The Earth Tank theme was inspired by Mark Cuban’s popular show Shark Tank.

March 1, 2016

Have you been ready to roll out an environmentally themed initiative but just lacked funding? You may get your chance. Earth Day Texas in partnership with Dallas Festival of Ideas will be awarding a total of $25,000 in prize money to three environmental nonprofit groups who have the best conservation and sustainability projects in Texas with its inaugural Earth Tank Prize competition.

Finalists will have 15 minutes to present their proposal in front of a panel of judges on April 24, 2016, during the Earth Day Texas eco expo held at Fair Park. 

“We see this initiative as an excellent opportunity to further our mission of advancing environmental thought by connecting our environment to visionary conversations,” Earth Day Texas CEO, Jerry Hess said. “We expect to see great ideas and outcomes from this competition and are very excited to work alongside the Dallas Festival of Ideas to highlight the importance of environmental quality in shaping the future of our cities in Texas and throughout the country.” 

The Dallas Festival of Ideas is a two-day event in February at Fair Park with a mission to help shape the city of the future by igniting, uniting and energizing the people of Dallas through the power of ideas. 

Earth Day Texas CEO Jerry Hess introduces the Earth Tank Prize at the Dallas Festival of Ideas. Courtesy of EDTx.

“We are thrilled that the Earth Tank Prize launched at the Dallas Festival of Ideas,” said Emily Hargrove, director of the Dallas Festival of Ideas. “Our festival is committed to forging partnerships that inspire ideas that lead to sustainable action. Collaborating with Earth Day Texas in this way is a perfect example of this commitment, and we look forward to watching the ideas unfold in the next two months.”

Alejandra Iraheta, a spokesperson for Earth Day Texas, said groups looking to win the prize should describe the main environmental issue the project is aiming to address, including facts, figures and statistics. Groups also need to outline the main factors contributing to the issue, consequences of leaving the issue unaddressed, a list of other groups currently working to address the issue, a targeted environmental solution and a description of the organization’s strategy to help solve the issue.

Groups should also have a good feel for the unique attributes of the solution they are presenting as well as the project cost and how the solution will be tracked along with overall environmental impact.

The Earth Tank theme was inspired by Mark Cuban’s popular show Shark Tank.

“The difference is that Shark Tank gives small business entrepreneurs the chance to pitch their ideas to ‘sharks’ potentially willing to fund their innovations. The Earth Tank Prize 2016 invites nonprofits participating in Earth Day Texas 2016 to present their innovative conservation and environmental protection ideas to win funding for their concepts.”

A panel of judges will evaluate the projects based on its positive environmental impact as well as any related impact in one or more of the following focus areas: education, health, literacy, downtown or suburban jobs and entrepreneurship. 

“Earth Day Texas is always searching for innovative minds and world-changing sustainable ideas to make a positive environmental impact,” said Iraheta. “This highly anticipated competition is one example of the many ways Earth Day Texas is committed to work together to achieve a world of sustainable balance.”   

Submissions should be sent via email to EarthTank@earthdaytx.org from now until March 25 and finalists will be posted on the Earth Day Texas website on April 4, 2016.  See the Earth Tank web page.


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