Today we are proud to announce the winners of Finding Fearless, our campaign to recognize, reward and inspire fearless changemakers nationwide, and a pillar of our Be Fearless initiative. We’re equally excited to kick off “Fan Favorite” voting, giving the public the chance to decide which winners should receive even more grant money and, thanks to our partners, some fantastic prizes.

The winners of Finding Fearless are taking risks, being bold and letting urgency conquer fear. The issues they are tackling – from the environment to education to healthcare – are as diverse as their backgrounds, their models are disrupting the status quo and their style is fearless. We are delighted to have the opportunity to shine a light on these undiscovered leaders, some who are rapidly scaling their concepts and others who are just about to take off – we’re thrilled to shine a spotlight on all of them and champion their transformative efforts.

After an exhaustive nomination and review process, our Fearless Academy [a diverse, cross-sector group of nearly 100 social innovators] helped us pick the winners from nearly 1200 nominations. Those that came out on top submitted more detailed applications to help us separate good ideas from solid plans, underwent a vetting process, and at last, we selected the twenty winners who will each receive a $10,000 grant, $25,000 of Microsoft software, a $100 REI gift card and an opportunity to compete in Fan Favorite voting!

So, what’s this Fan Favorite voting all about? Here at the Case Foundation we’ve been excited about democratizing philanthropy for many years. We sometimes refer to it as crowdsourcing or citizen-centered philanthropy – but no matter what it’s called, the goal is to seek new ideas and innovative solutions by tapping the crowds and sharing the responsibility and joy of giving. The approach recognizes that we can often get better results when many pitch in as opposed to leaving decisions and action to the few. We first tried this approach in 2007 with our Make It Your Own Awards, and again during our America’s Giving Challenges. We’ve initiated countless fan engagement campaigns like our Back to School contests, and now we’re trying it again as we work to spread the word about the need for a more fearless approach to creating change and as we lift up unsung fearless changemakers in communities big and small.

From 3 p.m. ET on Friday, November 16 until 2:59 p.m. ET on Wednesday, November 28 we invite you to visit findingfearless.org to learn about our fearless changemakers, to be inspired by their stories and to vote for which of them you think should earn an additional $10,000 grant from the Case Foundation or an Adventure Trip to Bryce Canyon courtesy of our partners at REI. In addition to these awards, we will give a $500 Network For Good card to the top vote getter each day and Microsoft will select a “YouthSpark” winner – one of our young fearless changemakers – to win the new Microsoft Surface Tablet. And, there’s even something for you – each voter will be entered into a sweepstakes to win a Microsoft Surface tablet right off the assembly line.

Now, go check out the winners of Finding Fearless, vote for your favorites, tell your friends to vote for theirs, and stay tuned for what’s next! In the meantime, we offer our sincere thanks to everyone who has been part of Finding Fearless—the applicants, the Fearless Academy, the Be Fearless Alliance, our partners at Microsoft, REI and the Goldhirsh Foundation and the many thousands that have joined us to the Be Fearless pledge. We’re grateful for your support and excited to Be Fearless together.