Columbus
November 1-3, 2024
Columbus College of Art and Design Crane Center
Overview
GiveBackHack is your launchpad for social enterprise.
Have you ever had an idea to solve an issue in our community? GiveBackHack is the next step. Attend to partner up with the community and find the resources to make that idea a reality.
The event will kick off Friday night, where community members of all backgrounds who are eager to make an impact on the city around them will meet and exchange ideas. The crowd favorites will be identified and teams will form around them. Participants will then spend the weekend mentored by top social entrepreneurs, non-profit leaders, venture capitalists and prominent businessmen/women as they vet their ideas and build them into real products – physical products, smartphone applications, websites and anything else that will innovate on the issues we face in our city.
Who attends?
Engaged citizens, designers, developers, non-profit leaders, business men/women, entrepreneurs, changemakers and more.
What do I need?
A passion to make an impact on the community. Nothing else. You don’t need an idea or specific background in order to attend. You just need to come ready to work hard to solve problems.
If you do have an idea to make an impact – awesome. You’ll pitch that and get the chance to get talented people to work with you to make it a reality.
Why should I attend?
The reasons are endless, but here are just a few:
– You’ll make an impact on your community by working to solve top social issues we face through innovation.
– You’ll learn a lot about social issues, how to bring an idea into a well-vetted reality and how to build something amazing. You’ll meet an amazing community of motivated people – people who will work with you and change the world.
– You’ll also get the opportunity to gain seed capital for your idea. Top teams will move forward with seed capital to help continue their ideas.
Judges
Derek DeHart
Lead Product Manager, Alignable
Derek DeHart has over a decade of experience in tech, with a focus on product management in growth-stage startups. He's passionate about how technology can make a real difference in people's lives and communities. Currently, Derek is helping to boost product adoption and engagement at Alignable, a platform that connects small business owners, by improving the user experience with generative AI. Before ... Read More »
Emily Savors
Director of Grants Management, The Columbus Foundation
Since 1991, Emily has assisted the Foundation in carrying out its services to donors and supporting organizations, nonprofit organizations, and the community at-large. She has served as a catalyst in addressing community needs by researching, reviewing, and spearheading projects for funding consideration, and developing funding partnerships for special initiatives. Prior to joining the Foundation, ... Read More »
Mentors
LoLo
Co-founder and VP of Equity and Inclusion of the Urban Business Development Center
LoLo (She/Her) is a social entrepreneur who cares about creating effective solutions around equity gaps for entrepreneurs of color along with incorporating true cultural competence in programming and curriculum development to bring about positive impact. Professionally, she is the Co-founder and VP of Equity and Inclusion of the Urban Business Development Center, also known as The U. The U is an Urban ... Read More »
Anna Hetzel
Founder, Co-Partner of Strange Birds
Anna (They/Them) is the Founder of Strange Birds and has worked with over 200 companies to find their unique voice and implement it across their marketing ecosystems through brand messaging and conversion copywriting. Anna's secret sauce is taking a client’s numerous products and services and organizing it all in a way that makes intuitive sense to their customers. They can usually be ... Read More »
Ashton Colby
Founder of Gender YOUphoria
Ashton Colby (He/Him) advocates for LGBTQ+ civil rights protections at the state, federal, and international levels. He is the founder of Gender YOUphoria, a social enterprise changing disempowering narratives about transgender people in major media, healthcare, and public policy. Gender YOUphoria provides inclusive media consulting, and groundbreaking DEI training, for companies like Maven Clinic ... Read More »
Event Sponsors
Lead Sustaining Sponsors
IGS is driven by a set of core beliefs that moves us toward an energy-independent United States, powered by domestically-produced, environmentally-responsible resources. And just as IGS seeks disruptive innovations in the energy space, they take a similar approach to their community investments. For this reason, the company has made social enterprise a primary focus of their philanthropy. IGS is proud to partner with GiveBackHack to invest in entrepreneurial solutions to complex social issues – improving lives by harnessing market forces to get innovations to the people who benefit the most.
