Check out the UNITY New U: News Entrepreneurs Working Through UNITY fellowship competition. You can vote online for entrepreneurs of color who are competing to win a $10,000 seed grant to continue to fund their company. Here are the five video pitches submitted through the Asian American Journalists Association -- including some friends of this blog:
Athima Chansanchai
Athima Chansanchai is the founder/president of Tima Media and a daily contributor to msnbc.com. Currently the national secretary for the Asian American Journalists Association, she has also edited and reported at The Seattle Post-Intelligencer, The Baltimore Sun and The Village Voice.
Cynthia Liu
Cynthia Liu, PhD, is CEO/Founder of the online organizing and education news site K12NewsNetwork.com, a "MoveOn" for supporters of public education. In 2011, she received the BlogHer.com / HTC 2011Innovator Award for co-producing the California School Funding MapTool highlighting the impact of statewide budget cuts on K-12 public education by school and state legislative districts. A political blogger since 2003 who covered the 2008 Democratic National Convention, Cynthia is a social media savvy mom to an elementary school kid and a strong advocate of the social web's ability to provide tools and information for maximum parent and civic engagement benefiting the nation's schools.
Yvonne Leow
Yvonne Leow is a visual journalist who believes in the power of storytelling. She strives to make stories matter through Noowah, and with your help, she can. She is a regional video producer at The Associated Press. Learn more about her at www.yvonneleow.com.
Caroline Li
Caroline Li is an arts and culture writer, backpacker, band manager, and grassroots organizer. The world is her playground and she's inviting you to join the fun, while making it a better place for everyone.
Jeff Yang
Jeff Yang is a columnist for the Wall Street Journal Online and a regular contributor to WNYC Radio's "The Takeaway" as a member of its Friday Follow pundit panel. He was the founder/CEO of A. Media, publisher of the leading Asian American periodical A. Magazine, and, in 1999, raised $5 million to launch one of the first Asian American digital communities, aOnline.com. More info can be found here: http://orsp.in/gplusjeffyang
After viewing the pitches, vote for your favorite worthwhile idea here. It's super easy -- voting is open to the public, no registration is required and you can vote as many times as you like, now through January 3.