Every Child TN’s Reconstruct Thriving Youth Challenge Awards $1 Million to Six Organizations
We’re proud to announce the six winners of the 2026 Reconstruct Challenge: Thriving Youth, a statewide venture philanthropy initiative supporting innovative solutions for youth aging out of foster care.
More than 800 young people transition out of Tennessee’s foster care system each year. Without targeted support, many face housing instability, limited access to employment, fragmented relationships, and mental health challenges.
Through this 1 million dollar challenge, the six organizations will each receive 100,000 dollars to pilot their solutions over the next 12 months:
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Connect Our Kids provides software and training to help caseworkers map kinship networks and identify supportive adults for youth.
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TN Voices integrates clinical services, peer mentorship and digital wellness tools into transitional housing.
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Jonathan's Path pilots family-based housing where youth live with consistent caregivers.
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Elmington Elevates is developing an affordable housing community using Foster Youth to Independence vouchers.
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New Culture Project provides transitional housing combined with supportive relationships and opportunities for personal and professional growth
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Forward Steps offers the Guardian Scholars Program, providing emotional support, mentoring, career guidance and financial assistance as students with foster care experience transition into adulthood and pursue postsecondary education
In addition to funding, each organization will receive technical assistance and strategic support to position successful models for follow on investment and long term sustainability.
“The Reconstruct Challenge brings together the private sector, public sector and social sector with catalytic capital to take real innovations from the theoretical to the field,” said Bryce Butler, Founder and Managing Director of Access Ventures. “Philanthropy should function as risk capital that helps identify solutions that are impactful, scalable, and enduring.”
The Reconstruct Thriving Youth Challenge was developed through the Thriving Youth Executive Leadership Council, including Belmont Innovation Labs, the Governor’s Faith Based and Community Initiative, the Tennessee Department of Children’s Services, and additional community partners.
Using a reverse pitch model, public agencies and funding partners identified system level needs. Innovators then responded with solutions designed to address those needs directly. From 58 applicants across 11 states, six were selected to move forward into pilot implementation beginning in March 2026.
The 1 million dollar challenge fund was capitalized entirely through private philanthropic sources and is separate from General Assembly appropriations that supported the research and design phase.
The Reconstruct Challenge is a reverse pitch program–powered by Access Ventures, a Louisville-based impact multiplier–that unearths innovations from around the country to address a community’s most pressing social issues. The program recognizes that the innovators with the greatest insights often face barriers to capital, market access, and connections that make them harder to find and slower to scale. Reconstruct finds these solutions and runs paid pilots, grounded in community voice, academic research, and industry mentoring, to mitigate the risk for both innovators and partners.
To date, Reconstruct has funded over 20 innovators and deployed over $4m in risk capital.