The Columbus Foundation is dedicated to strengthening and enriching the Central Ohio community through impactful philanthropy and community-driven solutions. Guided by our core values of innovation, collaboration, and inclusivity, we are committed to supporting initiatives that create lasting change. Our investment in social enterprises exemplifies this commitment, as we believe in the power of entrepreneurial solutions to address complex social issues. Partnering with organizations like GiveBackHack, we aim to empower changemakers to transform visionary ideas into real-world impacts, improving lives and fostering a brighter future for all.
Facilitators
The ebullient Suzy Bureau (as she was referred to in TechCrunch) is dedicated to building impactful communities & products. Suzy is the Founder of GiveBackHack, an organization that helps bridge the gap between tech & social impact communities through the integration of Lean Startup/Design Thinking. GiveBackHack comes to life via a volunteer-based team of 50+ and has helped vet over 100 social ... Read More »
Adam is the Community Impact Lead for GiveBackHack, where he oversees community events and programs that empower social entrepreneurs. A co-founder of Wild Tiger Tees, Adam brings his extensive experience in technology and social innovation to his role, guiding teams to create impactful solutions for social issues. He also hosts two podcasts, People Helping People and Green Champions, which focus on ... Read More »
Organizers
Adam is the Community Impact Lead for GiveBackHack, where he oversees community events and programs that empower social entrepreneurs. A co-founder of Wild Tiger Tees, Adam brings his extensive experience in technology and social innovation to his role, guiding teams to create impactful solutions for social issues. He also hosts two podcasts, People Helping People and Green Champions, which focus on ... Read More »
Emily Stuhldreher
Program Manager, GiveBackHack
Emily is a Design Thinking practitioner by day and a Social Innovation enthusiast by night. She spends her time building the social impact launchpad at GiveBackHack, coaching social entrepreneurs, and empowering communities through Design Thinking facilitation. She is passionate about leveraging systems thinking to build sustainable social solutions, creating true social impact in our communities. Previously ... Read More »
Clayton Nelson
IT Specialist, Office of the Ohio Attorney General
Clayton is a versatile professional with a background spanning hospitality, tech, real estate, and finance. His career journey began in hospitality, where he honed his customer-centric approach, and he transitioned into the tech startup ecosystem, igniting his passion for innovation and entrepreneurship. In real estate and finance, Clayton excelled in strategic thinking and risk management. However, ... Read More »
Lydia Stutzman
Art Director & Designer, Lydiary Design
Lydia is the senior graphic designer at AndHealth and has over 10 years of experience working with nonprofits, social enterprises, and startups. She is on the boards for the Columbus Center for Architecture and Design (CFAD) and Columbus Society of Communicating Arts (CSCA).
Grant loves applying his skills to create a positive impact in the Columbus community. He is inspired by the ideas brought forth at GiveBackHack, and hopes he can help bring them to fruition! In his spare time, he enjoys music, watches sports (especially Ohio State football), goes bike riding, and plays soccer.
Owen Myers
Founder of TeachTo
Hey, I'm Owen. I like to work on projects that help people relate to the world in new ways. I am the founder of TeachTo, where I recruited and led team using neuroscience research to help teachers improve intervention documentation. Wrote and presented pitch to secure $10K in prizes. Validated no-tech prototype with 30+ educators leading to 21 LOIs; used this data to report to funders. I also ... Read More »
Max Buck
Software Engineer at Tandem
Max is a Software Engineer living in Columbus. He is thrilled by watching people drive to make great ideas a reality, especially when they are focused around compassion and community. He loves the outdoors and music.
