Brightening Our Corner

Biomimicry Global Design Challenge 2016 is Open until May 11th

The 2016 Biomimicry Global Design Challenge is still accepting teams to compete.  Finalist teams for the 2016 Challenge will be announced in October 2016 at the Bioneers Conference, where we will present the inaugural $100,000 Ray of Hope Prize to one of eight finalist teams from the 2015 Challenge. The Challenge is more than a design competition.  Teams making it to the Accelerator Round receive assistance in making sure that their biomimetic solutions advance beyond the concept stage. The BGDC Accelerator is an intensive program during which the teams continue to develop their design concepts and market strategy utilizing business training, mentorship, and legal support provided by the Institute and its partners. At the end of the Accelerator, one team is awarded the $100,000 "Ray of Hope" Prize.

You're Invited to Ride the Ray

The need for highways to safely connect us has never been greater, and at the Ray C. Anderson Foundation, our Mission Zero Corridor has evolved as something much bigger than a memorial highway. Today, it is becoming a fitting tribute to a man of great vision as it evolves as The Ray, an “epiphany” with a great vision behind it. Read more.

Foundation Awards Grant to Presidio Graduate School

In July 2015, the Ray C. Anderson Foundation awarded a grant to the Presidio Graduate School (PGS), located in San Francisco, CA, to enable them to evolve their current Integrated Capstone course into a more robust program, modeled on a true business accelerator.

The grant enabled PGS to create the Ray C. Anderson Circle, an invitation-only group, made up of an illustrious cross-section of Bay Area entrepreneurs and investors eager to share their time, expertise and networks with PGS students and alumni.  In its inaugural year, there are 11 Circle Members who have already met twice since the group formed in Summer 2015.  The Foundation also seeded a scholarship program for incoming students. Read more.

Chattahoochee Riverkeeper Receives Grant from NextGen

The Ray C. Anderson Foundation recently awarded a “NextGen” grant to the Chattahoochee Riverkeeper (CRK) to support operating expenses necessary to grow and promote CRK’s floating classroom on West Point Lake in West Point, Georgia.

The Foundation’s NextGen is made up of Ray’s five grandchildren and their spouses who comprise the “next generation” for Ray’s legacy, which is embodied in the private family foundation that Ray endowed upon his passing in 2011.  Traditionally, the NextGen has been allocated funds annually from the Foundation Board to award as they see fit for carrying on Ray's legacy. Read more.

NextGen Awards Grant to RiverLink

The Ray C. Anderson Foundation recently awarded a “NextGen” grant to RiverLink in Asheville, North Carolina to help in connecting two portions of an existing greenway system along the banks of the French Broad River. Read more.

Ecocentricity Blog

Biophilia. There’s your answer. A method of design in which the connection between humans and the environment is embraced and enhanced, rather than fought against. Read more.

Upcoming Events

• Next South Conference and Career Fair - John Lanier, executive director speaks - February 26, The Biltmore, Atlanta
• Resource #ThinkCircular Conference - Michael Molitor, Ray C. Anderson Foundation Senior Fellow speaks  March 9, London
• Greenprints Conference - March 15-16, Georgia State University Student Center, Atlanta
• Captain Planet Celebration Series: Disco for the Planet - April 1, The Tabernacle, Atlanta