Norfolk, Va. – RISE Resilience Innovations, a Norfolk-based nonprofit, is marking its fifth anniversary of empowering visionary entrepreneurs to help shape a more resilient future for coastal communities.

Established in 2018 through support from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development and the Virginia Department of Housing and Community Development, RISE was founded on a mission to find, fund and scale innovative solutions to climate-induced problems.

Fast forward to today, the organization has hosted eight innovation challenges and deployed more than $7 million to over 35 businesses, helping them pilot everything from a mobile app integration with Waze to help drivers navigate flooded roads, to stormwater sensors that allow cities to make key system improvement decisions.

Along the way, RISE has also helped establish Coastal Virginia as a vital living laboratory for entrepreneurs to come test and validate their unique products and solutions.

“Nearly 300 businesses worldwide have applied to join our program through our innovation challenges,” said RISE Executive Director, Paul Robinson. “We choose winning businesses whose solutions are effective, efficient, scalable and financially viable. Coastal Virginia communities benefit from these tools while they’re during their testing and refinement, and we serve as a launchpad to success, enabling the companies to help more people, faster.”

The organization is now marking its 5th year with one of its most important efforts yet: partnering with fellow nonprofit LISC Hampton Roads on a “$1 Million Challenge” to develop solutions that protect our most vulnerable communities. The partnership is seeking solutions addressing chronic and acute stressors from affordable housing and healthcare accessibility, to economic stability and environmental resilience. The new LISC/RISE Community Resilience Challenge will launch in early 2024.

Each RISE Challenge winner receives a combination of grant and revenue-based loan funding, along with a full suite of support services to accelerate their success. Since 2018, RISE’s accomplishments have continued to grow, including:

8 Innovation Challenges launched
250+ Submissions from more than 30 countries
$7+ Million in funding and support for small business innovators
$48+ Million raised by RISE-funded businesses
35+ Novel pilot projects
175+ Jobs created or retained
400+ People trained in resiliency related industries

“After five years, we know this model works,” said Robinson “and we’re really just getting started. We’re entering an exciting new phase, expanding our reach to new areas and topics. I can’t wait to see what the next five years bring.”

RISE Celebrates Five Years Of Building Resilient Coastal Communities Through Innovation

Virginia nonprofit finds, funds and accelerates most promising solutions to flooding and other climate-related challenges