Asheley Mudzingwa
Honors Economics and Computer Science Student at Ohio Dominican University
I am a Help Desk Assistant at Ohio Dominican University, where I provide prompt and courteous technical support to end-users, troubleshoot and diagnose complex technical problems, and collaborate with the IT team to identify and implement process improvements. I am also an Orientation Leader at ODU, where I facilitate orientation programs and activities to welcome and assist incoming students in their ... Read More »
Bennett Coltman
Organizer
Bennett is a passionate member of the Columbus Social Enterprise Community. He currently works in operations as a Venture For America Fellow at Peerro. A three-time Give Back Hack participant, this is the year that he brings those experiences to the organizing team! Bennett is constantly enthusiastic about service and the arts. His mission is to find creative ways to do good and support the community. ... Read More »
Pre-submitted Ideas
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1. BridgeDialogue submitted by Esha Sharma
BridgeDialogueSubmitted by Esha Sharma
What is the problem are you solving?
When visiting inner city schools in Columbus to offer STEM education support, I found that there is another barrier that supersedes the issue of lack of access to STEM education and that is a lack of ESL support. There are entire classrooms of students who are not getting the help they need in the languages they understand and, therefore, are underperforming in school.
How will this idea solve the problem?
This will connect students with resources from individuals with lived experience in the area. Language barriers are so much more than that, there are cultural barriers that come with nuances that basic translation services cannot solve. We have an untapped resource in universities and first-generation American populations that have lived experience and we could utilize as a support for these children to perform better at and feel more comfortable in school.
Is this idea brand new or has it been partially-vetted?
Brand New
Why are YOU uniquely positioned to solve the problem? What other people do you need to help?
I have Columbus-based organization connections in the education space that could help drive the search for tutors. I have teachers who would be willing to utilize these services as well. I also have connections with Community Refugee and Immigration Services who could help to spread the word about services and get us in the right communities. Most importantly, I have the passion. I come from an immigrant family and understand the struggle of language and culture barriers. This is a need that is close to my heart.
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2. Rooted Health Advocacy submitted by Juanetta Burch
Rooted Health AdvocacySubmitted by Juanetta Burch
What is the problem are you solving?
Studies have proven that black people die at higher rates than their counterparts from preventable and treatable conditions. Often, a lack of knowledge or resources is what determines a persons ability to live or perish from health related causes. A lack of trust with the medical community with Black communities as a result of our complicated past. Social drivers are also often a barrier to Black people being cared for appropriately. This health and wellness idea is posed to answer and address a lot of the issues that keep Black communities less healthy than they should be. The lived experience and multiple educational accomplishments garnered will help me in creating a place that focuses on the health and wellbeing of the Black community, driven by the black community.
How will this idea solve the problem?
Education, advocacy, and access are key to changing the narratives on health and well being for the black community. Providing health and wellness support by a familiar face can make all the difference to someone seeking and receiving the care they need.
Case management, resource navigation, health literacy education as well as wellbeing practices like yoga and sound bathing will be offered in one place and be offered by people that are a part of the community we serve. Additional literature, health conferences and other activities will be offered as a means to address every facet of the social drivers of health.
Where other resources fall short, we plan to offer the bridge to the gap. Example: My work as a community health worker for underserved communities dealing with a cancer diagnosis highlighted the major disparities in cancer care for poor people of color. A doctor recommended a jar of Cerave for soothing of burns after chemo. While you or I may be able to spend the 15.00 on a jar of Cerave, if you are already low or fixed income, this may be a luxury to you and may be the difference of suffering or relief from the pain of chemo. This organization will advocate for provision of reasonable resources such as those, and where this is not an option, we will hope to be able to provide these items at no cost to those suffering.
This is just an example of the many health needs that can be in accessible if you are a person of color with a major condition and very little money.
Is this idea brand new or has it been partially-vetted?
Brand New
Why are YOU uniquely positioned to solve the problem? What other people do you need to help?
My lived experience has led me to navigate the health system locally and I have been overlooked, extra questioned and afraid to speak up when it came to my health. I have sense learned that I have to speak up in order to get what I need, and this experience has helped me to help others that may be experiencing the same issues I have.
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