What a Year! Thank you + Looking Ahead in 2022

Dear Solve Community,

From all of us at MIT Solve, I want to express my very best wishes for the holiday and the New Year.  We are wrapping up another challenging year, full of ups and downs, hope and stress, hard work and uncertainty.

It’s been nearly two years into a pandemic that has shaped every facet of our lives. Like many of you, I have faced some personal hurdles this year—mine were health-related, and I feel most fortunate to work for a place like MIT which has generous health and leave benefits allowing me to take the time I needed. This should be available to everyone but unfortunately, it’s still too often a privilege.

I also feel most fortunate that the Solve team stepped up while I was away to continue our work and engage this incredible community in solving some of the world’s most pressing challenges. An immense thank you to all our staff, consultants, and interns, some of whom are celebrating like myself their fifth anniversary with Solve!

To the entire Solve community, including our incredible Solver teams and Indigenous Communities Fellows, thank you. I encourage you to explore all of the amazing work being done by our newest class of 42 Solver teams and Indigenous Communities Fellows in our 2021 Solver and Fellow Spotlights.  

We’re so proud of the Solve community’s growth in 2021. This year, we reached over $50 million in catalyzed commitments for our Solver teams and entrepreneurs globally and fostered 500+ partnerships across the Solve community. This is evidence of our marketplace for social impact innovation in action. To our sponsors, prize funders, donors, members, and more for your ongoing support and resources, thank you. We could not do this without you. 

It’s been incredible for me to reflect on these five years at Solve, and to see how far we’ve come from building our desks at our first offices within MIT Technology Review to welcoming the first class of Solver teams, hosting our first Solve at MIT in 2017, getting our first $2 million in prize funding, and more.

And we’re just getting started! We are so excited about what we have coming up in 2022, including a mix of in-person and virtual events: 

• Member Community Strategy Meeting 
  January 27, 2022 - Virtual with in-person reception for those of you in the Boston area
  The Solve Member community will convene for its annual strategy session. Members will weigh in on how Solve can support their social impact goals, while shaping the strategic direction of Solve’s programs. Learn more about becoming a Member here.

• 2022 Global Challenges Launch
  February 1, 2022
  Get ready to apply! Our 2022 Global Challenges will launch in February on four key themes: The Care Economy, Climate: Ecosystems + Housing, Health Equity, and K-12 Learning Post-Covid. 

• Solve’s Indigenous & Antiracist Innovators Summit
  March 3-4, 2022 - Phoenix, AZ
  Join three cohorts of Solve’s innovators and our US-focused community to talk about supporting solutions by and for underserved communities. Learn more here.

• Solv[ED] Solutions Event
  March 25-26, 2022, Virtual
  Meet the inaugural class of innovators selected from the Solv[ED] Youth Innovation Challenge! The two-day virtual event convenes the Solv[ED] Member community, selected Solv[ED] Innovators, and applicants to the Youth Innovation Challenge to inspire and support them on their social innovation journeys. Submissions for the Youth Innovation Challenge are open until January 18! 

• Solve at MIT
  May 5-7, 2022 - MIT Campus, Cambridge, MA
  Our flagship event is back in-person! We are planning to convene our entire Solve community on the MIT campus for the first time in two years. This year’s program will:

  • Bring together our 2021 and 2020 Solver teams, Indigenous Communities Fellows, donors, Members and high-level speakers to inspire, celebrate, announce and continue fostering meaningful partnerships to accelerate their impact;

  • Announce our new investments in for-profit Solver teams through Solve Innovation Future. 

As ever, Solve is a community bound by action to drive innovation and resources to the most pressing challenges. We cannot do this without you and need your help and support. We invite you to:

• Become a Solve Member if you have not already done so. Membership is a tax-deductible gift to MIT, so we encourage you to  sign up before the end of the year, especially as we are increasing the dues on January 1. Alternatively, donate to support Solve’s work. All membership fees and donations go towards the Solver program.

• Provide your input to shape our 2022 Global Challenge Themes here.

• Fund a prize for our 2022 Global Challenge or Launch a Partner Challenge. If you would like to learn more, please get in touch with your relationship manager or Cara Scarnati at cara.scarnati@solve.mit.edu. 

The common thread I have seen throughout these past two years is a commitment to do our best to take care of our families and communities, and make this world a little bit more fair, equitable, and sustainable. With your support, we can continue to make strides towards these shared goals, ultimately making the world a better place for us all.

With much appreciation and gratitude,

Alex Amouyel and the Solve team.