• One winner from either category will also receive the Prudential Employees' Choice Award—an additional $5,000, to be awarded at the Prudential Emerging Visionaries Awards Summit at Prudential's headquarters. Please note: The Financial Solutions Grand Prize Winner is not eligible to win the Prudential Employees’ Choice Award.

All 25 winners will be awarded an all-expenses-paid trip, along with a parent or guardian, to Prudential’s headquarters in Newark, New Jersey from April 20-23, 2024, for the Prudential Emerging Visionaries Awards Summit. This will be an engaging experience during which awardees will receive coaching, skills development, and an opportunity to meet with senior leaders from Prudential to help take their solution to the next level.