Frequently
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To support our mission of helping everyone get onto the right side of the coming disruptive change, the Innovation foundation supports education in disruptive innovation. Our support spans 4 core areas–the pillars of our organization — education, mentorship, partnership, and funding fellow innovators. We provide educational materials to schools and districts interested in teaching about disruptive innovation. We mentor students of all ages helping them become lifelong learners empowered by knowledge. We unite community leaders into common cause, helping focus educational efforts. Finally, we provide funding for educational innovators focused on the disruptive technologies we also focus on.

IF focuses on five technological platforms and the technologies that emerge from them. The platforms are Advanced Genomics, Artificial Intelligence, Autonomous Systems, Blockchain and Cryptocurrency systems, and Energy Storage. From these emerge such world-changing applications as personalized medicine, self-driving vehicles, NFT-based art, and more sustainable energy grids. These technologies are already reshaping the world economy, and we feel a responsibility to prepare everyone for the changes to come.

Unless school curricula are updated, children in school today will graduate with preparation for jobs that will not survive the changes we see coming. We believe the economic force of these disruptive technologies will be so large that it will demand a completely new workforce. If you want to participate in the economy of tomorrow, you have to understand how it will be shaped by disruptive technology.

The Innovation Foundation was established by ARK Invest’s CEO, Cathie Wood, and she serves as Chair of the Executive Board. Because she has been so successful in her investments in disruptive technology, she feels a responsibility to help people navigate the changes she sees at work in the world. In addition, members of the ARK Invest leadership also serve on IF’s Advisory Board.

The core tenet of IF’s educational pillar is to engender a sense of possibility in everyone and to create lifelong learners capable of flourishing in a changing world. To do this, the educational team has developed curricula to prepare students to be lifelong learners capable of participating in a world where technological innovation is the norm. IF supports teachers with age-appropriate curricula and classroom support. We support educational administrators by working with district leadership to address and exceed student achievement standards. Our work supports anyone interested in getting onto the right side of the relentless technologically-driven change.

Teachers interested in using the IF curriculum in your classes, please submit your contact information using this link.

We believe strongly in helping educators as much as possible, and we are in the process of creating PD courses. Because these must be approved in different ways in different states or jurisdictions, we cannot offer a single PD course. If you are interested in adopting the IF curriculum in Disruptive Innovation, we will develop an approved PD course for your school or district.

IF’s curriculum in Disruptive Innovation is currently being developed for middle school students in Pinellas County, Florida, but our intent is to make a complete curriculum in disruptive technology available at low cost to anyone in the world. To realize that vision, we will deploy an online instructional system available to anyone with internet access. In addition, schools interested in incorporating the IF curriculum should contact us with this link.

Individuals pay a nominal fee of US$50 to complete each course in the IF curriculum. This fee covers only our cost of storing and serving the digital materials needed to teach and record student achievement. School districts pay a per-seat fee of US$45 for each student in a given course.

The work of helping everyone learn about and understand disruptive innovation demands a holistic approach. We believe simply learning about a technology like artificial intelligence is one element of a larger effort that requires community contributions. To that end, IF supplies educational materials and instructional support, but preparing people for a new normal requires more than just a shift in schooling. Employers need to up-skill their workers; political leaders need to shepherd meaningful changes in policy; parents and mentors need to model lifelong learning. We know we are only part of the solution to preparing communities for disruptive innovation, and we look forward to welcoming partners who share our vision.

Unless a donation is specified for a larger initiative, IF works to keep a community’s donations within that community. For example, our partners in St. Petersburg and Pinellas County, Florida are seeing their donations have an immediate impact in the public school classrooms of that community. Students studying the IF science courses receive a complete set of instructional materials and lab supplies so no teacher has to reach into her own pocket to buy teaching supplies. We ask that communities partner with us to make a difference, and we make sure any resources given to us benefit the local community.

The Innovation Foundation is a 501.C.3 non profit organization.

The Innovation Foundation is not currently making new cash grants. Our current initiative is to facilitate and expand the teaching of our middle school science curriculum in US public schools. If you would like to learn more about adopting the Innovation Foundation for your school or district, please fill out the contact form here.

As we work with Pinellas County Schools in our first startup year, the Innovation Foundation is focused on curriculum development and teacher training. To be a mentor to Pinellas County students, consider giving 30 minutes a week by being a Lunch Pal, or contact the Pinellas Education Foundation to be trained as a Take Stock In Children mentor.

While there are currently no volunteer openings, we will be starting a volunteer program soon. Please click here to place your name on our wait list for volunteers.